As oil bearing country, the issue of development in Nigeria has been a complex one that has attracted attention of both the government and scholars because oil politics appears to shape resource management and the development process. While academic focus has been on the analysis of national development, there is a paucity of academic studies on the internal dynamics at the regional level that shape the development process. This study therefore aims to: “examine the effect of oil resources on Nigeria’s development and the South-South compared with the situation in the South-West”, with an explicit focus on the complex nexus between oil, politics and regional development in Nigeria. The thesis adopts both methodological and theoretical triangulation to generate data to test the main and supporting hypothesis adopted for the study: “the oil industry has had an adverse impact on the development of Nigeria, and, in particular, the Niger Delta region in which it is concentrated”. In so doing, it explores the failure of oil politics to mix effectively to engender both national and regional development; leading to a regional development disparity. The study concludes that oil wealth failed to fuel development in Nigeria but instead, led to leadership failure. This failure is particularly found to have given vent to the negative impact of oil wealth on elite behaviour that is shaped by corruption, made worse by a dis-functional federal system where those with links major ethnic groups, get resource allocation and development advantage. The study consequently recommends that elite induced oil politics and attendant corruption, be tackled to pave way for both national and regional development in Nigeria. The study also recommend replication of this study in a larger scale in other oil bearing developing nations to further explore the relationship between management of resource wealth and regional development.

The work presented focuses on bacterial zoonoses in northern Nigeria, and more specifically on brucellosis in the Kachia grazing reserve (KGR) - rangeland set-aside by the government to sedentarise Fulani pastoralists. The objectives of the study were to 1) undertake demographic and socioeconomic profiling of the KGR community; 2) review the evidence for brucellosis burden in Nigeria; 3) assess the suitability and performance of brucellosis diagnostic tests selected for use; 4) compare burden of brucellosis across different species (animal and human) and determine Brucella species present in KGR; 5) explore social or environmental factors which may promote or prevent brucellosis transmission; 6) make recommendations for brucellosis control in the KGR and Nigeria; 7) explore community perception of disease and determine household expenditure on animal health; 8) critically evaluate the system’s, integrated, disease cluster, ‘One Health’ approach applied in this study. Three surveys comprising animal (cattle, sheep and goat) and human sampling, administration of questionnaires, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were undertaken in March, June and October 2011. A population census was undertaken in June 2011. Comparison of 2010 government census data with June 2011 census data showed that a mass immigration event occurred in April-May 2011 as a result of post-election violence, with cattle and human populations increasing by 75%. Questionnaire and census data demonstrated the diversity and heterogeneity of the Fulani community in terms of wealth status (roughly corresponding to livestock assets), household size and composition and livelihood diversification strategies. While Fulani in grazing reserves were assumed to be sedentary, KGR households were found to practice wide-range dry and wet season transhumance. Cattle productivity parameters and herd dynamics were similar to those reported by other authors for the extensive pastoralist systems in the sub-humid zone. Herd increase over a one-year period was found to be low or negative for most households in this low input, low output system. Brucellosis epidemiology in the KGR involves B. abortus biovar 3a with low individual and moderate cattle herd prevalence and occasional spill-over into small ruminants. No human brucellosis was detected despite over 80% of the KGR population consuming raw milk and engaging in risky behaviours, raising questions about the potential lower virulence of the local biovar. Low infection rates in livestock, disease-reducing intuitive behaviours or immunity may also be at play. The RBT was found to perform well under field conditions, despite poor concordance when applied in different laboratories and under different conditions. Prospects for control/elimination of brucellosis in the KGR are poor, but low animal burden and absence of human disease render vaccination uneconomic. A review of the literature in Nigeria suggests that brucellosis burden is higher in intensive livestock production systems, which should be targeted first. A laissez-faire approach to brucellosis control in the nomadic pastoralist domain may appeal to policy-makers, as interventions in migratory populations are difficult. Brucellosis is perceived by the KGR community as the number three-priority disease, after trypanosomiasis and Fasciola gigantica/clostridial infection and this was reflected in household expenditure on chemotherapeutics and prophylaxis. Finally, the value of the One Health approach is the ability to see the whole picture, including disease impacts in the animal reservoir as well as the human population, without which erroneous epidemiological and economic conclusions may be drawn; for example, presence of brucellosis in the animal reservoir does not necessarily indicate presence of human disease. This work shows that moving from disciplinary silos to a more holistic or system’s approach spanning epidemiology, evaluation of diagnostic and control tools as well as socio-economic, cultural and institutional aspects can lead to more appropriate recommendations for disease control.

This thesis explores the potential impacts of electoral governance on the democratic quality of elections in Nigeria. It concentrates on the debates over the role electoral administration in securing the credibility of elections in emerging democracies, using Nigeria as an example. The thesis argues that the explanation of democratic quality of elections is best approached through comparative case studies, relying on detailed accounts of election observers, interview respondents and the perceptions of the electorate. Drawing insights from the literature on democratisation, the thesis offers a straightforward conceptual and methodological model for gauging the democratic quality of elections, emphasising the relevance of electoral governance in Nigeria. It is a comparative study of the conduct of the 2007 and the 2011 elections that shared various social and institutional variables but differ in significant ways. The case comparison illustrates how the institutional dynamics of election management influence elections quality, explaining the various interconnections between the democratic quality of elections and electoral governance in Nigeria. It provides a contextual explanation of key political terms like participation, competition and perceived legitimacy. The failures and achievements recorded in the 2007 and 2011 general elections respectively depend on effective electoral governance. The restructuring of the autonomy of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and improvement of the electoral cycles recorded in the 2011 elections plus the active contribution of the electoral courts and tribunals set the stage for an increasingly fair political engagements of contestants. It has enhanced the quality of individual voter pariticipation in the 2011 elections. These case-based findings substantiate, empirically, various assumptions in the literature, particularly those explicit in the work of Mozaffar & Schedler (2002) and Elklit & Reynolds, (2002; 2005).

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) / Patient satisfaction is critical for the growth of oral health service and practice. The present study was a descriptive study on patient satisfaction with oral health care provided by a district dental clinic. The aim of the study was to determine whether patients attending the dental clinic of the Lagos State University hospital were satisfied with the care they received. / South Africa

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) / This was a cross-sectional study done in Lagos, Nigeria on 114 dentists. The aim of the study was to describe the knowledge and attitudes of dentists towards the concept of evidence-based dentistry (EBD). This study also attempted to create an awareness of this concept in the minds of previously uninformed dentists as well as demonstrate its need in continuous professional education via seminars, updates, lectures and short-term courses in Lagos, Nigeria. / South Africa

Magister Scientiae (Occupational Therapy) - MSc(OT) / Stroke has been identified as a global cause of neurological disability with a resultant burden shared not only by the survivor but also by the society. The resumption of one’s role as a worker after having a stroke is an important rehabilitation goal. South-West, Nigeria has experienced high incidence and prevalence of stroke leaving a quarter of survivors with severe disability and difficulty in community integration after rehabilitation. As a disability resulting from a stroke could be viewed as being a dynamic interaction between the health condition and contextual factors, a client-centred approach should be focal to stroke management to facilitate return to work. Therefore, it became necessary to explore the return to work process from stroke survivors and stakeholder’s perspective in order to understand the challenges stroke survivors face while adapting to their worker roles, to improve service design and delivery as well as to facilitate the return to work after having a stroke. The study was aimed at exploring and describing the experiences of rehabilitated stroke survivors and perceptions of stakeholders about stroke survivors returning to work in South-West Nigeria. A qualitative research design was used to explore these experiences and perceptions from nineteen participants that comprised of nine stroke survivors, two key informants (rehabilitation specialists) and eight caregivers of the respective stroke survivor. Two methods of data collection were used by the researcher to access the perceptions and experiences of the participants. The researcher made use of focus groups with the caregivers while in-depth interviews were conducted with the stroke survivors and rehabilitation specialists. One pilot testing in-depth interview and eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with the stroke survivors and rehabilitation specialists while two focus group discussions were held with the eight caregivers consisting of four participants per group. The data from the study was analysed using thematic analysis. All data were managed manually. The study was further aimed at obtaining participants` perceptions and experiences of barriers and facilitators as well as adaptation processes that influenced the stroke survivors’ ability to resume their worker role. The findings were revealed in five themes. Theme one and two describes the barriers experienced by the stroke survivors while returning to work in the form of loss of former self and returning to work is a struggle. The resumption of the previous worker role by the stroke survivors was construed to be a contest which entails a struggle between the survivor, survivor’s job characteristics, rehabilitation intervention and stigma from the society. Poor access to rehabilitation interventions, inadequacy of treatment and poor insight of the stroke survivor regarding condition, job characteristics as well as social stigma related to the condition were observed as factors that posed great challenges to the participants. Theme three describes the factors that facilitated the resumption of the worker role for the stroke survivors. Engagement in rehabilitation as well as social support enabled the stroke survivors to overcome the barriers and returning to work. Theme four describes the adaptation strategies that enable the return to work for the stroke survivors. Theme four was described by an intrinsic adaptation process that involves the acceptance of the illness and being motivated to return to work and an extrinsic adaptation process that involves gradual work exposure, workplace and home adaptation. Theme five describes the participants’ perception of changes needed in the rehabilitation services and policies that would facilitate the quick return to work of the stroke survivor. Promoting participation of stroke survivors in work through government policies was observed to be a necessary recommendation for the study. These were seen to be achievable through the improvement of rehabilitation resources, enabling access to rehabilitation through financial assistance, change of the regulatory environment to accommodate for the disabled and the initiation of health promotion through public awareness campaigns in the community regarding stroke. The Person Environment Occupation model of occupational performance was used as a framework to interpret the findings of the study; the barriers, facilitators and adaptation process was placed into perspectives as they impacted on the experience of the stroke survivors ‘resumption of their worker role. The resumption of the worker role of the stroke survivors was observed not only to be influenced by the individual characteristics of the survivors but also by the environmental context within which the return to work process took place.

Magister Legum - LLM / Armed conflict impacts negatively on the child's right to education as the targeted attacks on schools, school children, teachers and school facilities can cause a drop in school enrolment and attendance as well as longer term effects on the standard of education provided. This study assesses the impact of armed conflict on the child's right to basic education in the context of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Also, considering that the child's right to education protected in international and regional human rights instruments is not suspended during armed conflict, the study also assesses how well the Nigerian government in line with its international and regional human rights obligations has responded to the educational needs of children affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Master of Public Health - MPH / Background: Drugs are essential components of the health system and their rational use is vital to delivering quality and efficient healthcare services. However, inappropriate prescribing is a common rational drug use problem globally, particularly in developing countries including Nigeria. Despite measures to address this problem, inappropriate drug use continues to be a major public health problem in Nigeria. Aim: This study assessed rational drug use (RDU), with a focus on rational prescribing and factors affecting it, among primary healthcare providers working in primary healthcare facilities of a LGA in Northwestern Nigeria. Methods: The study was a cross sectional descriptive study and it included retrospective review of patient encounters and interviews with prescribing healthcare providers in sampled health facilities. Stratified random sampling method was used to select 20 public primary healthcare facilities and 30 patient encounters were drawn by systematic random sampling from each facility. One hundred and sixty three prescribing healthcare providers in the health facilities were also included in the study. Adapted WHO's drug use study tools and a structured self-administered questionnaire were used to collect data. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 17) software and presented as contingency table with chi square test used to test for relationship between variables with statistical significance taken at p < 0.05. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of the Western Cape Research Ethics Committee and Kaduna State Ministry of Health, and permission from local stakeholders. Confidentiality of individual patients, healthcare providers and health facilities data was maintained. Results: The prescribing staff at the selected facilities were predominantly Nurses/Midwives and community health assistants with SCHEWs constituting the majority (60.8%). More than half (54.4%) of providers did not know about the concept of RDU. Similarly, the computed knowledge score of RDU revealed that the majority (74.4%) had poor knowledge of the concept. Knowledge was significantly associated with duration of service, providers' previous training in rational drug use and professional status (p<0.05), with the CHOs having better knowledge of RDU compared with other professional cadres. High antibiotic use (68.3% in retrospective review and 82.9% in survey) and injection use (9.5% in retrospective review and 12% in survey) were found in the study with significant proportions of providers admitting that all cases of URTI should receive antibiotics (72.3% ) and that patients could be prescribed injections if they requested for it (35.3%). The Standing Order was the main source of information for the majority (50.6%) of providers and it served as the major influence affecting prescribing practices. Conclusion: This study revealed a poor understanding and knowledge of RDU among healthcare providers. High antibiotic and injection use also reflected providers' poor attitude to rational prescribing of these commodities. To improve prescribing practices at the PHC level, adequate staff skill mix, including physicians should be established. Since RDU knowledge was associated with prior training, curriculum development towards RDU and opportunities for in-service training should be provided to build prescribers capacity, in addition to instituting a system of rational drug use monitoring. Further research into rational drug use among different cadres of PHC healthcare providers is also recommended.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Jurisprudence / LLD / Unrestricted

The electric power policies in Nigeria and South Africa are considered the governments’ intention to provide quality and affordable electricity to the people. A comparative study on the electric power policies focuses on the similarities and differences in the policy approaches, the policy issues that affect electrification, and the impact of the policy issues in achieving the goal of universal access to quality and affordable electricity power in both countries. The methodological approach allows for an in depth textual study on the electric power policy documents in both countries. In Nigeria, the government intends to address the massive demand-supply imbalance and achieve the goal of electrification through reforms that focus on private sector-led growth in the sub-sector. In South Africa, the identification of electrification as a public problem by the post apartheid government leads to an integrated policy framework that focuses on balancing economic concerns with social and environmental considerations. The study identifies electricity provision as a social welfare responsibility of the governments in both countries and examines the policy issues in the context of public welfare. In Nigeria, the policy issues are found to be self serving and not in line with sustainable public interest, given the socio-economic challenges. As a result they, exert less impact on achieving the goal of universal access to quality and affordable electricity in the country. In South Africa, good governance in the sub-sector has enabled the identification of policy issues in line with sustainable public interests of social equity, poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability; and government using public administration agencies to play a key role in service delivery. Recommendations of the study mainly derive from the South African experience on electrification, and are intended to offer some policy-lessons to Nigeria in the sub-sector. The study contributes to new knowledge in the discipline of public administration by opening up new vistas for a comparative analysis of electric power policy issues in both countries in the context of public welfare. Besides, a comparative study on electrification in Nigeria and South Africa from a policy angle contributes to the existing knowledge base in the discipline.