The current shortage of artisans in the Nigerian house construction sector has constrained the productivity of the sector and exacerbated the nation‟s housing problem. The persistent neglect of the artisan training system has negatively impacted on the stock of artisans available for house construction projects. Nigeria‟s large and fast-growing population of over 140 million with an estimated growth rate of 3.2 percent has engendered increased investment in shelter provision; especially by individuals and families due to fast rising housing rentals- mainly in the urban centres. Past policies have not adequately addressed the realities of the skills crisis occasioned by inadequate and neglected apprenticeship training and poorly developed vocational education and training systems. The fallout of this is manifested in the difficulties faced by developers in sourcing suitably qualified and experienced artisans for house construction projects. In response to this challenge, an upsurge of migrant artisans and craftsmen from neighbouring West African nations like Togo, Benin Republic and Ghana to Nigeria has occurred in the recent times. They were attracted by building contracting firms to fill the gap created by inadequate artisan supply that is currently being experienced locally. This development is totally unacceptable as it exacerbates the overarching socio-economic problems in Nigeria, especially the already high unemployment rate which is estimated to be 23.9 percent. This study has consequently investigated the inadequate training of house construction artisans in South Western Nigeria; evolving interventions and developing a strategic model for improving the artisan training system to ensure an adequate and sustainable artisan supply in the house construction sector. The model incorporates best practices, rethinking strategies and integrated approaches in mitigating the identified challenges. The model is underpinned by reviewed literature and empirical findings. Quantitative surveys and interviews were utilised as the data sources. The research findings show that the factors which negatively impact on the artisan training system in the house construction sector include: the poor image of artisans in society; lack of recruitment strategies for attracting potential artisans; inadequate policy framework for training and employment; a faulty and rigid National Qualification Framework (NQF); the non-participation of employers in training; a poor funding mechanism; a weak regulatory framework and corrupt practices in training administration. Recommendations for addressing the inadequate training of artisans include education policy reforms to give priority to vocational education; a new regime of funding for vocational education and training; a review of the National Qualification Framework to integrate the vocational colleges with the university system; a reform of the regulatory framework; public re-orientation on the societal image of the artisans; adoption of a new approach of public- private partnership in artisan training; the provision of incentives schemes to attract potential artisans and the appropriation of the proposed model for an integrated approach to addressing the challenges.

Scholarly and public analyses of state-community conflict in resource-rich communities, especially in Nigeria, often portray the compensational practices of the state and extractive enterprises as unjust and unsustainable. According to this view, at least three issues foreground the “unjustness”, namely: a) Inadequate compensation of land owners when land is expropriated or degraded in the process of natural resource exploration and production; b) inadequate periodic rents paid by extractive firms to land owners; and c) lack of, or inadequate socio-economic infrastructure in the host communities of extractive operations. Most analysts have therefore argued for a revamp of the compensation system and have presented the inadequacy of compensation as the underlying cause of conflict in Nigeria‟s mining communities (see Frynas, 2000b:208; Okoji, 2002:205). This thesis subjects the compensation discourse to a closer examination, especially against the backdrop of underdevelopment, pervasive poverty, environmental damage and continuing corporate-community conflict in Nigeria‟s resource-rich rural communities. The main argument is that, because of some of its underlying neoliberal assumptions, much of the compensation discourse is flawed – which is why the discourse obscures the true character of state-community and corporate-community conflict. This more so, because the discourse relies mainly on post-colonial (that is, post-1960) experiences and contemporary advocacy literature, ignores the interplay between history and contemporary developments in state-community relations, and treats compensation as an independent variable. Drawing on the concept of collective memory, and utilising historical, ethnographic and survey data from two of Nigeria‟s oldest petroleum and coal-mining communities, the thesis examines how the evolution of the Nigerian state and collective memory about aspects of that evolution have shaped state-community relations in the extractive sector. It situates state- iii community resource-related conflict within the wider socio-historical matrix of state and community contestations for ecological and natural resource sovereignty. The key finding of the thesis is that within the context of socio-ecological rights, compensation demands by local communities are textured. In the case of the communities selected for the study, such demands are often made outside, rather than within, local ethnographic ideas of “justness” and “fairness”. Hence, land-related grievances associated with natural resource extraction persist, regardless of whether or not local demands for compensation are “adequately” met by the state and extractive corporations. The thesis enriches and extends our understanding of natural resource conflict by privileging both the sociological and historical contexts of the conflict and raising questions about the dominance the state enjoys over local communities and indigenous ecological spaces.

No description available.

Prior, to I945, neither the majority of British nor Africans were convinced that Western parliamentary forms of government could be transferred successfully to Nigeria. Generally it was considered that the Nigerian society would evolve from traditional forms of organization to something typically African which would prepare Africans for their eventual full participation in the world society. After 1945 under the stimulation of nationalism this concept of evolvement was completely abandoned in favour of complete adoption of Western institutions. It is to be expected that after independence the conservative forces of African traditionalism will revive and that a painful process of modification of Western institutions will begin. It would seem however, that modifications are not likely to be too fundamental if one can judge by the success with which Nigerians have handled these institutions and by the material advantages which political leaders have been able to bring to the people through them. The thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter one is a condensation of much research. It is intended to provide the background to the main body of the work. It describes the tribal, religious and economic differences in Nigeria which have been forces in Nigerian politics since 1920. It discusses the African reaction to the British penetration of the interior after I885. It briefly outlines the British sponsored economic development which resulted in greater urbanization and the growth of an educated middle class which was the author and supporter of the movement to turn from traditional African forms to Western institutions. With little detail the chapter points out the mixing of various tribes in this new class and the complications which resulted. The Ibo tribe has been used as an example. It shows how this educated class maintained its contact and influence with the people of the villages by means of tribal associations which ultimately became the most significant carriers and popularizers of Western political thought. The chapter ends showing the various ideas which this class were absorbing and the effect which the doctrine of trusteeship, the Commonwealth, the British Labour Government, the United Nations and Indian independence had on them. Chapter two traces the demand for parliamentary institutions and attempts to show how the British constructively began to abdicate their power. Some of the early expressions of this demand are indicated for the period from 1885 to 1920. In the year 1920, the first political movement was organized. It was a West African Movement embracing all four British West African colonies; Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Gambia. By 1922 this movement had collapsed but successors to it grew in each colony. In Nigeria, from 1922 to 1938 political activity was confined to Lagos. From 1938 to 1945 Lagos politicians were spreading their organizations and ideas throughout the hinterland. At the close of the Second World War an almost country wide agitation began to unite the people to press the British to set up government institutions modelled after those of the United Kingdom. By 1951 this had been done and the elective principle had been widely applied. Thus the first stage of the struggle was over. By 1951 Nigerians were convinced that the British were determined to leave the country as soon as a workable constitution was in force. Chapter two ends at this point where African energies are turned from concentrating on persuading the British to leave and chapter three begins where these energies are being devoted to working out the problems of adjustment in the government machinery to suit the Nigerian situation. Chapter three deals with the divisive forces within the country, which began to show once the unified opposition to the British was no longer necessary. The National Congress of Nigeria and the Cameroons which had led the national front against the British began to decline and break up. Regional parties based largely on local loyalties began to emerge. The elections of 1951 indicated how far this trend towards regionalisation had actually gone. Federalism appeared to hold the answer to Nigerian unity, but while it may have been the only expedient open to the Nigerians, many saw in regionalisation the sure breakup of the country. The conflict between the regionalists and closer unionists came to a climax in the Kano Disturbances of 1953. Following this, in 1954 a constitution was drawn up in which the federal principle was fully acknowledged by all parties. By 1954 the broad outlines of the constitutional pattern had emerged. Nigeria was to be a federal state. However, the final form had not by any means been settled. The constitution of I954 was based on the assumption that Nigeria was a land of three dominant tribes; the Ibos, the Yorubas, and the Hausas. Even before 1954 and increasingly after, the minor ethnic groups began to press for separate states to free them from the partly imaginary fear of major tribe domination. Nigeria is quite certain to emerge as a major African power because of its population, area and natural resources. It is likely to be an influential power because of its semi-Moslem and semi-Christian character. It straddles that line in Africa which divides the Moslem North from the Christian-influenced South. Such a position and character will give it influence, north as well as south of the Sahara. Nigeria's constitutional development is unique in that it is the first federal state to emerge in Africa. Because Nigeria is possibly the most polygot tribal nation in Africa its solution to the tribal problem will make a profound impression upon other African leaders. Actually, little has been written on the topic of Africa's evolution towards modern nation-states. This thesis attempts to contribute to that neglected area of study. It is also an attempt to see this process of evolution from an unbiased Nigerian point of view. This point of view will be indicated by the large amount of source material which is strictly Nigerian in its origin. African sources have as far as possible been relied upon. Much of the source material has as far as can be ascertained, never before been used. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

Rural-urban migration in Nigeria is the cause of a number of problems; the problems of overcrowding and deterioration of the urban environment associated with rapid urban growth; the economic loss resulting from the high unemployment rates in urban areas; and the problem of adverse implications of prolonged periods of frustration among the urban, poor. Nigerian governments .recognize that rural-urban migration calls for more effective policies than those attempted in the past. In this context new approaches designed to foster greater understanding of the nature of this process and more effective policies should be helpful. This thesis proceeds on the premise that rural-urban migration is in reality a process within a complex socio-economic system consisting of many interacting components and significant feed-back effects. It is thus held that a General Systems Approach provides an appropriate and useful analytical framework for the study of this process. In addition to bringing a broader perspective to the analysis, a systems framework is a powerful tool for exploratory research and therefore well suited both to the promotion of a greater understanding of the process and for the generation of a number of initial policy considerations. Relying on material from existing literature and personal experience related to the process in south-eastern Nigeria, a model of rural-urban . migration is developed in Chapter 4 (Figures 4.1 and 4.2), and applied in Chapter 5 to derive a series of testable hypotheses related to the migration process. The methodology is demonstrative of a systematic procedure for generating a series of interrelated potential policies for shaping the process. The main thrust of the work is to develop a conceptual systems model of the rural-urban migration process and thus to lay a foundation for further, substantive research on rural-urban migration in Nigeria. In the concluding chapter, some directions for this future research have been sketched. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Extension of pulp and paper raw material base by increased utilization of hardwood species is one reasonable approach to the solution of the world fiber shortage problem. This is particularly so if mechanical pulp with adequate mechanical and optical properties can be produced from fast-growing hardwoods which have not been used to any great extent in the past as a raw material. Laboratory studies reported in this thesis were carried out to assess the response of Gmelina arborea Roxb., a hardwood grown extensively in Nigeria, to mechanical pulping. In this work, both open discharge and simulated thermo-mechanical refiner groundwood pulps were produced. In the latter case, the effect of chemical pretreatment with both sodium sulfite and sodium hydroxide was also evaluated. It was found that while open discharge and standard thermo-mechanical treatments resulted in mechanical pulp with inferior properties, the treatment of chips of Gmelina arborea Roxb. with a 1% sodium hydroxide solution at 250DF (121°C) for 10 minutes prior to open discharge refining resulted in a mechanical pulp having mechanical and optical properties comparable to and, in certain aspects, better than those of stone groundwood used in North American newsprint. The behaviour of this chemically pretreated refiner pulp from Gmelina in admixture with softwood kraft was also investigated. It was found that the properties of newsprint furnish handsheets containing mixtures of Gmelina mechanical pulp and West Coast semi-bleached kraft (SBK) compared favourably with those of handsheets produced from typical West Coast newsprint furnishes, thus indicating the possibility of using chemically pretreated Gmelina thermomechanical pulp (TMP) with reduced amounts of softwood SBK. To cover the situation for a fully integrated mill, a brief study was included to assess the response of Gmelina to kraft cooking, and to evaluate the behaviour of this pulp in admixture with Gmelina mechanical pulp. As expected, the kraft pulp from Gmelina was significantly weaker, mechanically, than North American kraft pulps and its deficiencies were clearly evident in the properties of mixed furnish handsheets. It was concluded, from this part of the study, that newsprint containing both its chemical and its mechanical pulp components from Gmelina would require excessively large proportions of Gmelina chemical pulp and still exert a limiting influence on paper machine speed and subsequent printing operations because of its strength deficiencies. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

Includes bibliographical references / The important role of institutions is relatively agreed on within the growth literature, with most empirical evidence pointing towards a positive influence of institutions on economic growth. However, empirical analysis of the institutions and growth nexus have faced a few problems, which include: the lack of a clear distinction between the different types of institutions; (i.e. political institutions, economic institutions, and customary institutions); a lack of long-run data measuring institutions for most of sub-Saharan Africa; and the paucity of country specific studies - the majority of the empirical evidence have mainly focused on cross-country analysis. While extensions from cross-country analysis to country specific analysis is growing, empirical studies focused on sub-Saharan Africa remain limited. Within the African context, majority of empirical evidence suggest weak institutions as one of the main causes of its poor economic performance. However, due to the paucity of long-run data on institutions, such an hypothesis has not been empirically tested for specific countries. Motivated by these gaps, this thesis contains three essays that examine three types of institutions and their impact on the economy. The specific issues focused on include: the evolution of institutions; persistence of institutions; interdependence between political and economic institutions; interdependence between institutions and economic development; and the role of institutions in determining resource wealth effects. This thesis uses Nigeria as a case study, because of its standing as one of the larger economies in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in terms of its natural resources. In addition to this, Nigeria has experienced numerous regime and constitutional changes over the past few decades which may lead to interesting institutional dynamics.

Includes bibliographical references / In the last three decades, there has been a phenomenon, akin to a revolution sweeping through the world, leaving in its wake major consequences of economic, political, legal and constitutional dimensions. The role of the state as we know it has been reconstructed beyond recognition. From an all-encompassing monolith that owns, manages, and provides various infrastructures, goods and services directly to the public and also serves as a regulator, it has now been reduced to a mere bystander or an enabler. Its footprints in the sands of economic and political times have diminished. In its place has arisen the regulatory state, characterised by a thinning out of the state; and the emergence of an institutional innovation: the Independent Regulatory Agency. Its rise, growth and diffusion across jurisdictions and sectors, and most recently in developing countries including Nigeria have been unprecedented. This thesis centres on the question whether the Independent Regulatory Agency can function in Nigeria in a manner analogous to its counterparts in the developed economies and be able to ensure the provision of safe, affordable and efficient infrastructures and services. The thesis finds institutional fragility, limited capacity, information asymmetry, corruption and insecurity within critical political, economic and supporting institutions that ideally gives life and legitimacy to the IRA; while essential democratic concepts are adhered to more in the breach. These challenges present a difficult climate in which the Independent Regulatory Agency can thrive. As an alternative, the thesis advocates the adoption of two transitory regulatory models: regulatory contracts and contracting out or outsourcing of functions. Their utilisation would achieve the desired regulatory outcomes until maturity is attained in the political economy of Nigeria, while simultaneously mitigating its contextual limitations.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Library and Information Science at the Department of Library and Information Science at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2015 / The present study aims to create awareness of infopreneurship practice amongst LIS graduates and to train LIS students to acquire all necessary skills for effective infoprenuership practice in this present ICT proliferated society. The study will also help to save graduates from extraordinary increases in the rate of unemployment and the high rate of poverty in our present economy. Infopreneurship practice is linked to entrepreneurship as it describes individuals that sell and market information products and services mostly through the internet and other traditional mediums with the intention of making profits as a means of livelihood. Infopreneurs are experts in the information field/discipline that provide specialized information services in exchange for money. Infopreneurship is an information-based business practice, by information specialists and professionals, as a way of providing specialized information products and services to satisfy customers’ needs, in exchange for money. Studies of Ocholla (1999); David and Dube (2013); Allen (2001); Chandler (2007); and Mason and Dobson (2008) have identified the challenge of increased rates of unemployment of Library and Information Sciences (LIS) graduates. This is due, in part, to the limited availability of library jobs. The poor level of adequate planed awareness programme of infopreneurship and the changes of technology is alarming. The purpose of this study is to investigate the status and development of infopreneurship in Nigeria and South Africa. Therefore, it is important to understand the level of awareness of infopreneurship practices among LIS graduates and to ensure LIS students acquire all necessary skills for effective infopreneurship in the present day ICT community. The study focused on information-based businesses owned by LIS graduates and other graduates of related fields, in selected cities from the two countries. The objectives of this study are: To describe and explain the concepts infopreneurship in the informal sector. To establish the level of those graduates involved in infopreneurship from the eight (8) cluster information fields/disciplines. To investigate and describe the areas and/or types of infopreneurship.  To investigate the impact infopreneurship has on information entrepreneurers and societal development. To find out what challenges infopreneurers encounter. To find solutions that will help to improve infopreneurship practice in Nigeria South Africa. A Case study/qualitative content analysis research methodology was applied for this study. The interview was the major instrument used to gather responses from information-based business owners. It was supported by data gathered from the observation method. A combination of purposive and snowball sampling techniques of non-probability sampling methods were used to generate the sample size, and frame, from the eight clustered information business categories of respondents for this study. The target population for this study was chosen from the lists of all registered information-based businesses as well as LIS graduates practicing infopreneurship in Nigeria and South Africa. The sample size of 160 information-based business owners, LIS graduates and others related information discipline was picked from eight (8) clustered business areas and/or discipline,which include information communication technology (ICTs), mass media/communication, telecommunication, libraries, archive and records management centers, publishing and printing sectors, computer science, and LIS education. The findings show that infopreneurship is a growing practice in both countries, although a majority of those individuals practicing infopreneurship are not familiar with the term infopreneurship. The study also revealed the numbers of LIS graduates involves in the infopreneurship practice, despite the increase growth in this field that few LIS graduates are involved in infopreneurship practice in both countries. However, infopreneurship in recent times, has added more new area/types to the practice such as, internet blogging, software and hardware installation, tracking services, trouble shooting, web designing, programming, CCTV installation, online TV, amongst others. Infopreneurship practice has served as an eye opener to LIS graduates and other related fields of studies for job opportunity and self-dependency. The majority of graduates that joined the information-based business sector joined because of the need for money to survive and escape the high rate of poverty in society. Infopreneurers are faced with different challenges such as insufficient funding, equipment, and infrastructure. An additional issue is the difficulty in licensing of businesses, due to the high cost and the unnecessary requirement for registration of businesses and the tax imposed on smaller infopreneurs is outrageous. The study recommends that LIS schools create more awareness of infopreneurship practice among students, and also review the infopreneurship courses, or include learning content that focuses on business skills acquisition and practical vocational skills acquisition programs. The study also recommends that governments provide a positive support plan by creating a good business atmosphere for young graduates who want to start their personal business.

Although, there are several programs in place in Nigeria to ensure maternal and child health, maternal and neonatal mortality rates remain high with maternal mortality rates being 560/100,000 and neonatal mortality rates at 40/1,000 live births. While there are many studies on the utilization of maternal health services such as antenatal care and skilled delivery at birth, studies on postnatal care are rare. While efficient utilisation of postnatal care services has been proven to reduce morbidity and mortality among mothers and their newborns, the uptake of this service is low in Nigeria. Thus, identification of the factors that are associated with non-utilization of postnatal care services could shed light on what needs to be done to improve the uptake of the services in Nigeria and assist the country in achieving the MDG4 and MDG 5 targets of bringing down the levels of child and maternal mortality. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the factors associated with the non-utilization of postnatal care among mothers in Nigeria. Methods: Population-based cross-sectional data from 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) were used in this study. For analysis, the postnatal care uptake for 28,647 children born in the five years preceding the survey was considered. The dependent variable was a composite variable derived from a list of questions on postnatal care. Mothers who received postnatal care were coded as (0) while mothers who did not receive postnatal care were coded as (1). Child’s characteristics and mother's characteristics were used as the explanatory variables. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the patterns of postnatal care nonutilization by selected characteristics of mothers and children in the country. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with postnatal care non-utilization in Nigeria at bivariate and multivariate levels. Results: Results showed that 96% of the mothers of the 28,647 children did not utilize postnatal care services in the period examined. About 50% of the study population between 25-34 years did not utilize postnatal care and 46% of the women who did not utilize postnatal care had no education. Results from multivariate logistic regression show that accessibility, antenatal care use, birth size, education, place of delivery and region are significantly associated with the non-utilization of postnatal care services. Women who received antenatal care had lower odds (OR=0.23, 95% CI=1.09-1.87) of not utilizing postnatal care services. Also mothers of children who were smaller than average at birth had higher odds (OR=1.43, 95% CI=1.09- 1.87) of not utilizing postnatal care services. Conclusions: This study revealed the low uptake of postnatal care service in Nigeria. To increase mothers’ utilization of postnatal care services and improve maternal and child health in Nigeria, interventions should be targeted at mothers who deliver children that have low birth weight and great attention should be given to the women outside the South West region especially the Northern region of the country. In addition, it is crucial that steps should be taken on educating women. This would have a significant influence on their perceptions about the use of postnatal care services in Nigeria.