The purpose of this dissertation is to utilize a historical comparative analysis to examine how capitalism influenced the growth of the nation, its effects on culture, politics and the economy. The study will examine the shift of the economy under varying governments (civilian, presidential and military), as well as the economic effect of an oil economy on the politics and development of the country. This dissertation included an analysis of the historical implications of imperialism as well as the current implications of foreign interference. The research further explored the historical effects of colonialism on a newly independent nation attempting to govern and unite different ethnic groups as one nation as well as the effects the discovery of oil had on the precarious undertaking of establishing and maintaining democracy. This dissertation found that after independence the country shifted its focus in the agriculture sector from production for consumption to export for capital gains. This shift led to infrastructure development such as building roads, railways, and other essential structures for the transportation and exportation of cash crops. The downside in the shift from consumption crops to export crops was the occurrence of food shortages during the seventies. The discovery of oil in 1956 also changed the direction and strength of the economy and eventually led to an unstable and under-developed nation. This dissertation will also examine the initiatives towards development and national unity as the nation struggles to stabilize economically and politically.

This study describes and analyzes the impact of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) on the Jos women in the informal sector, as well as the strategies women adopt to ensure the survival of their businesses and families. Studies that have investigated the impact of SAP on women in the informal sector tend to take a rather disparate approach. Against this background, the present study develops a coherent conceptual framework for understanding the impact of SAPs on women in the sector. From an interview survey conducted with one hundred and fifty (150) Jos women in the informal urban sector, the study elicited data on the activities of the women and the ways SAPs affect their access to productive and reproductive resources, as well as on the responses of the women to SAPs-engendered socio-economic hardships. The data reveal that the Jos women engage in numerous income-generating activities, mostly in small-scale, low-income circulatory and service activities which are largely marginalized and bereft of institutionalized resources. In addition to their productive and income-generating activities, the Jos women perform the bulk of the reproductive and domestic work necessary for the support of the family. As well, the women perform some extra-household work for the welfare of the community and environment. The study shows that the Jos women are adversely affected by SAPs. Structural Adjustment Programmes are further limiting their access to business commodities, credit, stalls, information and training, food, healthcare, education and transportation facilities. Consequently, women are finding it difficult to maintain their businesses and families. Amidst the adverse effects of SAPs, the women are resiliently and innovatively responding to SAPs through numerous business and familial survival strategies. In addition to the responses of the Jos women, the Nigerian State, is attempting to reduce poverty among women through its various women-centered programmes. The study attributes the adverse and limiting effects of SAPs on the Jos women's access to resources to a number of forces. These include (a) the Nigerian limited and discriminatory opportunity structures which predispose women to the largely marginalized informal activities, (b) the small-scale and low-income nature of women's informal activities, (c) the unequal and exploitative relationship between the informal and formal sectors in which women provide consumer goods at low-cost for the regeneration of capitalist labour, (d) the circulatory and service nature of women's informal activities, (e) the gender- and class-biased structures inherent in SAPs, as well as in SAPs' implementing mechanisms and institutions and (f) women's altruistic and selfless attitudes. The study observes that the responses of both the Jos women and the Nigerian State to SAPs-engendered hardships are, at best, palliative or even cosmetic. The responses do not address the strategic needs of women. Hence the study makes a case for a transformatory strategy through the empowerment of women. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

The goal of this study was to discover the contributing factors to depression in adolescents leading to hospitalisation to a psychiatric hospital. The study was conducted in a Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu, Nigeria. The study population was adolescents (between 11-19years of age) both males and females who were diagnosed of depression admitted between the year of 2017-2018 at Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu, Nigeria. A qualitative descriptive research was done. Participants were chosen by purposive (non-probability) sampling methods. Data was collected through face-to face individual interviews method. The study’s findings showed that factors contributing to depression in adolescents are related to biological, psychological and social causes. It would further be useful to help the health professionals in their care of adolescents’ psychiatric patients with depression having known the contributing factors. The study recommended early detection and treatment that could reduce incidence of depression and hospitalisation in the psychiatric units. / Health Studies / M. P. H. (Public Health)

This dissertation argues that Gyekye, in his idea of communitarianism, has a contribution to make towards the understanding of the socio-political structures of multicultural communities in Africa. Gyekye's construct of metanationality, in relation to his communitarian ethics, addresses the socio-political and cultural problems confronting multicultural communities, with particular reference to Nigeria. In an attempt to achieve his idea of a "metanational state", Gyekye claims that: (1) "personhood" is partially defined by a communal structure; (2) equal moral attention should be given both to individual interests and community interests; (3) it is necessary to integrate the "ethic of responsibility" with "rights"; (4) members of the nation-state should be considered equal; (5) in order to achieve nationhood in a multicultural community, it is essential to move beyond "ethnicity" and (6) in an attempt to form a national culture, attention should be drawn to "the elegant" aspects of cultures of various ethno-cultural communities. / Philosophy / M.A. (Philosophy)

The quantitative study focuses on the perceptions of Nigerian adolescent students to HIV/AIDS and their attitudes to prevention methods. From the literature reviewed it was ascertained that adolescent students do have positive and optimistic perceptions of HIV/AIDS, and also adequate knowledge, but this has not translated into positive attitudes to prevention methods. The literature also indicated that peer group pressure, parental control and the mass media are some variables that probably influence adolescents’ sexual behaviour. This researcher developed the ‘Adolescent Students’ Perception of HIV/AIDS and Attitude to Prevention Methods Questionnaire’ to solicit information from the adolescent students. The results were coded and duly analysed. The results from the empirical study indicated that Nigerian adolescent students have positive perceptions regarding HIV/AIDS, as well as positive attitudes to prevention methods. Recommendations were made for curriculum experts, educators and parents based on current research methods. / Psychology of Education / Thesis (D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / As the ethnic militias increased in strength after the transition to democracy, voices were raised whether they could pose a threat to the consolidation of democracy. In order to understand the problems that ethnic militias pose for the consolidation of democracy we try to show how they were established and how they have influenced the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria. Further, we ask if the ethnic militias have outplayed their role in Nigerian society. The main results show that the ethnic militias arose because of necessity, in an environment where ethno-nationalism was prevalent because of a repressive state’s inability to take care of its own people. The violent activities of the ethnic militias was not good for democracy in the short run, but as a counterweight to the state the ethnic militias played an important role in what can be described as civil society taken up arms. This militarising of society seems to have forced the state to take the ethnic militias more seriously. Hence, it can be claimed that the ethnic militias served as a midwife to the current Nigerian transitional democracy. However, as the state recognised the ethnic militias as a part of the political realm, and not just violent groups, the legitimacy for the ethnic militias eroded. The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), which was the most influential ethnic militias in Nigeria, has now changed its agenda, and has not gone back to being the socio-cultural organisation as they were formed as. There is an important role for the OPC and the Niger Delta ethnic militias as a counterweight to the state, but dialogue should be the main way of communication, as violence will only foster violence. It seems clear that the state needs to take the first step in order to make this happen. The conclusion is that ethnic militias have had, and still have an effect on the consolidation of democracy by holding the state responsible for its actions, and by punishing the state when it does not act according to its people’s wishes. It can be claimed that they forced out democracy by highlighting the flaws of the Nigerian state even if the way they operated, was not democratic. By highlighting corruption, lack of law enforcement and unnecessary use of force, they were able to bring down the authoritarian rule and make way for the transition to democracy. However, they do not seem to pose a threat to consolidation in the short term, rather they can have a positive effect, as they can act a counterweight to the ruling elite and other forces obstructing democracy. As we show, ethnic militias are and have been a part of civil society, and the focus of the future should be how to incorporate them into civil society, especially the Niger Delta ethnic militias as they are still active. Ethnic militias (except for some ones in the Niger Delta) were a brief phenomena in Nigerian history, and the focus should be on understanding the reason for them coming into being, in order to avoid it happening again. This thesis tries to give a holistic view of the Nigerian political situation. This thesis fills a gap in the literature concerning ethnic militias, by incorporating the most important factors into a framework. This makes it easier to make an accurate conclusion on how they have affected democracy, and questions the opinion that militias were only harmful to Nigerian development. It is the author’s opinion that this thesis will give scholars a more nuanced perspective of the ethnic militias, and lead to more accurate research in the future.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Nigeria is a country that has witnessed ongoing – albeit sporadic – violent conflict since its independence in 1960 from Britain. A brutal civil war, known as the Biafra war, lasting from 1967 to 1970, was not to end social tensions in this ethnically diverse country. Violent conflict has been an ongoing reality since the end of the Biafra war in 1970. In addition, Nigeria has exhibited substantial environmental degradation and resource scarcity during this time. Hence, this study assesses whether environmental degradation and resource scarcity are independent causes of domestic violent conflict in Nigeria since the end of the Biafra war. Additionally, rich reserves of natural non-renewable resources – in particular the prevalence of oil – are analysed vis-à-vis the degradation and growing scarcity of renewable resources in order to consider the impact both these aspects have on post civil war conflict in Nigeria. In order to achieve this, this study concerns itself primarily with causation. It considers two aspects in this regard. Firstly, it evaluates the assertion that the environment is an independent cause of conflict. That is to say, it investigates the notion that the environment impacts independently on human behaviour. Secondly, it examines the components of the social structure that create conditions that manipulate the environment in such a way that conflict is the ultimate outcome. This study asserts that the agency-structure composite is important to understand in order to examine violent conflict and its relationship with the environment in Nigeria. This relationship-structure-cause premise is examined by using a complex theory framework. Consequently, importance is placed on the causal relationship between violent conflict, environmental degradation and scarcity, natural non-renewable resource dependency and the social, economic and political milieu in which this transpires. This study ascertains that severe environmental change can only be considered a cause of conflict when its impact is considered with other important factors such as economic and political anonymity, which – for the most part – create the milieu in which subsequent violent conflict is the outcome. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nigerië is 'n land wat deurlopend kan getuig, alhoewel sporadies, dat daar sedert sy onafhanklikheid van Brittanje in 1960, geweldadige konflik was. 'n Brutale burgelike oorlog wat geduur het vanaf 1967 to 1970, het geensins die sosiale spanning ge-eindig vir hierdie etniese diverse land nie. Gewelddadige konflik is 'n deurlopende werklikheid sedert die einde van die burgeroorlog in 1970. Daarbenewens het Nigerië uitgestaan vir hul aansienlike agteruitgang van die omgewing en hulpbron-skaarste gedurende hierdie tyd. Vandaar hierdie studie om te bepaal of die omgewing se agteruitgang en hulpbron-skaarste 'n onafhanklike oorsaak is van binnelandse geweldadige konflik in Nigerië, sedert die einde van die burgeroorlog. Daarby, ryk reserwes van natuurlike nie-hernubare hulpbronne, in die besonder die voorkoms van olie wat betref die agteruitgang en die toenemende skaarsheid van hernubare hulpbronne, word ontleed ten einde die impak van hierdie twee aspekte op post-burgeroorlog konflik in Nigerië te oorweeg. Ten einde dit te bereik, gebruik hierdie studie oorsaaklikheidsleer. Daar is twee aspekte in hierdie verband wat in aanmerking geneem word. Eerstens is die bewering dat die omgewing die onafhanklike oorsaak is van konflik. Dit wil sê, dit ondersoek die idée dat die omgewing 'n onafhanklike impak het op menslike gedrag. Dit ondersoek, tweedens, die komponente van die sosiale struktuur wat die omstandighede skep wat die omgewing op so 'n wyse manipuleer, dat konflik die uiteindelike uitkoms is. Hierdie studie beweer dat die agent-struktuur verhouding belangrik is om te verstaan ten einde geweldadige konflik en die verhouding met die omgewing in Nigerië te ondersoek. Hierdie verhouding-struktuur-oorsaak uitgangspunt is ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van 'n komplekse teorie raamwerk. Gevolglik word die belangrikheid geplaas op die oorsaaklike verband tussen gewelddadige konflik, die agteruitgang van die omgewing en skaarsheid, nie-hernubare afhanklikheid en die sosiale, ekonomiese en politieke milieu waarin dit voorkom. Hierdie studie stel vas dat ernstige omgewingsverandering slegs oorweeg kan word as 'n oorsaak van konflik as die impak daarvan oorweeg word met ander belangrike faktore soos ekonomiese en politieke anonimiteit, wat, vir die grootste deel, die omgewing skep waarin die daaropvolgende geweldadige konflik die uitkoms is.

This thesis seeks to outline the HIV epidemic in Nigeria and understand the response of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) to the epidemic. In evaluating the Church of Nigeria's policy document, it also seeks to understand how the response needs to be strengthened. The thesis looks at the history of HIV and AIDS in Nigeria and the impact of the epidemic on the Nigerian society. It further identifies some of the factors that contribute to the spread of HIV in Nigeria and the government's response to the epidemic. For the Church to respond appropriately to the epidemic there is a great need to start by theologizing the epidemic in a more helpful way. It is based on this that this thesis further attempts to theologize the epidemic by discussing sexuality, the notion of imago dei and shalom as well-being. The thesis examines the six thematic areas of the policy document and presents a critical analysis in which it discovers that though there are good things in the policy document, it however, needed a more solid theological foundation and employment of an educative tool that is more inclusive. Central to the argument of the thesis is that no one factor drives the epidemic, but rather a complex interaction between several factors. Therefore, to strengthen the policy document the thesis suggests a number of things to do which include a more solid theological foundation and employing of the 'SAVE' approach as an educative tool in response to the epidemic. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This thesis is an attempt to fill the gap in our knowledge about rural poverty and what it means to be poor. It has grown out of concerns that a lot has been said and written about poverty, yet poor people’s own understanding of their poverty is hardly ever included in policy and programs designed to reduce poverty. The rural poor are particularly marginalised in terms of voice as they are often represented by mere statistical figures. (For complete abstract open document)