The Role of Cooperative Societies in Poverty Alleviation among Crop Farmers in Benue State, Nigeria

Poverty has remained endemic among small scale farmers in rural areas of most developing societies including Nigeria. The failure of government designed alleviation strategies to bring the desired succour to the suffering rural populace has presented cooperative societies as a strong and viable channel for rural and agricultural transformation. It is against this backdrop that the study investigated the role of cooperatives in reducing poverty among crop farmers in Benue State. The study specifically assessed some roles of cooperatives in poverty reduction as well as challenges militating against cooperatives. This paper utilized secondary data obtained from textbooks, research reports, journals and internet sources. The collective Action theory was used to guide the study. The paper revealed the roles of cooperative societies in poverty alleviation among crop farmers to include but not limited to providing credit at low interest rate, providing goods and services at low cost, expunging the exploitation of the middlemen, protecting the rights of the less privileged, protecting the rights of producers and consumers; and sensitizing and educating members of cooperatives. Challenges identified as hampering these roles include low education and illiteracy of members, low capital base, high interest rates, lack of access to farmland; poor management style, small membership and lack of adequate government support which affects the management of cooperatives. The paper concluded that cooperative societies have impacted crop farmers in Benue State positively, although much is desired to be done. In the light of the above it was recommended that farmers should be timely provided with farm inputs and services; adequate awareness campaign should be created to ensure that farmers join cooperative societies

Relationship between Government Expenditure on Security and Exportation in Nigeria

This research work examined the impact of Government expenditure on security and export in Nigeria for the period 1986-2020. In a bid to actualize the main objective of the study, data were collected from secondary sources such as 2020 editions of CBN statistical Bulletin and National Bureau of statistics. The model of this study was built based on Keynesian National income model and data were analyzed using the Vector Autoregresssive Technique. The result of the study showed that one lagged period of export (ln(EPT(-1)) has a direct and significant effect on export performance in Nigeria. The result further established that two lagged period of government expenditure on emergency care (ln(GSE(-1)) has no significant, but positive effect on export performance. The result proved that one lagged period of government expenditure on Amnesty (ln(GSA(-1)) has no significant, but positive effect on export performance. The finding also show that one lagged period of government expenditure on Ammunitions (ln(GSM(-1)) is positive and statistically significant on export performance. The study recommends that governments should introduce policies that will promote exports through effective spending on security and infrastructural development; while firms should be encouraged to spend more on fixed capital which include properties, plants, and equipment

Domestic Competitiveness of the Nigerian Manufacturing Sector: Implications for African Free Trade Area

The manufacturing sector is well known to be one of the major growth engines in all economies hence the decision to evaluate the competitiveness of the sector as Africa launches the largest free trade area since the creation of the World Trade Organization.; Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).The aim of this paper is to determine the internal competitiveness of the manufacturing sector vis a vis other sectors in Nigeria as well as the sub-sectors driving competitiveness in the sector in order to consolidate on the strong drivers while strengthening the weaker sub-sectors to be able to benefit optimally from the gains of the AfCFTA. Employing time series data sourced from the World Development Indicators and the Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletins on growth of GDP per capita (proxied for competitiveness), the share of manufacturing, service and agriculture in GDP, an ARDL specification was estimated. The findings show that the manufacturing sector in Nigeria is very uncompetitive. The paper therefore recommends a thorough overhaul of the structures that drive competitiveness in the manufacturing sector

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on Youth Sexuality in Delta State, Nigeria: Media View

The mass media have been one of the preeminent tools for the dissemination of information worldwide. The COVID -19 Lockdown has led to an upsurge in youth sexuality which became a source of concern to all stakeholders and the media outlets is tasked to detail all outcomes. This study was design to examine the impact of COVID -19 lockdown vis-à-vis youth sexuality. A sample size of 400 was determined from each of the ten Local Government Areas across the three senatorial districts in Delta State. The Sample design adopted for this study was random sampling. A total of four thousand (4000) questionnaire copies were administered to youths and 99 % copies were retrieved from respondents. Twenty field assistants were engaged for three weeks for the exercise and face to face survey approach was adopted. The findings show that there was lack of sexual and reproductive healthcare during COVID -19 lockdown. These have caused a spike in youth’s sexuality, intimate partner abuse, increased in unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortion, maternal morbidity and mortality. Overall, COVID-19 lockdown escalated existing health challenges and the media should continue to propagate protective health measures. Also, government should create access to health care professionals, health care products and other health emergencies to tackle future pandemic

Substitutability of Currency in Nigeria: A non-linear approach

The persistent rise in foreign currency demand, especially in recent years, exerts pressure on Nigeria's exchange market. This trend is often heightened by economic agents’ perceived loss of purchasing power and confidence in the domestic currency, which makes them recourse to holding foreign currency that have a relatively stable value, such as the United States dollar (USD). To determine the presence of currency substitution and its effects on money demand in Nigeria, quarterly data from 1994 to 2017 was used. The non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model was employed in order to account for potential existence asymmetries informed by economic induced shocks overtime. The result affirms the existence of asymmetric cointegration for the variables, which implies the existence of a long run nonlinear relationship. In addition, crude oil price showed a significant effect of foreign currency demand from the stand view of domestic economic agents. The study suggests the closing of the exchange rate gap in the existing market to reduce the asymmetry expected from depreciation in domestic currency and further create buffers to manage the effect of oil price volatility, so as to check the substitutability rate of domestic currency in Nigeria

Correlation of Maternal Health and the Utilization of Health Facilities in Udo Community, Edo State, Nigeria

This study examined the nature and impact of healthcare facilities in Udo community. It specifically explores the rate of maternal mortality in the context of utilization of healthcare facilities and services in the study area. It adopted the cross-sectional survey design and research instruments were the semi-structured questionnaire and the in-depth interview guide. A total of three hundred and fifteen (315) questionnaires were administered to women who were 18 years and above. In order to have a representative sample, fifteen villages out of the twenty-six villages that make-up Udo community were randomly selected, but the stratified random sampling method was used to select the participants for the questionnaire and twenty-nine key informants for the in-depth interview who were purposively selected. Data collected were analyzed with SPSS into their constituent aggregates, tested with chi square and variables cross-tabulated. The findings show that there are a lot of impediments militating against women optimal access and utilization of the healthcare facilities in Udo community. Based on the findings, recommendations were made on the feasible ways to reduce the cost of care and improve the access and utilization of healthcare and by implication, the quality of maternal/women healthcare for the poor rural dwellers in the study area

Impact of Public Health Expenditure on the Nigerian Health Sector Performance: Empirical Investigation

Health is a vital and crucial factor which determines the quality of human capital that enables the government to take the challenge in the areas of providing affordable and good healthcare for the citizenry through health expenditure. On the basis of this, the study examines the impact of public health expenditure on the Nigeria health sector performance beginning from 1981 to 2020 by employing Autoregressive Distributed Lag. The study ascertained stationarity of the time series properties of the variables where Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) was applied. Besides, the ARDL Bounds Test results confirmed the rejection of no long-term equilibrium relationship among the variables. The results of the Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) accentuated the connection between Public Healthcare Expenditure and Health Sector Performance in Nigeria through establishment of stable long-term equilibrium relationship among the variables employed in the model. Therefore, this study recommends not only increase in the budgetary allocation to the health sector but also establish a platform that will ensure probity and accountability in the Health Sector. This in turn leads to achieve improvement in the health sector performance necessary for building human capital in Nigeria

Business Ethics and Organizational Sustainability: A Study of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Asaba, Delta State

The study examines the relationship between business ethics and sustainability of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Delta State, Nigeria. The study employed cross sectional research design in examining seventy-three (73) firms. The population of the study is made up of owner-manager of SMEs (Hotels and Guesthouse) in Asaba metropolis. Census was adopted in which all the seventy copies of the questionnaire distributed to the respondents. Data were analyzed with the aid of Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient to examine the relationship existing between the study variables. Findings revealed the existence of significant relationship between the dimensions of business (transparency and integrity) and the measures of organizational sustainability given as economic, social and environmental sustainability. From the results of the finding, the study concludes that business ethics undoubtedly influences organizational sustainability. Thus, it was further recommended among others that, the right strategies and policies should be put in place to align corporate goals and objectives in the dimension of business ethics to achieve organizational sustainability. Also, organizational leaders/managers should give apt orientation to organizational members to imbibe ethical practices into all organizational processes, this will positively affect firms’ sustainability

Corruption and Domestic Investment Relationship in Nigeria: an Empirical Investigation

Although studies have made efforts to examine corruption-investment relationship, little has been done to examine the effect of corruption on domestic investment in Nigeria. This study examines the effect of corruption on domestic investment in Nigeria from 1996 to 2017 using quarterly data. Employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach, the result of the bounds testing to cointegration reveals that there is a long-run relationship between corruption and domestic investment along with domestic savings, lending interest rate, foreign direct investment and GDP growth rate. The results of estimation indicate that corruption has a significant and negative effect on domestic investment in Nigeria. Thus, an improvement in the corruption perception index CPI (lesser corruption) leads to an increase in domestic investment. The results also show that domestic savings, foreign direct investment and lending interest have positive significant effect on domestic investment. Based on these findings, this study recommends that government should employ policies that will encourage domestic investment via reducing corruption. These policies should be complemented with measures that promote domestic savings and FDI inflow, as well as reducing the lending rate

In Examining the Impact of Trade and Industrial Policies on Manufacturing Sector in Nigeria (1980-2020): Do African Continental Free Trade Matters?

The Nigerian Manufacturing sector has been underplayed, despite trade and industrial policies put in place, it is possible that the African continual free trade could be a springboard to enhance the subsector. This paper uses the Structural Autoregressive model to examine the impact of trade and industrial policies on manufacturing sector in Nigeria between the periods of 1980-2020, and the possible role of African continental free trade. Data were drawn from secondary source. The variables used in this study include, exchange rate, tariffs, capital, labour and trade openness; while manufacturing output (MO) is used to proxy the performance of manufacturing sector. After accounting for structural breaks in the series and ensuring the stationarity properties of the series. From the short run result, the current and past lagged tariff are not in line with theories, a 1% increase in tariff will leads to a proportionate increase in manufacturing subsector by 0.88% and 0.19% concurrently. The result further revealed that past exchange rate has an insignificant effect on manufacturing productivity, implying that a 1% rise in current and past exchange rate leads to a fall in manufacturing output by 0.04 % and 0.05 %, concurrently. The result of the variance decomposition shows that Shocks to tariff accounted for the second most significant variations in manufacturing productivity, with progressive increase noticeable over time. The impact rose from 18.0 % in the first year to as high as 62% in the tenth year. The result of impulse response function revealed that manufacturing productivity responding to its own shocks, tariff, exchange rate and capital are positive. The expansionary effect of exchange rate and tariff devaluation on manufacturing productivity was established in Nigeria. The findings are suggestive of African continental free trade is strong precursor to drive trade and industrial policies in Nigeria and enhance manufacturing output