TRADITIONAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM: AN EXPOSITION in AFRICAN CONTEXT

The study set out to affirm that Traditional Public Administration existed in pre-colonial Africa, specifically Nigeria. These pre-colonial administrative systems performed all the functions that is currently being executed by modern public administrative system, such as designing the best strategies for efficient delivery and the attainment of public goods. The case-study approach was adopted, in which old Oyo, Benin, Kanem Borno and Oron Kingdom amongst others were comprehensively evaluated. This approach unveiled the structures and processes through which the aforementioned empires and Kingdoms were effectively governed. The focus of this paper was to identify and analyze the structure and processes, which amounted to public administration in these empires that performed the roles which are currently being performed by modern public administration. The findings revealed that old Oyo, Benin, Kanem Borno and Oron Kingdom had standard processes for the implementation of what constituted public polices in these social entities. The successes of the administrative system accounted for the long duration of these pre-colonial states and in many cases the colonial masters relied on them, for the administration of the territories they conquered. A case in point was the ‘indirect rule’ system in Nigeria and other West Africa States, which aided the continuation of the colonial administration. The role performance in the traditional system might have been fused, however the functions of public administration were effectively carried out in these pre-colonial social entities. This exposition might have accounted for the long years of existence of these empires until internal contradictions, colonial conquests and rules resulted in their collapsed. The study through the use of qualitative data affirmed the existence of traditional public administration in Africa and Nigeria in particular. This indeed was one of the notable ‘primitive gloriana’ (glory of the primitive past) of pre-colonial Africa and Nigeria in particular, that cannot be wished away by Eurocentric scholars.   

An afrocentric critique of the discourse of good governance and its limitations as a means of addressing development challenges in Nigeria

The current study is an African-centred critique of the idea of ‘good governance’; which since the 1990s, has been a prescription of the international development institutions for all development challenges facing developing countries. Despite almost two decades of implementation of good governance reforms in Nigeria, poverty, corruption and underdevelopment persist. The analysis showed that the limited involvement of local people in the design of donor-sponsored good governance reforms mainly produced a universal, donor-conceptualized good governance agenda, which did not fully capture local issues. Given this, the main objective of the current study was to develop a cultural, context-specific governance model that shares local citizens’ understanding of governance, as well as, addresses challenges of governance at local levels in Nigeria. However, given the diversity of cultures in Nigeria and the uniqueness of each of them, this study only focused on Southwest Nigeria. Afrocentricity is the theoretical framework for this study. Mainstream development theories have mainly guided the development efforts of African countries but these theories are based on the experience of the European countries and primarily seek their interests. Given the failure of Eurocentric development theories in Nigeria, this study deemed it fit to adopt a theoretical framework that is based on African experience and that seeks African interests. Afrocentricity is the only theory in which the centrality of African interests, principles, and perceptions predominate (Pellebon 2007: 174). In terms of methodology, this study adopted the case study design. The study also used both the qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. But the study was largely qualitative because it relied on participants’ interpretations. The inclusion of quantitative data was for purposes of expanding and complementing the interpretive information. The study is significant because the findings provide agency to indigenous people in Nigeria by the voicing their perception of governance. The study also identified context-specific issues affecting governance in Nigeria, which were not captured in the donor’s universal good governance agenda. The study proposed how the principles that have enabled the effectiveness of traditional governance systems could be incorporated into formal governance to achieve better government performance. Most importantly, this study offers context-specific and people-centred recommendations to address Nigeria’s governance and development challenges. This study’s Afrocentric approach to the understanding of good governance is an epistemological rupture against the Eurocentric idea of good governance.Development StudiesPhD (Philosophy

HEALTH-SEEKING BEHAVIORS OF WOMEN WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Background: The survival rate of breast cancer in Nigerian women is low (56%). It has been observed in the empirical literature that Nigerian women present with advanced stages of breast cancer. The presentation of breast cancer at the advanced stages, reduces the options available to the women for the management of the illness, which had contributed to the low survival rate. Little is known about the health-seeking behaviors of women after they observed breast changes, how they interpreted and managed their breast changes and the factors they believe influence their health-seeking activities. Purpose and Objectives: The aims of the study were to explore the health-seeking behaviors of women with advanced stages of breast cancer in Southwestern Nigeria and the factors that influenced them in engaging in specific health-seeking activities from their perspectives. The advanced stages of breast cancer were defined as Stage III or stage IV breast cancer. Methods: Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from the University of Saskatchewan’s Behavioral Research Ethics Board and the Joint Research Committee of University of Ibadan and University College Hospital Ibadan. Using purposeful sampling techniques, 30 women who were all diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer were recruited as the study participants. The Health Belief Model (HBM), provided the conceptual framework, and interpretive description (ID) a qualitative research approach, was used to explore the health-seeking behaviors and the factors that influenced the study participants to engage in these health-seeking behaviors. Using semi-structured open-ended questions and non-leading prompts, I engaged the study participants in free discussions in which they described their health-seeking behaviors, and factors they believed influenced and motivated them to engage or not to engage in specific health-seeking activities, for the treatment of breast ill-health. A demographic form, which was personally completed by each participant, was used to obtain the participants’ demographic information. The demographic information of the study participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics while the interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The main outcome of this dissertation research suggests that women in Southwestern Nigeria suffering from breast cancer have unique perceptions of breast cancer as a life-threatening illness that few people survive, may misinterpret breast changes perhaps due to poor knowledge of breast cancer symptoms, and seek divine intervention to manage the advanced stages of breast cancer. This study uncovered the women’s personal and cultural beliefs and attitudes about breast cancer. It also generated information that provided deeper understanding of their health-seeking behaviors, as well as pertinent factors that influence Southwestern Nigerian women suffering from breast cancer in their health seeking for the management of the illness. Conclusion: The outcomes of this study provided insight into how nurses can optimally and comprehensively manage breast cancer perceived to be a life-threatening illness that few people survive. This study also advanced the use of a qualitative approach to inquiry in seeking to explore and understand the health-seeking behaviors of women presenting with advanced breast cancer in Southwestern Nigeria, on which empirical literature had been scarce. It is hoped that this new understanding will contribute to the holistic nursing management of breast cancer that could result in improved treatment outcomes of the illness among women in Southwestern Nigeria

HEALTH-SEEKING BEHAVIORS OF WOMEN WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Background: The survival rate of breast cancer in Nigerian women is low (56%). It has been observed in the empirical literature that Nigerian women present with advanced stages of breast cancer. The presentation of breast cancer at the advanced stages, reduces the options available to the women for the management of the illness, which had contributed to the low survival rate. Little is known about the health-seeking behaviors of women after they observed breast changes, how they interpreted and managed their breast changes and the factors they believe influence their health-seeking activities. Purpose and Objectives: The aims of the study were to explore the health-seeking behaviors of women with advanced stages of breast cancer in Southwestern Nigeria and the factors that influenced them in engaging in specific health-seeking activities from their perspectives. The advanced stages of breast cancer were defined as Stage III or stage IV breast cancer. Methods: Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from the University of Saskatchewan’s Behavioral Research Ethics Board and the Joint Research Committee of University of Ibadan and University College Hospital Ibadan. Using purposeful sampling techniques, 30 women who were all diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer were recruited as the study participants. The Health Belief Model (HBM), provided the conceptual framework, and interpretive description (ID) a qualitative research approach, was used to explore the health-seeking behaviors and the factors that influenced the study participants to engage in these health-seeking behaviors. Using semi-structured open-ended questions and non-leading prompts, I engaged the study participants in free discussions in which they described their health-seeking behaviors, and factors they believed influenced and motivated them to engage or not to engage in specific health-seeking activities, for the treatment of breast ill-health. A demographic form, which was personally completed by each participant, was used to obtain the participants’ demographic information. The demographic information of the study participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics while the interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The main outcome of this dissertation research suggests that women in Southwestern Nigeria suffering from breast cancer have unique perceptions of breast cancer as a life-threatening illness that few people survive, may misinterpret breast changes perhaps due to poor knowledge of breast cancer symptoms, and seek divine intervention to manage the advanced stages of breast cancer. This study uncovered the women’s personal and cultural beliefs and attitudes about breast cancer. It also generated information that provided deeper understanding of their health-seeking behaviors, as well as pertinent factors that influence Southwestern Nigerian women suffering from breast cancer in their health seeking for the management of the illness. Conclusion: The outcomes of this study provided insight into how nurses can optimally and comprehensively manage breast cancer perceived to be a life-threatening illness that few people survive. This study also advanced the use of a qualitative approach to inquiry in seeking to explore and understand the health-seeking behaviors of women presenting with advanced breast cancer in Southwestern Nigeria, on which empirical literature had been scarce. It is hoped that this new understanding will contribute to the holistic nursing management of breast cancer that could result in improved treatment outcomes of the illness among women in Southwestern Nigeria

HEALTH-SEEKING BEHAVIORS OF WOMEN WITH ADVANCED BREAST CANCER IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Background: The survival rate of breast cancer in Nigerian women is low (56%). It has been observed in the empirical literature that Nigerian women present with advanced stages of breast cancer. The presentation of breast cancer at the advanced stages, reduces the options available to the women for the management of the illness, which had contributed to the low survival rate. Little is known about the health-seeking behaviors of women after they observed breast changes, how they interpreted and managed their breast changes and the factors they believe influence their health-seeking activities. Purpose and Objectives: The aims of the study were to explore the health-seeking behaviors of women with advanced stages of breast cancer in Southwestern Nigeria and the factors that influenced them in engaging in specific health-seeking activities from their perspectives. The advanced stages of breast cancer were defined as Stage III or stage IV breast cancer. Methods: Ethical approval to conduct the study was obtained from the University of Saskatchewan’s Behavioral Research Ethics Board and the Joint Research Committee of University of Ibadan and University College Hospital Ibadan. Using purposeful sampling techniques, 30 women who were all diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer were recruited as the study participants. The Health Belief Model (HBM), provided the conceptual framework, and interpretive description (ID) a qualitative research approach, was used to explore the health-seeking behaviors and the factors that influenced the study participants to engage in these health-seeking behaviors. Using semi-structured open-ended questions and non-leading prompts, I engaged the study participants in free discussions in which they described their health-seeking behaviors, and factors they believed influenced and motivated them to engage or not to engage in specific health-seeking activities, for the treatment of breast ill-health. A demographic form, which was personally completed by each participant, was used to obtain the participants’ demographic information. The demographic information of the study participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics while the interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The main outcome of this dissertation research suggests that women in Southwestern Nigeria suffering from breast cancer have unique perceptions of breast cancer as a life-threatening illness that few people survive, may misinterpret breast changes perhaps due to poor knowledge of breast cancer symptoms, and seek divine intervention to manage the advanced stages of breast cancer. This study uncovered the women’s personal and cultural beliefs and attitudes about breast cancer. It also generated information that provided deeper understanding of their health-seeking behaviors, as well as pertinent factors that influence Southwestern Nigerian women suffering from breast cancer in their health seeking for the management of the illness. Conclusion: The outcomes of this study provided insight into how nurses can optimally and comprehensively manage breast cancer perceived to be a life-threatening illness that few people survive. This study also advanced the use of a qualitative approach to inquiry in seeking to explore and understand the health-seeking behaviors of women presenting with advanced breast cancer in Southwestern Nigeria, on which empirical literature had been scarce. It is hoped that this new understanding will contribute to the holistic nursing management of breast cancer that could result in improved treatment outcomes of the illness among women in Southwestern Nigeria

Examining the contestation between domestic violence legislation and the socio-cultural norms of the Oyo community in Nigeria.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.Domestic violence is a pervasive issue that occurs globally in various cultures and traditions regardless of victims’ social, economic, religious, ethnic or racial background. Women are being beaten, sexually coerced and abused. And the existence of strong patriarchal values, encourages males to become sexually, physically and psychologically abusive toward their female partners. In Nigeria, domestic violence affects women in all communities, of every ethnic, classes, religious and socioeconomic groups, living in both rural and urban areas. However, this study found that the prevalence of domestic violence is mostly pervasive in the Oyo community because it is a male-centered community, with diverse traditional and cultural beliefs and practices, as well as a rigid customary legal framework that supports male domination and discrimination against women in the form of male-child preference syndrome, levirate marriage, primogeniture, and widowhood rites, which have become the norm in their daily activities. Despite Nigeria is party to several international as well as domestic human treaties which aimed at addressing and protecting the rights of women and girls, to be free from domestic violence. In addition, the Oyo State House of Assembly enacted the provision of laws that prohibit and protect against gender-based violence and other related matters in public and private life in 2013 and 2016, of which protection of women from domestic violence and harmful traditional practices received a mention. The study revealed how Oyo community’s socio-cultural norms affect the implementation of legislation on domestic violence in the community, by examining how the numerous traditional and socio-cultural beliefs and practices of the Oyo community towards domestic violence is a hindrance to the implementation of the legislation on domestic violence in the community to curb domestic acts of violence. Nego-feminism and Legal feminism theories were employed as the theoretical lenses that guided the study. Nego-feminism was used to know how to utilize the culture of negotiation for the deconstruction of patriarchy in the Oyo community for the benefit of women. While the legal feminism theory was used to explain the issue of gender inequality, by critiquing and changing laws on behalf of, and from the perspective of women towards challenging gender subordination and condemning other patterns of injustice, specifically patriarchy, for the liberation of women. The study adopted qualitative content data analysis method. This was achieved through the review of YouTube videos of interview sessions with an Ifa priest and priestess on the mythology contained in Odu Ifa (literary corpus). The study also assessed legislature documents

Traditional compound and sustainable housing in Yorubaland, Nigeria: a case study of Iseyin

This research is concerned with Yoruba traditional habitation using the community of Iseyin as a case study. The traditional compound (agbo -ile) of the Yoruba of south-western Nigeria is the tangible product of the ingenuity of the people, which evolved from their indigenous technical knowledge. Its design, production, regulation, management and administration were, to a large extent, handled on a co- operative or communal basis. The virtues of the traditional compound have sustained the people throughout the land until recently when modern houses began to replace the traditional compound. The methods of building and the planning and use of houses have changed in response to the demands of Westernization, modern technology, migration, urbanization, architects' craze for complex designs and preference for non -local building materials, and the Christianization and Islamization of the society, and government's planning and physical development policies. Agbo ile no longer appeals to the affluent and those already exposed to Western ideas, resulting in the decay, collapse and complete ruin of the age - long courtyard mud houses

Factors affecting maternal health seeking behaviour in a Yoruba community of Nigeria: an analysis of socio-cultural beliefs and practices.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The significance of mothers to the overall sustenance of maternal health care cannot be overemphasized, despite this fact, however, there is an increasing gap between the developed and the developing countries in terms of morbidity and mortality and mothers‘ survival at prenatal, delivery and postnatal periods. In spite of the great efforts that have been put forth to achieve the 8th ―Millennium Development Goals‖, much work is yet to be done to assuring maternal health for women especially in Sub Saharan Africa The study involved a survey of 196 women aged 15-45+ years in Ido/Osi LGA in Ekiti of Nigeria which established maternal health seeking as inseparable from the socio-economic and cultural contexts in which they occur. Employing field methods from Medical Sociology and Demography, the study argues that maternal health seeking transcends the boundaries of either of these disciplines and that their comprehensive understanding entails the collaboration of both. Its specific objectives encompassed: (1) an investigation of the influence of cultural beliefs and practices on maternal health seeking (2) examination of the relationship between the social demographic characteristics of women and maternal health seeking and; (3) an assessment of the impact of the existing social structure on maternal health seeking. The model of behavioral change in public health, rational choice theory, location theory and feminist theory enable the study to highlight the links between socio-cultural variables and maternal health seeking by showing the strength of their separate and collective relationships. Data were collected by triangulation of in-depth interviews and the survey questionnaire. The qualitative data were analyzed through manual content analysis to identify the socio-cultural variables associated with factors affecting maternal health seeking; quantitative data were analyzed by using frequency distributions tables for univariate while cross tabulation was used with the aid of SPSS version 22 for bivariate analysis, Microsoft Excel 2013 for the charts and STATA version 12 for the T-Test. The result of the survey reveals that factors such as socio-economic, beliefs and cultural practices of the Yoruba people, to a large extent affect maternal health seeking. Some of the specific findings include: Patriarchy to great extent has a strong impact on maternal health seeking; majority of women in Yoruba community have strong beliefs in the efficacy of herbs in pregnancy management and child bearing; and that attitude of health workers also impair health seeking. The study therefore recommends that community mobilization should be geared towards ensuring that appropriate health-seeking behaviour becomes part of local social norms. Community education must address traditional beliefs about pregnancy related complications that are often blamed on women behaviour, fate, evil influences and other factors beyond the reach of the health care system. Due to the fact that Yoruba society is patriarchal in nature, men also should be educated on the intricacies that revolve around maternal health because, they dominate family decision-making. Also there is a need to strengthen policies and capacity building, training of health care providers, for improved quality of care and sustained research on reproductive health among the Yoruba people of Nigeria

“Culture” as an Agent of Societal Regeneration: A Study of Selected Dramatic Literature by Soyinka, Osofisan and Rotimi

Contemporary Yoruba society is laden with the burden of diverse societal misconducts and perversions which are seen to be entrenched in the fabric of the individuals’ daily lives and the society. These misconducts have alarming patterns and worrisome future implications. In this study, it is argued that while all-round forward progress is essential in a society, a simultaneous disconnect with some conventional and traditional element stimulates these aforementioned delinquencies. This therefore calls for societal regeneration of the contemporary Yoruba society in view of achieving a sustainable future. The study further argued that societal regeneration could only be achieved by looking backward into some indigenous cultural elements that made the traditional society a relatively non-perverted society. This argument is presented by examining contemporary dramatic works by Nigerian playwrights whose writings are done in the light of the past. Their works are imperatives because literature is viewed as one of the means of preserving and educating the society of their history, culture and beliefs, and also mirroring the present and projecting into the future. Specifically, the objectives of this study are: 1) To evaluate the levels of cultural and moral values in contemporary Yoruba Society; 2) To examine the key moral and cultural paradigms of the traditional Yoruba tribe of Nigeria; 3) To examine the position of the writers as vanguard of moral and cultural values in contemporary and future Nigerian Society; 4) To examine challenges that arise against their efforts to resuscitate traditional morals and culture among the Yoruba people of Nigeria. These objectives were achieved using textual and interpretative analytical procedures in the texts written by Soyinka, Osofisan and Rotimi. These texts which includeThe Swamp Dwellers, Death and the King’s Horseman, The Trials of Brother vi Jero, The Women of Owu, Kurunmi and The Gods are not to Blame, are all examined within the context of postcolonial theory. The historical endowment of examined playwrights motivated their desire to assert their cultural identity and to preserve their traditional values. The playwrights reflect common concern of the need to appreciate and where necessary to retain traditional cultural values as well as the need to rid society of those traditions that hinder human and society's growth. Each author approaches these concerns from a cultural perspective, they emphasise the rationality and need of establishing their national identity, thereby stressing the importance of traditional values in the process. In a society like the Yoruba where each segment has been affected by extended agents of colonisation, the hope of restoration also lies in the hand of the playwrights who have constantly emphasised through their writings the role of the essentials of Yoruba culture in societal development. The examination of the key moral and cultural paradigms of the traditional Yoruba people of Nigeria, which is objective two of this thesis, is presented within the context of each of the six selected texts. They are discussed in Chapters three to five of the study with respect to each of the authors of the play and the identified relevant sociocultural issues. From the examined literary texts, it is seen that the traditional Yoruba moral and cultural paradigms are distinctive and diverse. Some of these key paradigms represented in the texts include religious practices, language, clothing, respect for elders, chastity before marriage, marriage, justice, marital fidelity, hard work, and leadership accountability. All these key paradigms centre on interpersonal relationships and communal interaction together with the irreplaceable position of the vii gods which are observed to have been imperative in the workings of the traditional Yoruba society, making it a less perverse one. In Chapter six, inferences on the inferred pivotal position of playwright as vanguard of indigenous culture and the conflicts that arise against playwrights’ efforts to resuscitate a moral culture in the Yoruba society of Nigeria which are the objectives three and four of the study are explored. It is identified in the chapter that the battle for lost identity and cultural values is being fought on numerous fronts. Some of the key issues identified as confronting and silencing playwrights’ influences in the society include evolving diversities in ideologies, education, technology, the entertainment industry, and urbanisation. This study recommends the necessity of looking into the economic, social, and cultural development of the Yoruba people in the process of cultural recovery via dramatic literary writings and presentations. The playwrights should use their knowledge to spur the people into action, and foster through his writings the hope of a better future. The playwrights are not only responsible to their national culture, but to the nation as a whole, whose culture is, after all, but one aspect. This is also believed to be relevant in the fight against several social anomalies in the African community, thereby aiding the continent’s developmen