Modernity, Islam and an African Culture

The human quest for the meaning of life is an unending one marked by undulating landscapes. In order to  confront the flux of experience generated by this quest for meaning, the human embraces science, morality,  politics and religion. Religion is said to provide the basis for transcendental values which give humans succour  after the physical and material struggles have ended. At the same time, religion also uses the observable social world as the starting point for the embrace of transcendental values. In this essay, an attempt is made  to examine the interconnectedness of modernity (which has its basis in the social world), Islam (which  provides the human with transcendental values) and an African culture (which serves as a nexus of modernity and Islam). The essay is basically an exercise in analysis whereby the readers are made to draw some compelling inferences.Keywords: Modernity, Islam, African culture, Values, Human happines

The humanities and utilitarian conception of development in Africa: Issues and contentions

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Religious and Secular Origins of Morality within the Yoruba Framework: Implications for Man and Society

To what extent can we accept the proposition that morality in African culture is exclusively derived from religion or from the people’s conception of the deity? Our answer to the above question is important considering its effect on interpersonal relationship and the people’s attitude towards the community. We therefore in this paper consider again the lively debate on the religious and secular origins of morality in traditional African society. Our conclusion is that although religion plays a prominent role in the life of Africans, morality from which the people derive and exhibit their sense of right and wrong, good and evil is never exclusively based on religion. Rather there are many origins of morality such as religion, rationality, prudence, societal custom and habit, and need for peaceful co-existence in society

MORALITY AND SOCIAL ORDER IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICA

We cannot evade the fact that Africa is in dire need of sustainable development. Yet as the minutes of the twenty-first century tick away, we seem to be still far from the desirable development results. Many reasons account for this: bad leadership; ethnic conflict; political crisis; corruption; dearth of scientific and technological development; religious crisis and many more. All these reasons are interconnected. How? We cannot talk about sustainable development without a desirable social order. Then how do we achieve the desirable social order that will serve as the necessary condition for development in Africa? This work provides an answer by examining the role of morality in achieving the desired level of social order in Africa. It is our contention that if we internalize certain precepts of morality, some which are universal and some which are culturally based, then it would be easier to provide solutions to our problem in Africa. The state and those in leadership position have the task of providing an environment conducive to the application of moral values that will engender social order, and which can serve as the basis for sustainable development in Africa. And since morality strives at human wellbeing which presupposes the well-being of the moral agent and the others in society, then the proper appreciation of moral values and their application within the context of the larger society will be a valuable avenue for achieving social order

Traditional Preparations and Uses of Maize in Nigeria

Maize is a cereal plant that produces grains that can be cooked, roasted, fried, ground, pounded or crushed to prepare various food items like pap, ‘tuwo’, ‘gwate’, ‘donkunu’ and host of others. All these food types are readily available in various parts of Nigeria among different ethnic groups, notably among which are Yorubas, Hausas, Ibos, Ibiras, Ishas, Binis, Efiks, Yalas etc. Preparations and uses of the maize grains varied from group to group, though at time with some similarities. Apart from food, maize is also useful as medicines and as raw materials for industries. About 28 food items or dishes and 6 medicinal values of maize are discussed with aim of making available the divergent methods of preparations of maize from various ethnic groups

HCME: An Environment-Friendly I.C. Engine Fuel

The study revealed that Hura crepitans oil is a good candidate for Hura crepitans methyl ester (HCME) production. Two steps (esterification and transesterification) production stages influenced the high yield of HCME. Three possible experimental runs were performed in each step, the best of the three conditions were 1.45 (% v/v) for H2SO4 conc., 5:1 for methanol/oil molar ratio, 40 min for reaction time which gave 1.06 % for FFA in the first step, in the second step, 92.70 %(w/w) of HCME was obtained at 0.55% KOH, 5:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 60 oC temperature and 30 min reaction time. The produced HCME had fuel properties which satisfied both ASTME D6751 and EN 1424 standards. The fatty acid profile of the HCME revealed the dominant fatty acids were linoleic (64.50%), oleic (17.54%) and palmitic (12.70%). Exhaust emissions from an internal combustion (I.C.) engine revealed that there is 60% decreased in CO, 58% decreased in NOx, 60% decreased in HC, 39% decrease in smoke opacity and 42% decreased in BSFC at B20, respectively. Flue gas temperature increased by 12% at B20, 45% increased in BTE at B50 when compared to pure diesel (AGO). Hence, it can be concluded that B20 (20% HCME + 80% AGO) will provides the best emission reduction at the lowest cost

Epicuticular Wax and Volatiles of Kigelia pinnata Leaf Extract

The fractions of volatile compounds in plants are essential in defining the sensory impact of an aromatic smell, as well as being of some medicinal importance. Epicuticular wax in plants also determine its susceptibility to disease, and herbivore, desiccation and ultraviolet radiation damage. The epicuticular wax consisting of hydrocarbons and some volatile compounds of the leaves of Kigelia pinnata (Kigelia africana; family Bignoniaceae), a multimedicinal plant, was extracted, isolated and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively for the various chemical compositions using GC (equipped with a flame thermionic detector -GC/FTD) and GCMS (“GCMS-QP2010 Plus, which employs a dual inlet Turbo Molecular Pump (TMP) that provides increased sensitivity and column flow capacity for improved performance and confident results. The evaluation is useful for the future comprehensive analysis of the constituents responsible for the various documented medicinal uses of the leaf. The extracted constituent revealed twelve compounds with the major ones identified as n-hentriacontane (55.40%): a probable anti-tumour compound; 1-tricosene, (18.45%); 11- (2,2- dimethylpropyl) heneicosane, (9.66%); 2,6,10-trimethyldodecane, (4.43%); pentafluoroheptadecyl ester, (4.40%); 2-ethylhexyloctadecyl sulfurous acid ester, (3.05%); heneicosane, (1.61%); and hexyloctyl sulphurous acid ester, (1.42%). Other compounds are recorded in minute quantities. The major component, identified as hentriacontane, a C-31 saturated hydrocarbon apparently is responsible for the plant susceptibility to diseases, protection against UV radiation and for the antitumour and antioxidative potential of the plant. This will give credence to the traditional use of the plant as an anti-inflammatory and anticancer. The ability of the plant to act as anti-sun burn may be due to the presence of the wax

USING SYSTEM DYNAMICS MODELLING PRINCIPLES TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS OF REWORK IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS IN NIGERIA

Published ArticleRework in construction projects has brought in two major challenges: cost overruns and delay. In this regards a study was conducted by considering various construction projects in the South West part of Nigeria to understand the causes of rework and the interventions to mitigate it. Survey research methodologies followed by the conceptual system dynamics (SD) modelling were used in the analysis. This study identified the sources of rework in construction projects from the design related, the client related and the contractor related issues and attempted to derive policy/strategic interventions to limit or eliminate rework on construction projects and its delivery by using conceptual SD models based on the influence of the variables on rework. The findings include that inappropriate scheduling for time pressure or delay at the planning stage, lack of adherence to the specifications, and non-availability of skilled human resource are the major causes of rework. However, rework in construction projects would be reduced or eliminated through policy interventions, such as, achieving client satisfaction with scheduling for time pressure or delay at the planning stage, adherence to specifications ensuring quality of work resulting in client satisfaction, and the availability of skilled manpower ensuring quality management

Preliminary assessment of vertebral heart score of the Nigerian mongrel dog

Vertebral Heart Score is a reliable method of determining cardiac size changes because it is able to assess cardiac enlargement. The canine heart has considerable breed variation than any other organ. It is assessed by a measurement of the cardiac silhouette by involving its long axis taken from the left main stem bronchus ventral border to the cardiac apex and short axis taken from central third region of the heart perpendicular to the longitudinal axis with a measuring scale on a lateral radiograph against the length of the vertebral column beginning from the fourth thoracic vertebra. Six Nigerian Mongrel Dogs (NMD) comprising 2 males and 4 females of about a year old weighing 14 ± 2.3kg were used for this study. Right lateral radiographs were taken and the measurements of long and short axes were taken and compared with thoracic vertebrae to calculate the VHS. A mean VHS value of 9.6 ± 0.8 was determined. The mean VHS value of the male which represented 33.3% was 10.35 while that of female which represented 66.7% was 9.2. The VHS value for clinically healthy NMD was found to be 9.6 ± 0.8 which is slightly below the VHS average for dogs in the same medium weight class such as the Poodle, Cocker Spaniel and Bull dog and this may be due to differences in weight within the medium range weight among breeds or a sedentary existence of most of these dogs. This VHS value will be useful for determining cardiac enlargement specifically within this breed of dogs.Keywords: Vertebral Heart Score, Radiography, Right Lateral view, Mongrel dog

OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF GALLIUM PHOSPHIDE (GaP)

Optical properties of Gallium Phosphide (GaP) have been investigated by means of Kramers Kronig method. Optical properties such as refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric constant, transmittance, absorption coefficient, reflectance, reflection coefficient and optical conductivity are presented in the energy range 1.03 «¤?? 6.01eV. The calculated optical properties of GaP indicate promising device applications such as the design of optoelectronic devices, electronic and photonic devices