Looking Inwards for Sustainability: Nigerian Cities and Building Demolition-waste or wealth?

Cities could generally be described as sustainable before the replacement of manual labour with machines known as the industrial revolution of the 18th century in Europe. Nevertheless, the Industrial Revolution has been associated with environmental degradation and other negative impacts. The trend continued for two centuries until it was realised that there is a limit to the capacity of the earth to withstand such impacts. The damage to the earth needs to be halted by choice or forced by natural consequences. The idea of pursuing economic development with minimum negative socio-economic and environmental impacts comes to be known as Sustainability. The built environment becomes at the centre of the sustainability agenda due to the enormous negative impact to the environment. Moreover, it was reported that 90% of all materials resources ever extracted might be used in the built environment. Unfortunately, many of these materials, including 10% unused are discarded as wastes. In the UK example, 90-120 million tonnes of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is generated annually. This makes C&D wastes even more critical to the sustainability agenda; and in search for solution, in the words of Janine Benyus, it may even involve the urban westerners learning from the wisdom of the preindustrial societies that have been living in harmony with the nature. In the preindustrial community of Kano in Nigeria, there is virtually zero C&D waste; rather it is merchandise. The different categories of the stakeholders were interviewed to establish how the system works, the conditions that led to its emergence, and limitations. It was discovered that the end-of-life management of buildings in Kano is a naturally evolved industrial ecology analogous to the natural ecological system, whereby the bye-product of one process becomes the raw material for another with no waste. Furthermore, a conceptual model of the system was developed using the biomorphic adaptation of the shell of an African snail. It was therefore argued that sustainability practices are inherent within the African traditions rather than to be learnt from outside

AN ANALYSIS OF FARM-RETAIL PRICE SPREAD FOR JAMAICAN FRESH FRUITS

This paper uses the relative price spread model to analyze the farm-retail spread for pineapple, pawpaw and watermelon in Jamaica. Our findings suggest that price increase in the retail market is not being passed down to pineapple and pawpaw farmers and only marginally to watermelon farmers.Demand and Price Analysis,

Comparative Economic Analysis of Rice Production by Adopters and Non-Adopters of Improved Varieties among Farmer in Paikoro Local Government Area of Niger State

This study was on the Comparative Economic Analysis of Adopters and Non-adopters of improved rice varieties among farmers in Paikoro Local Area of Niger State. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to 90 respondents, which consist of 45 adopters of improved rice variety and 45 non-adopters of improved rice variety using stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, gross margin and production function were used in analyzing the data. The results revealed that 68.9% of adopters were male, while for the non-adopters, 53.3% were male. Costs and returns analysis shows that adopters had the highest mean gross margin of ₦58, 663.4 per hectare compared to ₦29, 682.6 per hectare for non-adopters. Semi-log functional form was chosen as the lead equation for adopters and non-adopters with R2 of 0.92 and 0.65 respectively. Farm Size and fertilizer were significant at 1% and improved seed was significant at 5% level for the adopters, while only farm size and quantity of agro-chemicals were significant at 1% and 10% respectively for the non-adopters. Some of the problems encountered by both categories of farmers in the study area include; pests and diseases, high cost of seed, fertilizer and labour. It is recommended that policy should be designed to ensure adequate supply of inputs to farmers at subsidized rates and extension packages should also be extended to non-adopters

Police-Public Media Relations: Issues and Challenges

Police-Public relations is the subject of Police-Media Relations. The Police and the media are two institutions that are aimed at ensuring that the society lives well based on lawful and orderly conduct in the interest of justice, fairness and development of the society. The two institutions require information from the public to perform their duties prudently and diligently. However,  they differ in orientation, operational techniques, platforms and public perception. A typical scenario for instance, if there is an uprising, attack, disaster or any such unfortunate occurence, members of the public will be running to safer areas.  It is common see the Police and the media are pushing their way forward into that ‘danger zone’ to perform their individual responsibilities. Both the Police and the media depend on sources for information to facilitate their work, though they differ significantly in approaching the subject matter; thus the Police interrogate to get information, the journalist on the otherhand, interviews to secure information. It is undeniable fact that, the two institutions require each other in the performance of their responsibilities and therefore need to develop a harmonious and cordial relations. One fact is that the Police have bags of information that the media require, likewise, the Police require the visibility and bridge that the media provide to link them with the society in a positive manner in order to have a goodwill from the public. Daily, the media reports on issues partaining crime or about the Police, the crime news and other sensational events excite the public and it enables them to appreciate the effort of the government or that of the Police on crime prevention and control. These inevitably indicates that the media and the police must work together. However, over the years there exists a mixed relation between them, this paper identifies those challenges affecting the duo relations and recommends ways to overcome those challenges. Keywords: Police;  Media and public relations challenges

Social Studies in Other Nations: A Focus on Nigerian Social Studies/Global Education

This paper discusses the role of the role of social studies education in Nigeria. Amidst problems of mass education, funding, inequities, intolerance, corruption, weak governance, access to quality education, curriculum development, effective instructional methods, research, and teacher education, Nigeria embarks upon a democratic path to national unity and peace

The Effects of Good Governance and Education on Economic Stability and Growth in Nigeria

Ultimately, the Nigerian Constitution acts as a catalyst that engenders national consciousness, political reconstruction/participation and economic growth/stability, in addition to providing the structure and function of government. Therefore there is the need for Nigerians to demonstrate a commitment to the democratic principles and economic goals, and to develop the skills and values needed to sustain a constitutional democratic nation through a well-articulated social and democratic education.NESG Economic Indicators Vol. 13 (1) 2007: pp. 33-3

Effects of Dietary Replacement of Maize with Sweet Potato Peel in the Diet of African Catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietary replacement ofmaize with sweet potato peel in the diet of Clarias gariepinus juveniles.The levels of the SPP inclusion in the experimental diets were 0%, 25%,50%, 75% and 100%. All the diets were iso-nitrogenous. One hundred andfifty (150) C. gariepinus juveniles (33 g ~ 35 g) were randomly distributedto five treatments with three replicates each and 5% of their body weightfor 12 weeks. Fish carcass proximate compositions analyzed before andafter feeding with the experimental diets shows that CP and EE differedsignificantly (p0.05). Highest MWG of 207.70±25.95 g wasobtained in the fish fed SPP100% followed by 191.30±16.15 g obtained inthe fish fed SPP75%. The least MWG of 149.83±16.01 g was recorded infish fed SPP25%. The highest FCR of 3.61±0.45 g was recorded in the fishfed SPP100%. A steady decrease in FCR was observed with decreasinginclusion levels of SPP meal. However, higher FW, FL, SGR and PERwere observed in the experimental fish as from 50% inclusion levels of theSPP. The cost of feed per kg was reduced and the NP and WG increasedwith increasing levels of SPP and the profitability was enhanced at 100%SPP inclusion level. The results revealed that C. gariepinus juvenile couldtolerate up to 50%, 75% and 100% inclusion levels of SPP. The best growthperformance was recorded in the fish fed SPP100%, therefore, sweet potatopeel can replace maize in the diet of C. gariepinus without any inauspiciouseffect on the growth performance and nutrient utilization

The influence of culture, beliefs and experience on the sustainable end-of-life management of buildings in Nigeria

While it is usually believed that economic incentives are behind waste management practices in developing countries, this article discusses culture, belief and experience as the other major influences in the management practices of building demolition waste in Nigeria. Practitioners in the building demolition sub-sector were interviewed to identify the influences that contribute to the emergence of reuse as a preferable demolition waste management technique in society, in addition to the economic incentives. This study will give an insight into some practices in a pre-industrial society with potential for recognition and contribution of the development of formal waste management systems in developing countries