Institutional Quality and Economic Growth: Evidence from Nigeria

This study ascertained the directional effect of institutional quality through contract intensive money and effective governance index to economic growth in Nigeria using annual time series data covering the period 1979 to 2018. The study hinges on both the Solow-Swan neoclassical growth model and Washington Consensus to provide insight on the policy necessity for institutional quality. To achieve this, the study employs both the Johansen Cointegration and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) approach. The estimated cointegration test reveals joint relationship among the variables. OLS model shows that economic growth responds positively to institutional quality (contract intensive money) and is statistically significant while effective governance index exert positive and insignificant influence on the economy. The empirical results further reveal that economic growth respond positively and negative to the effect from the variables of domestic investment and foreign direct investment but significant. Furthermore, it takes 34% for the model to adjust to equilibrium in the long-term. The findings lend support to calls for quality institutions that can ensure that both private and public enterprise functions efficiently for sustainable growth and development in Nigeria

An archaeological investigation of the Kirfi area, northern Nigeria: craft, identity and landscape

This doctoral research presents the first sustained archaeological investigation of Kirfi, Bauchi state, northern Nigeria. As part of this work, test pits were excavated at three sites and research was carried out into modern craft practices. These yielded good chronological sequence and allowed the development of a pioneering pottery typology. One central question explored is to what degree the Hausa world just to the north-west of the study area impacted on Kirfi in the past 1000 years. It is argued that theories of technological styles and society can be usefully deployed to understand cultural developments and territorial expansion in African societies. Ideas about economic systems, settlement and social factors resulting in population movements and the definition of cultural identities are key to exploring the complex cultural make- up of the last millennium. I also show that oral tradition is valuable to studies of later African societies when carefully critiqued, in view of the dearth of early written and historical scripts. This thesis will also show how external influences were to alter a native system by the integration of Islam into the socio-political development of Kirfi, including it in a world system that shaped the evolution of the Bauchi region, which then became a principal actor in the spread of a political system in the early part of the 19th century after the jihad of Shehu Uthman Fodio. The influence of Islam (as opposed to formerly practiced ritual systems), long distance trading systems and the role of slaves as a commodity, ‘Hausaness’, craft and economic specialisations are all put forward as factors that played out in the settlements under study here. This finally transformed ancient socio-political systems leading to the ways of life of today. It is hoped that the present research, through its collaborative use of archaeological methods and ethnoarchaeological study, will help improve our understanding of an area that has up to now been a virtual terra incognita and make a wider contribution to African archaeology by interpreting the impact of ‘Hausaisation’ on the southern Bauchi area

Effect of oral administration of aqueous extract of cassia occidentalis l. seeds on serum electrolytes concentration in rats

The effect of aqueous extract of C. occidentalis seeds on serum electrolytes concentration, in rats, was investigated in order to assess the acclaimed hypotensive effect of the seeds and also the seeds extract’s relation with acid – base balance of the body. Serum concentrations of sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate ions were determined in 64 rats grouped into 4. Groups I, II and III rats were orally administrated with the seeds extract at a daily dose of 30 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg and 90 mg/kg respectively for 1,2,3 and 4 weeks each. Group IV served as control. Concentration of sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate in the serum of control rats were found to range from 130 – 155 mEq/L, 3.4 - 8.7 mEq/L, 80 – 107 mmol/L and 20 -35 mmol/L respectively. The results of this study showed no significant difference (

Revenue Sources and Economic Growth in Nigeria: An Appraisal

This paper appraises revenue sources in Nigeria; oil revenue, non-oil revenue and public debt decomposed into domestic and external debt with respect to its effect on economic growth in Nigeria. This analysis is contemporaneously imperative in the face of the global fall in oil prices and the impending danger of collapse of the Nigerian government’s ability to sustainably finance the economy due to over dependence on oil revenue. The Co-integration Test and granger causality test was conducted to appraise the long-run relationship between revenue sources and to examine direction of relationship between revenue sources and economic growth in Nigeria. Results shows that increase in OIL by one per cent increases GDP by 0.21%; same goes for NOIL increase by 0.25%; ED by 0.07% respectively except for DD by -0.26%. Then causation between revenue source and GDP portray that there is unidirectional relationship between GDP and OIL; bidirectional between NOIL and GDP; unidirectional relationship between GDP and DD and no causality between ED and GDP. To this effect, the paper recommends a review of revenue collection machinery, especially taxation, to ensure effectiveness and improved revenue remittances to government coffers. As a follow up, there is an urgent need to formulate economic policy to guarantee both domestic and external loans utilized in productive ventures for increased productivity. Keywords: Oil Revenue, Non-oil Revenue, Domestic Debt, External Debt and Economic Growt

Welfare Effect of Monetary Financing

This study ascertained the direction and asymmetric pass-through of central bank’s monetary financing to welfare in Nigeria using annual time series data covering the period 1970 to 2018. The study depended on both the Monetarist and Keynesian theoretical postulations to provide insights on the policy significance of monetary financing. To undertake the empirical analysis, the study applied both the linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and non-linear ARDL (NARDL) technique. Unlike the ARDL equation, the estimated NARDL equation established that welfare losses respond negatively to both positive and negative changes in monetary financing; but the impact of negative monetary financing shock (7.11) is greater than the positive shock (2.87). In addition, the study found that it takes about 9 to 11 quarters for the changes in positive and negative monetary financing to fully release its effects on welfare loss. Besides, the results revealed that welfare loss is also driven by oil price, which is suggestive from oil price pass-through to domestic prices (exchange rate and consumer prices). The study, therefore, supports monetary financing in proper amounts and conditions to boost aggregate nominal demand but not to spur a fully-fledged monetary policy capture in the process

An isolated tuberculousorchitis mimicking testicular tumour as a primary presentation of HIV: a case report

Background: An isolated tuberculousorchitis is a rare lesion and is distinctly unusual as the primary presentation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A high index of suspicion remains decisive to this diagnosis especially when the clinico-radiological findings of such lesion affirmed features of the testiculartumour.Case Report: A 32-year old man presented with a three-months history of left sided painless progressive testicular swelling. Further clinico-radiological findings revealed traits of a left testicular tumour. He was found to be HIV positive only at the index presentation whilst the histopathology of the left sided orchidectomy tissue confirmed tuberculous (TB) orchitis.Conclusion: High index of suspicion for TB orchitis with HIV in a patient with clinico-radiological findings of the testicular tumour from areas with high HIV and TB prevalence help in an expeditious diagnosis and therapy.Keywords: Tuberculosis, tuberculous orchitis, testicular tumou

Implications of External Debt on the Nigerian Economy: Analysis of the Dual Gap Theory

Government debt and its importance to revenue generation have generated a lot of debate over the years in Nigeria particularly with respect to economic growth. This paper examines the effect of government debt on economic growth in Nigeria between 1986 and 2013 – using the ordinary least square method. The study reveals that the impact of government debt on economic growth over the period under review is insignificant – with external debt which has been enormous over the years contributing minimally to real gross domestic product. The findings of the study reveal that, if the course of consistent borrowing is not curbed, the economy will slump further: resorting to surplus budgeting, and igniting; increases in unemployment, decreases in total investment, falling reserves, increased exchange rate, higher inflation and consequently increased poverty. It is therefore recommended among others that borrowing should be a last recourse by the government to revitalize the economy, and if necessary, the loans should be sourced within the economy so that when the principal and interest on the loans are paid back, it will serve as a crowd-in-effect which in turn further accelerates economic activities in the country. Also, other alternative sources of government revenue especially taxation hitherto neglected should be explored to minimize dependence on borrowed funds to revamp the economy. Finally, power should be made stable so that the cost on industries that depend on alternative power sources to thrive can be reduced. Thus, such monies can be utilized for remunerative alternative employments. Key Words: Economic Growth, Internal Debt, External Debt, Dual Gap Analysis, Nigeria economy

Attaining Sustained Economic Growth in Nigeria through the Neo-Classical Growth Model of Capital Accumulation

The spread of capital accumulation as a result of globalization has many scopes and a variety of economic, political, social, and environmental implications. This paper examines Nigeria’s economic growth through the neoclassical growth model of capital accumulation in order to ascertain its applicability as theorized from the model and its spillover effects through globalization. The Vector Auto Regressive (VAR) Model is employed using time series data covering the period of 1981 – 2014. The result reveals that the benefits of capital accumulation through various channels (domestic savings, foreign direct investment, total trade, market capitalization, and trade openness) are yet to be achieved given the small magnitude of some of the coefficients. However, with the statistical significance, there is room for improvement. It is also evident that FDI has been significant, but its inflow is lopsided to the dominant oil sector – thus contributing little to the growth of the real economy. Also, to achieve sustained growth through accumulation, the endemic problems of poor infrastructure, weak regulation and institution, political will and unstable macroeconomic variables need to be readdressed. The study therefore recommends: that domestication of globalization through capital accumulation in Nigeria will go a long way in integrating her into the global economy through: channeling of foreign direct investment into growth enhancing sectors; encouraging savings and widening the capital market as a key organ for sourcing financial resource for sustained economic growth. Keywords: Sustained Economic Growth, Neo Classical Model, Capital Accumulation, Globalization, Foreign Direct Investmen

Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f) Wall. ex Ness: A Potent Antibacterial Plant

Antibacterial agents of plant origin have vast therapeutic potential. They are valuable in the treatment of infectious diseases while simultaneously extenuating many of the side effects that are often associated with synthetic antibacterial agents. The beneficial medicinal effects of plant materials typically result from the combinations of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, steroids, tannins, phenol compounds, flavonoids and resins fatty acids gums which are capable of producing definite physiological action on body (Paul et al., 2006). Nowadays, multiple drug resistance has developed due to indiscriminate use of commercial antimicrobial drugs commonly used in the treatment of infectious disease. In addition to this problem, antibiotics are sometimes associated with adverse side effects on the host including hypersensitivity, immune-suppression and allergic reactions. This situation forced scientists to search for new antimicrobial substances. Giving the alarming incidence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria of medical importance, there is a constant need for new and effective therapeutic agents. Therefore, there is a need to develop alternative antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases from medicinal plants. Biodiversity is a precious source for modern biotechnology. It is a source which potentially holds innovative and sustainable solutions to a broad range of important problems for modern society. Improved cooperation between the natural product chemists and the microbiologists is a productive step to speed up the process of evaluating these potentialities. Moreover, microbiologists and natural product chemists in tropical countries, with the richest flora and fauna placed right at their door step have a very central position. They are essential for building up international scientific cooperation, with the objective of expanding our understanding of biological and biochemical diversity, and based on this bringing forward more biological solutions. The entire process is built on a principle of fairness and equity in sharing of the benefits and respecting the State's sovereign right to its own resources. After figuring out the chemical structures of secondary metabolites, it is considered crucial to know how useful these molecules might be in terms of medicinal properties. During the past 40 years, numerous novel compounds have been isolated from different plants and marine organisms and many of these have been reported to have core biological activities, some of which are of interest from the point of view of potential drug development (Lene, 1996; Gerald, 2001). Antimicrobial Agents 346 In this context, Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall. ex Nees., could be a potential source to develop new efficacious antibacterial drugs. A. paniculata (Acanthaceae) (King of Bitters) is an annual herbaceous plant and is widely cultivated and traditionally used in Southern Asia, China and some parts of Europe. A. paniculata has been effectively used in traditional Asian medicines for centuries. In traditional medicine, A. paniculata is widely used to get rid of a body heat, dispel toxins from the body, prevents common cold, upper respiratory tract infections including sinusitis and fever (Gabrielian et al., 2002) and as an antidote against snakes and insects poisons (Samy et al., 2008). A. paniculata has been reported to exhibit various mode of biological activities in vivo as well as in vitro viz., antiviral (Wiart et al., 2000), anti-inflammatory (Wen et al., 2010), antihuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Calabrese et al., 2000), immunomodulating/immunostimulatory (Iruretagoyena et al., 2005), anticancer activity (Li et al., 2007; Geethangili et al., 2008) and antibacterial activity

Imported Intermediate Inputs and Manufactured Exports in Nigeria: The Role of Dual Exchange Rate Regime

This study examines the direction and significance of imported intermediate inputs on manufactured exports in Nigeria under the role of dual exchange rate regime between the period of Q1 2000 to Q4 2018 using data sourced from the World Bank, African Development Bank and Central Bank of Nigeria databases. Vector Error Correction Model was employed to ascertain the relationship among the variables. The results show that all explanatory variables are cointegrated in the long run. The findings from the impulse response analysis points to the existence of a negative response from imported intermediate inputs to manufacturing export, though statistically insignificant. The results indicate a positive and significant response of exchange rate spread on export performance. The result of the Variance Decomposition shows that in addition to own shocks, between 5 to 12 per cent of the variations in manufacturing export are due to shocks in imported intermediate inputs and exchange rate spread respectively. Policy that will work towards achieving a unified the exchange rate system, boosting intermediate imports of intermediate inputs used by local manufacturers to help expand manufacturing exports are recommended based on the findings