PROTECTING SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS IN NIGERIA’S RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: LEGISLATIVE ACTION AS A ‘SHIELD’ UNDER THE 1999 CONSTITUTION

Aside from public health devastations, one aspect of Nigeria’s national life that was severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, was the economic space. As part of the government’s mitigating measures, an economic stimulus package was put together to help those most hit by the crisis. However, a key item was left out i.e., legislation enacted by the Parliament, to ensure the protection of the socio-economic rights of the people. This article analyses how the Nigerian legislature could have triggered relevant provisions of the Constitution to adequately protect this class of rights, as a response to the devastating impact of the pandemic. This analysis is carried out against the backdrop of the existing non-justiciable status of socio-economic rights in the country. The article makes the point that there is a great deal of potential in the country’s constitutional framework regarding legislative powers, that could have been creatively deployed by the Parliament to enact legislation that would serve as a ’Shield’ for socio-economic rights in the pandemic, notwithstanding the clog of non-justiciability. The article concludes that the legislature as the people’s representative ought to have better executed its constitutional powers, by demonstrating uncommon courage at a time when it mattered mos

Reproductive mechanisms and pollen characterization in some accessions of an underutilized legume: (Sphenostylis stenocarpa Hochst Ex. A. Rich) harms

Studies on flowering, pollen, pod and seed characters, germination rate and seed set percentage were carried out on twenty five accessions of African Yam Bean (AYB). Self compatibility tests confirmed all the accessions as obligate selfers, while the reciprocal crosses were not successful. Germination rate, percentage seed set and pollen fertility were observed to be high in the accessions. Correlation analysis among the reproductive traits revealed that pod length, pod width, number of locules per pod and number of seeds per pod contributed significantly to the percentage seed set in all the accessions. Pollen fertility and seed viability were also observed to be high in all the accessions except in TSs23 where low pollen fertility, low seed viability and low percentage seed set were recorded. All the accessions produced tricolporate pollen grains. Pollen size ranged from 66.15 μm in TSs40 to 82.75 μm in TSs119, pollen fertility ranged from 53.39% in TSs23 to 95.30% in TSs119, seed set ranged from 83.32% in TSs90, 89.21% in TSs23 and 95.72% in TSs3. The germination rate ranged from 59.68% in TSs23 to 99.03% in TSs22. The percentage moisture content ranged between 4.38% in TSs22 and 11.43% in TSs119. Key words: Pollen characters, seed set, germination rate, self compatibility

Special Imunohistochemical and Histological Demonstration of Neurotoxicological Effects of Regal Dry Gin on Nuclei Aggregation in the Brain Concerned with Motor Functions

As in most complex systems little disruptions to the brain substance can lead to significant functional disruptions. Properties leading to the susceptibility of nervous tissue include a high surface area of neurons, a high lipid content which retains lipophilic toxins, high blood flow to the brain inducing increased effective toxin exposure, and the persistence of neurons through an individual's lifetime, leading to compounding of damages.[1] As a neurotoxin, alcohol has been shown to induce nervous system damage and affect the body in a variety of ways. Among the known effects of alcohol exposure are both transient and lasting consequences. Some of the lasting effects include long-term reduced neurogenesis in the hippocampus,[2][3] widespread brain atrophy,[4] and induced inflammation in the brain.[5] Since degree of neurodegeneration varies with dosage taken, by some specific immunohistochemical and histological stains we have been able to quantitatively demonstrate the degree of neurodegeneration (nerve cell bodies and fibers degeneration) and extent of and actual apoptosis in acute toxicity of regal dry gin at LD50/14 in brain nuclei aggregations concerned with movement in terms of initiation, processing and coordination

An Evaluation of Literacy Level on Human Capital Development in Ogbomoso Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

This study examined an evaluation of literacy level on human capital development in Ogbomoso area of Oyo state, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was used for data collection from 100 respondents chosen through stratified sampling techniques. In analyzing, regression analysis was used and the results revealed that evaluation of literacy level on human capital development can be influenced by gender, age, household size and marital status. Also, coefficients of the intercept and years of experience were -0.143 and -0.111 respectively. These revealed that variables with negative signs indicate that if efforts were not directed toward stimulation of labour productivity in the study area, labour productivity will definitely fall by 14.3% and 11.1% respectively. The coefficients of educational background, access to training workshop and seminars, workers' use of technology were 0.024, 0.866 and 0.816 respectively. This shows that an increase in the literacy level will increase human capital development. It is against this background that these recommendations were made that, educational policy that will pave ways for human capital development should be embarked upon and, Governments should invest in trainings to boost workers productivity. Moreso, informal and non -formal education should be embraced to increase the level of literacy. Keywords: Literacy, Human Capital Development, Ogbomoso Areas, Nigeria

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF VARIETIES OF COWPEA AND ITS EFFECT ON FERTILTY STATUS OF LATERITIC SOIL OF LANDMARK UNIVERSITY

Identification of cowpea varieties with superior grain yield and high soil fertility enhancing potential is crucial to increasing productivity of the crop among small-scale farmers in Omu-Aran, Kwara State. A field experiment was carried out during the 2014 growing season to evaluate two cowpea varieties for their grain yield and their effect on fertility status of Lateritic soils of Landmark University Teaching and Research Farm. The varieties evaluated were IAR 48 and IAR 2.5.6. Variety IAR 2.5.6 produced the highest grain yield compared to variety IAR 2.5.6. The study also revealed the potential of cowpea in improving the fertility status of Lateritic soils as there was significant difference observed in some of the chemical properties analyzed including available Phosphorus, Exchangeable Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Sodium

Economic Impact Assessment for Technology: The Case of Improved Soybean Varieties in Southwest Nigeria

The Study on economic impact assessment for the production of improved soybean varieties in Nigeria was carried out in Nigeria using the agronomic data on yield of the nationally coordinated soybean research from two major zones namely the southwest and the middle belt.The study assesses the economic returns due to improved soybean varieties. Primary data were collected with the use of structured and validated questionnaires. A sample of 288 respondents was drawn from four states namely Oyo, Ogun, Kwara and Niger State at 72 respondents per state.Secondary data were collected from Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, (IAR & T), National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Central Bank of Nigeria CBN and Federal Office of Statistics (FOS).An internal rate of return (IRR) of 38 percent was estimated from the stream of netted real social gains at 1985 constant.The return to investment in soybean production technology is attractive and justifies the investments made on the technologies. The policy implication is that there is underinvestment in soybean production research

Influence of Awareness and Education on Management of Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria: Perception of Information Professionals in Ogun State

The catastrophic consequences on the civilization of covid-19 pandemic are obvious on all human endeavours, including information services of academic libraries. Several measures were put in place and funded by the government at all levels to manage the pandemic in Nigeria among which is the closure of all educational institutions in the country. Information professionals in tertiary institutions have become worried about their users' safety and well-being; hence the need to provide awareness and educate them on covid-19 as means to manage the pandemic. The quantitative design using the survey method was employed to determine the perceptions of information professionals, librarians and library officers in academic libraries in Ogun State, South west Nigeria on awareness and education services to manage covid-19. The study revealed that information professionals were reasonably aware of the covid-19 pandemic; had an appreciable level of awareness of signs with system of spreading covid-19 and; they had a good understanding of measures on how to manage covid-19. The Health Belief Theory was used to ascertain that if the respondents are aware of the danger of any disease they will prevent or take precautionary measures. The respondents believed that awareness of and education on covid-19 would educate users and the public on the signs and ways of spreading the virus. Besides, mobile phone services for sending bulk messages were identified as major means of informing and educating users on covid-19. The study concluded that awareness and education services for user-populace of academic libraries can be used for effective information management concerning covid-19 virus in Nigeria

The impact of stringent insider trading laws and institutional quality on cost of capital

This paper examines the effects of interaction between stringent insider trading laws, institutional quality and equity portfolio allocation on the cost of capital. Using a dataset drawn from 44 countries over the period from 2001 to 2015, we find that stringent insider trading laws interact with institutional quality and foreign equity portfolio allocation to reduce the country-level cost of capital. Further analysis from a quasi-natural experiment based on the 2008–2009 global financial crisis suggests that the findings are robust to endogeneity. Our results imply that the enactment of stringent insider trading laws and their interplay with the quality of institutions are not only important to portfolio investment allocation decisions but reduce the country-level cost of capital

Political analysis of shareholder activism in emergent democracies : a case study of Nigeria

Shareholder activism has become a force for good in the extant corporate governance literature. In this paper, we present a case study of Nigeria, characterised by a very turbulent polity, to show how shareholder activism, as a corporate governance mechanism, can constitute a space for unhealthy politics and politicking. As a result, we point out some translational challenges, and suggest more caution, in the diffusion of corporate governance practices across different institutional environments. We primarily contribute to the literature on corporate governance in Africa, whilst creating an understanding of the political embeddedness of shareholder activism in different institutional contexts – i.e. a step closer to a political theorising of shareholder activism

Application of 1D and 2D Electrical Resistivity Methods to Investigate the Subsurface Properties of Egbeta, Edo State, Nigeria

1D and 2D electrical resistivity methods were combined to investigate the subsurface properties of Egbeta community for minerals and groundwater potential. The Vertical electrical sounding (VES) and Electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) data were acquired with the aid of PASSI-16L-N Earth resistivity meter, using Schlumberger and Wenner array configuration respectively. The VES geoelectric sections were drawn using AutoCAD 2007 version after the data were interpreted with WINRESIST computational software. The 2D data acquired were interpreted using EARTH IMAGER software which helps to automatically obtain the 2D inversion model of the subsurface. The results from the VES survey six layers: sandy topsoil, lateritic clayey sand, sand stone, gravel/coarse sand and sand. The result of the ERI from the 2D inversion model divides the 2D image of the inversion model into three horizontal cross-sections, the first zone having resistivity range of 34.3 Ωm to 850 Ω, with depth range between 0 m to 15 m and lateral extent > 250 m. The middle zone has resistivity range between 600 Ωm to 8689 Ωm, with depth range between 15 m to 86 m. The lateral extent of this region is over 280 m. The third region which is in the deepest part of the subsurface has resistivity range between 580 Ωm to 1200 Ωm and lateral extent > 200 m. Keywords: Electrical, Resistivity, Subsurface Properties, Zones, Aquifer, Mineral