“The Nigerian Novel and the Imperative of Good Governance: A Critical Study of Joseph Edoki’s The African Dream”

As can be seen from the above epigraphic statements, the image of governance in novels written by African writers about civilian  governments and military regimes in African nations has generally been bleak, negative, directionless and vacuous, especially so in novels about post-independence Africa, where power has become in the hands of the ruling class, whether civilian or military, a conduit-pipe for self-aggrandizement, embezzlement of public funds, corruption, graft and hero-worshipping. African writers across the continent, starting with Nigeria’s Chinua Achebe in A Man of the People and Anthills of the Savannah, Soyinka in The Interpreters, Fistus Iyayi in Violence, The Contract and Heroes and Abubakar Gimba in Sunset for a Mandarin,through Ghana’s Ayi Kwei Armah in The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, Fragments and Osiris Rising, to Kenya’s Ngugi wa Thiong’o in A Grain of Wheat, Petals of Blood, Devil on the Cross, Matigari and Wizard of the Crow have generally depicted governance in Africa as we have painted above. The attitude of indignation and protest expressed in the above-mentioned texts is not misplaced, but derives from the writers’frustration resulting from the truncation of the joy of the masses of the African people shortly after the attainment of political independence as a result of the derailment of their pre-independence expectations by the African ruling class. However, so many years after the attainment of independence in African nations and states, there is the need for African writers as custodians of the values of their societies, reformers and beacons of hope of the African people to foist a paradigmshift from the hitherto nihilistic and pessimistic outlooks of their creative works to one that is essentially supportive of the general drive to re-orientate and transform the society for good. This is one sure way of sustaining the growth of democracy and good governance in Africa. In Nigeria, this shift is clearly seen in one novel by a Nigerianwriter, namely: Joseph Edoki in The African Dream.¹ This study is based essentially on this text as it critically assesses governance as portrayed in the spotlighted novel against the backdrop of the realities that are observable in the larger society

Freedom from Imperialist Domination: Organized Revolt as an Imperative in the African Novel

African literature evolved largely as a reaction to the colonial presence in Africa and expectedly its growth and development bestride the tapestry of Africa’s subjugation by the colonial powers. The novel, which is the concern of this paper, has been employed by African writers to show the monstrosity of Africa’s colonial, neocolonial or postcolonial traumas, which mostly are depicted against a backdrop of violence unleashed on the people by power wielders, whether Western or African. In countering this, critical realist writers depict in their novels gory portraits of the misdemeanors of members of the ruling class and the effect of these on the Africans, but socialist realist writers advance revolutionary options for redressing the social problems created by the ineptitude of misgovernance by members of the African ruling class. Organized revolts, whether in the syndicalist form of strikes by workers or physical contestations by the African peasantry against the ruling class have become the norm and this is conceived as an outlet for the oppressed to recreate or humanize themselves and take their destinies in their own hands. This is in tandem with what the Marxists call ‘dictatorship of the proletariat class’ which is the final goal of the socialist revolution. This phenomenon will be further discussed in some of the novels of African writers of this strain of writing as the paper unfolds. Keywords: Freedom, Imperialist domination, Organized revolt, the African nove

Iran, America and Iranian American Community in Firoozeh Jazayeri Dumas\u27 Funny in Farsi

Post 9/11 the United States of America concerns the reconstruction of already demonized identities of Arabs and Middle-eastern cultures. Postcolonial works reside in their rendering a tragic or serious image of Middle Easterners to bring the Western (American) audience into sympathizing with the Middle Eastern ethnicities. Could it be the case that a fundamentally humorous (not derogatory) depiction might contribute to easing such cultural tensions? Firoozeh Jazayeri Dumas\u27 works stand out as critically acclaimed and successful works familiarizing the American audience with the more humane, likeable, sweet and funny aspects of the Iranians and Iranian culture, and the hardships of being an Iranian immigrant and becoming a hybrid individual. This article explores the already-hybridized self and psyche of Firoozeh as an Iranian American. She writes about her mother land and her residence country and comparing the way she has written about them can help readers understand how one can make peace between different parts of her identity

The Audacity of Hope in the Novels of Joseph Edoki

That African literature of the twentieth century was, by and large, the product of the large scale despoliation and subjugation of Africa by European imperialism is hardly contestable. Western colonialism saw to it that Africa was plundered and her culture and resources were sequestered by rapacious white colonizers during the period of the colonial encounter. African literature sprang up to interrogate this trend by first refuting the myth of cultural superiority on which colonialism itself was founded and, by extension, it became a willing instrument in the hands of African writers to fight for the decolonization of Africa. This necessarily made much of African literature of the twentieth century lachrymal and protest laden. Neocolonialism has also deepened this culture since independent African states and nations have been mired in corruption, crass materialism, bad leadership, bad governance and the concomitant disillusionment of the African people. Rather than maintain a regenerative stance and be involved in reinventing Africa along the lines of positive development, much of African literature of the past century was concerned with weeping and protesting over the scenario we have painted above. However, Joseph Edoki in his novels, The African Dream and The Upward Path supports the reinvention of Africa in the twenty-first century by using his novels to support democracy, good governance and the regeneration of Africa and the value system of Africans, as prerequisites for repositioning Africa to be able to face the challenges of the new century, thus infusing his fiction with hope. The very nature of this hope, which Edoki’s fiction radiates, is the focus of this paper

Physicochemical, heavy metal and mineral elements assessment of waters from four rivers along Benin-Agbor road in Edo state, Nigeria

The Benin-Agbor road is a major road linking Edo State and the Eastern states of Nigeria, characterized by daily vehicular movements. The inhabitants of the area depend on the river waters mainly for their domestic purposes. It was against the above background that this research was conducted in order to assess the suitability of the waters from four rivers for drinking purposes and the possible hazards the inhabitants may be exposed to. Twenty-two parameters were determined which have relationship with water quality assessment by using recommended methods. Results from the sampling sites indicate that some of the parameters were within the permissible limit recommended by World bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO), whereas other parameters were above the permissible limit like the iron with a range of 2.08 ± 0.02mg/L to 19.90 ± 0.20mg/L; manganese 2.20 ± 0.10mg/L to 5.80 ± 0.20mg/L and lead 0.02±0.00mg/L to 0.17±0.00mg/L. The physicochemical parameters like PH, colour, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total solids and chemical oxygen demand of the waters of the four rivers ranged between 6.50 ±0.10 and 6.30±0.10; 49.70±0.20 and18.00±0.00(Hazen); 80.00±0.10 and 19.30±0.00 (μ/cm);14.60 ± 0.20 and 4.25 ±0.20(NTU);10.50 ± 0.30 and4.30 ± 0.00(mg/L);26.00 ± 0.00 and 8.80 ± 0.20(mg/L) respectively. The continuous ingestion and accumulation of the excess heavy metals like lead whose concentration was higher than the permissible level in drinking water might result in serious health disorders.Keywords: Physicochemical, Anion, Cation, River waters, Edo Stat

Measuring Workload Among Health Education Faculty

Legislation nationwide has mandated millions in funding cuts to state funded universities over the past several years. Additionally, university administrators frequently find themselves in the position to quantify faculty workload and productivity. The purpose of the study was to assess methodologies used by a national sample of universities to determine and assign faculty workload within health education programs. Methods included a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted utilizing a mailed survey to 106 department chairs or program directors of Health Education programs at various universities across the country. Results showed that the majority (87%) of health education programs reported using credit hours as a measure of faculty workload (rather than contact hours). For undergraduate health education faculty 12 credit hours was the typical teaching load for 54% of respondents while 35% taught nine or less credit hours. For graduate health education faculty 48% had a full time teaching load of nine hours or less while 37% reported 12 credit hours as a full time load. At the undergraduate level, administrators allocate the majority of faculty time for teaching (61% of effort) while at the graduate level the effort allocation was slightly shifted toward research with teaching occupying 58% of faculty time. It is anticipated that the results of this study will assist faculty and administrators in making informed decisions regarding faculty workload assignments

Concentration and Toxicological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in Dumpsite Soils within Benin City, Nigeria

Indiscriminate disposal of refuse and industrial effluents is a challenge in Nigeria. This poses a plethora of health and ecological risks from heavy metal contamination of soils. This study investigated the levels of heavy metal contamination in dumpsite soils and its effects on human health within Benin metropolis, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to determine the human and ecological risks via different exposure pathways. Soil samples were collected from three sampling stations, digested and analyzed for lead, cadmium, zinc, chromium, iron, nickel, manganese and copper using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Pollution Indices and Human health risk were estimated using appropriate formulae. Results showed that that the mean concentrations of the investigated metals in the three stations were chromium (17.12±1.00, 17.65±1.05 and, 17.24±1.05 mg/kg), nickel (37.60±7.95, 40.98±1.46 and, 41.25±0.92 mg/kg), copper (48.57±4.91, 47.76±3.66 and, 48.05±3.46 mg/kg), lead (8.2±0.22, 8.17±0.52 and, 8.25±0.16 mg/kg), manganese (94.52±4.90, 94.98±6.69 and, 95.06±4.63), iron (467.98±36.69, 464.90±22.36 and, 462.15±10.64 mg/kg), cadmium (2.30±0.16, 2.22±0.11 and, 2.22±0.10 mg/kg) and zinc (142.93±3.93, 142.29±3.41 and, 142.87±3.86 mg/kg) respectively. Human health risk assessment revealed that the highest and lowest daily intake for the ingestion, inhalation and dermal pathway for both adults and children were Zinc and lead. Daily intake for children was higher than for adults via the three pathways with lifetime cancer risk (LCR) higher for children than adults. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk assessment shows that there were minimal risks from heavy metal contamination of the soils. Effective management and continuous monitoring of dumpsite soils is recommended to prevent negative impacts to man and the environment

Geographic tongue: pattern of presentation in a south western Nigerian teaching hospital

Background: Geographic tongue (GT) is one of the commonly seen lesions in Oral Medicine Clinic. It tends to show varying pattern of presentation. Excessive immune response and immune modulation has been implicated in the pathogenesis and this justified the use of steroid in the management.Objective: This study describes the epidemiology, clinical presentations and treatment outcomes of the 21 cases of GT seen at the Oral Medicine Clinic of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals’ Complex, Ile Ife (OAUTHC) over a period of 10 years and compared the findings with the results from other parts of the world.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort review of cases of geographic tongue seen in the Oral Medicine of OAUTHC over the period of 10 years of Oral Medicine practice in the center from May 2007 to May 2017. The diagnosis of GT was made based on its typical clinical presentation. Information retrieved from the case notes included age, sex, presenting complaints, clinical findings, treatment and treatment outcomes.Results: Only 21 cases of GT were diagnosed during the study period, giving a prevalence of 2.1% consisting of 11males and 10 females with mean age of 29.5 +13.9 years. About half (10 cases) were diagnosed following routine oral examinations while burning tongue sensation, itchy sensation and taste impairment accounted for the presenting complaints among the symptomatic cases. Lesions were mostly seen in the anterior two-third of the tongue (9 cases). All patients responded well to topical steroids.Conclusion: This study had shown that GT was more prevalent in younger age group with slight male predilection. More than half of patients presented with symptoms. Successes were recorded with topical steroids

Physiochemical Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Leachate from Open Dumpsites in Benin City Metropolis

Physiochemical assessment of leachate in three open dumpsites in Oluku, Uselu and New Benin in Benin City was carried out in this study using  standard methods. The pH of leachate sample from Oluku dumpsite was ultra-acidic (3.4) with electrical conductivity of 1650 μS/cm. However pH of leachate samples (7.4 and 8.6) collected from Uselu Market dumpsite and New Benin dumpsite were in the alkaline range with electrical conductivity of 8600 and 9800 μS/cm. The aforementioned approach was employed at distances of 2m and 5m from the mid-sections of these dumpsites and pH of leachate at a distance of 5m from the three were observed to be in the neutral range. The physiochemical analysis indicated the hazards of open waste dumping, as  leachate in these dumping sites contains ammonia, calcium carbonate, nitrate, sulphate and other heavy metals which can percolate and contaminate surface water and ground water thereby, causing negative effects on public health safety and the environment.Keywords: Leachate, Open dumpsites, Organic wastes, Contaminants