Perception of Propertied Women on Marriage Forms, Widowhood and Living Patterns in South West, Nigeria

The study was conducted to assess the importance of property on the status of women and their perception on three major issues namely marriage forms, widowhood, and living patterns. This was done against the backdrop that property influences status and change in status also impact on role within the production process. The paper drew input from both quantitative and qualitative field work where 195 women were interviewed. The paper argues that there is a wide condemnation of polygyny and polyandry as forms of marriage; widow inheritance is fast fading away as a result of status transformation experienced by the propertied women and living patterns remain the same as families still live together as one despite the new statuses worn by the women. The paper concludes that property as a means of income generation is indeed an impetus to changing the status of women, their perception, role and management of their life

Politics of predation: food distribution and women

Emergent on the African conception of food as a significant human physiological need which in most cases defines poverty; this paper discussed the possibility of unique political participation based on the effectiveness of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Within the context of these conceptual issues, women in traditional and contemporary Africa, having their core social roles as home-makers and food providers are likely major targets of food distribution. Food distribution in this context emphasizes aid programmes and vote buying (money for vote and food for votes). The paper examined the outcome of the need for and supply of food, by engaging the dualism that characterizes food distribution which has capacity to inhibit sustainable development and to perpetuate poverty. The perpetuation of poverty is conceptualized as a tool of; and for the political class in third world countries where, poverty is higher among women compared to other parts of the world. Poverty provides the fertile ground for making political gains out of the people, especially women who are largely politically marginalized and economically dependent.Keywords: food programmes, household, needs, political participation, voting pattern

Nigeria's Cobweb of Corruption and the path to Underdevelopment

Corruption in Nigeria has grown slowly from the time of pre-independence and it has surely taken over Nigerians’ public and private spaces in the last five decades with compelling evidences to show first among the legislative, the executives and recently the judicial arms of government as well as the unexpected quarters in the private sectors such as the Stock Exchange. This paper highlights several factors and institutions in Nigerian society that have sustained and entrenched corrupt practices by government officials and high profile private sectors participants. The institutions identified here are regarded as eaters of corruption proceeds around which a cobweb of corruption has been weaved by the corrupt public/private individuals to create a network under the control of the grandfather- spider of corruption (The federal government); the father- spiders (the state government) and the children- spider ( the local governments spread across the Nigerian society). The paper concludes that corruption is a national thing in Nigeria and that the over centralization and the control of means of survival by the grandfather spider has weakened almost all major institutions in the Nigerian society; created a Master- Servant, Lordship and Serfs relationship, which if not re-structured will continue to sustain corruption and perpetuate further development of underdevelopment of the Nigeria Scale and Society. Therefore, Nigerians should shun corruption and see it as a major problem to development in Nigeria.Key Words: Corruption, underdevelopment, cobweb, leaders, masses, Nigeri

Meningococcus serogroup C clonal complex ST-10217 outbreak in Zamfara State, Northern Nigeria.

After the successful roll out of MenAfriVac, Nigeria has experienced sequential meningitis outbreaks attributed to meningococcus serogroup C (NmC). Zamfara State in North-western Nigeria recently was at the epicentre of the largest NmC outbreak in the 21st Century with 7,140 suspected meningitis cases and 553 deaths reported between December 2016 and May 2017. The overall attack rate was 155 per 100,000 population and children 5-14 years accounted for 47% (3,369/7,140) of suspected cases. The case fatality rate (CFR) among children 5-9 years was 10%, double that reported among adults ≥ 30 years (5%). NmC and pneumococcus accounted for 94% (172/184) and 5% (9/184) of the laboratory-confirmed cases, respectively. The sequenced NmC belonged to the ST-10217 clonal complex (CC). All serotyped pneumococci were PCV10 serotypes. The emergence of NmC ST-10217 CC outbreaks threatens the public health gains made by MenAfriVac, which calls for an urgent strategic action against meningitis outbreaks