Motherism, African Women and Ecological Advocacy in Aminata Sow Fall’s L’Ex-père de la nation and Douceurs du bercail

The literary discourse of francophone Africa, has been indicted for ecocritical passivity. Yet many literary texts emanating from francophone Africa are replete with portraits of the environment. Even though Aminata Sow Fall, the Senegalese socio-realist falls within the category of authors who seek equilibrium in their treatment of African postcolonial issues, most of her works are laden with ecocritical concerns. Hidden within the literary portraits of postcolonial and environmental chaos of Africa lies Sow Fall’s projection of African problems and their alternative solution via her characters’ sensitization of ecological consciousness in readers. Through the theoretical framework of Catherine O. Acholonu’s environment-inclined Motherism: The Afrocentric Alternative to Feminism (1995), the present study embarks on an ecocritical focus on women characters’ roles in Sow Fall’s L’ex-père de la nation (1987) and Douceurs du bercail (1998). Against the backdrop of the main characters’ roles that threaten the environmental well-being of Africa, we contend that women characters present a symbiotic relationship with nature; they highlight the advantages Mother Earth bestows on human beings, displaying how women’s leadership roles enhance African environments. It is in this respect that the article argues that women characters’ roles suggest an advocacy for ecological Motherist ideals as a means to counter postcolonial societal ills. In conclusion, the novels showcase African women as environmental Motherists whose roles preserve an Edenic African environment that connotes benefits and hopes for human in the midst of literal and metaphorical postcolonial degradation of the environment

The Osun drainage basin in the Western Lithoral Hydrological Zone of Nigeria: a morphometric study

The importance of drainage basin as a planning unit for water resources development and management cannot be overemphasized and this requires accurate characterization of the drainage basin. This study takes a closer look at the Osun drainage basin with a view to updating the existing records, estimate the morphometric features and make hydrological inferences. The data used in this study include a 30m resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) acquired from the United State Geological Survey (USGS), geology map of Nigeria acquired from Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD) prepared by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the 1991 locality population data of Nigeria acquired from National Population Commission (NPC). Remote sensing and GIS techniques were adopted in the analysis of the data using ArcGIS 10.2. The acquired DEM was used to delineate Osun drainage basin and 21 morphometric parameters were estimated. The results revealed that Osun drainage basin is a 4th order drainage basin, with an area of 9926.22km 2 , and a length of 213.08km. The area covered by the two geology types and the four soil types were quantified and it revealed that 93.28% of the basin is underlain by the Basement Complex rocks, while 50.89% of the basin is covered by sandy clay loam soil. All these will influence the basin discharge rate, chances of flood occurrence, peak flow, infiltration rate and recharging of the Osun basin groundwater system among others. Based on these results, this study serves as a scientific database for further detailed hydrological investigation of Osun drainage basin while benefiting the sustainable drainage basin management and development programmes of the Ogun-Osun Rivers Basins Development Authority

Strategies for effective regulation and control of pesticides towards improved environmental safety and sustainability in Nigeria

Ever since plant was first cultivated for food, there has been the need to protect it against diseases and pests and the intervention of chemicals after the world War II to combat pests and disease-causing organisms have greatly increased the global use of pesticides. Pesticides are beneficial to man and his environment but can also pose adverse effects if not effectively regulated and controlled, hence, regulations are developed to ensure safety of pesticides throughout its life cycle. It is however evident that, irrational and indiscriminate distribution and use of Plant Protection Products in Nigeria has resulted into high residue levels in food leading to contamination and pollution of the environmental matrices. The EU ban in 2015 on the importation of beans from Nigeria due to the detection of high levels of pesticide residues and use of unauthorized pesticides are also reflections of the indiscriminate use and ineffective control and regulations of Plant Protection Products in Nigeria. From the Pesticide residue analysis conducted in this study, the concentration of the organochlorines ranged from ND-0.88mg/kg, organophosphates ND-5.25mg/kg and pyrethroids ND-4.55mg/kg. Over 50% of the total samples analyzed showed residue levels above the EU Maximum Residue Limit (MRL). The National Pesticide Trade data revealed larger quantities of herbicide imports compared to other classes of imported pesticides. The current Nigeria pesticide regulations was found not to include some safety indicators as compared to those of EU and USA regulations on placing Plant Protection Products on the market. Recommendations for safety control and regulation systems for placing plant production products on the market in Nigeria have been articulated.Desde os primórdios da agricultura que a humanidade sente a necessidade de proteger as plantas de doenças e pragas. O desenvolvimento de produtos químicos que se seguiu à 2ª Guerra Mundial permitiu combater eficazmente pragas e organismos patogénicos, aumentando muito o uso global de pesticidas. Os pesticidas podem ser benéficos para o Homem e o meio ambiente, mas podem também causar efeitos adversos se não forem efetivamente regulados e controlados. É por isso essencial desenvolver e implementar regulamentação que garanta a segurança durante todo o ciclo de vida dos pesticidas. No caso da Nigéria, é flagrante que a distribuição indiscriminada e o uso irracional de fitofármacos resultou em elevados níveis de contaminação e poluição das matrizes ambientais e mesmo em resíduos de pesticidas nos alimentos. Em 2015 a União Europeia proibiu a importação de feijão da Nigéria devido à deteção de elevados níveis de resíduos de pesticidas, e à utilização de pesticidas não autorizados. Neste trabalho realizou-se a análise de resíduos de pesticidas em amostras de feijão recolhidas localmente em mercados na Nigéria, tendo-se obtido concentrações de organoclorados até 0,88 mg/kg, organofosforados até 5,25 mg/kg e piretróides até 4,55 mg/kg. Mais de 50% do total de amostras analisadas apresentaram níveis de resíduos acima do limite máximo residual (Maximum Residual Limit) definido pela UE. Os dados obtidos através dos registos de comércio internacional de pesticidas revelaram quantidades de herbicidas importados muito superiores à importação de pesticidas. Verificou-se que a atual regulamentação de pesticidas na Nigéria não inclui alguns indicadores de segurança, quando comparados com a regulamentação da UE e dos EUA sobre a colocação de produtos fitofarmacêuticos no mercado. Conclui-se com a articulação de um conjunto de recomendações para sistemas de controle de segurança e regulamentação para colocação de produtos fitofarmacêuticos na Nigéria

Water and Poverty Situation in Oyun Local Government Area, North-Central Nigeria

This study looks into the water and poverty situation in Oyun Local Government Area, North-central Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire is used to collect data at household level. Thirty households were sampled at random in each of the 11 wards in the LGA, giving a total of 330 households. The data were analyzed using percentages, Kendall‘s correlation coefficient and WPI (Composite Index Method). The results revealed that Ojoku scored highest (62.4) while Igbonna scored lowest (52.0), which shows that it is the most water poor in the area. The result of the overall WPI (58.34) shows that the water and poverty situation in the whole of the LGA is slightly above average. The study concludes that the overall water and poverty situation in Oyun LGA is fair. It is therefore recommended that appropriate measure should be taken to improve the overall water accessibility and usage in the LGA by creating more watersupply points in the community and renovating/upgrading the existing water works in the area for improved pipe borne water supply. Also, water use should be extended beyond domestic usage into other sectors that can increase productivity and hence, the overall poverty level in the area.Key words: Water, Scarcity, Poverty, Access, Capacity, Resources,Uses, Environmen

Demand for non-alcoholic beverages among urban households in southwest, Nigeria

This study examined the roles of income, prices and household demography in household demand for non-alcoholic beverages (NABs) in two cities – Abeokuta and Ibadan in Southwest Nigeria. The study was based on primary data obtained from a cross-section of 407 households (211 from Abeokuta and 198 from Ibadan) drawn by multistage sampling technique across six Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 60 National Population Commission (NPC) enumeration areas (EAs). A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on households NABs expenditure, income, prices and other relevant socio-economic variables. The data were analysed within the framework of a linear approximation of an Almost Ideal Demand System. The study found that an average household, consisting of five (5) members, expended an average N5, 235.89 per month on NABs (approximately US$34.21 at N153.06/US$1 exchange rate in 2010). The bulk (67%) of the NABs expenditures were devoted topurchase of dairy products (36%) and cocoa-based products used in preparing chocolate drinks (31%). The estimated income elasticity of demand for the six categories of NABs studied were positive while all the own price elasticity of demand were negative. Demand for dairy products and cocoa based drinks were found to be price elastic, while those of carbonated drinks, malt drinks, fruit juice and other NABs were price inelastic. Increase in education of the household heads was found to be associated with significant increase in the budget shares of dairy products (p<0.01) and fruit juice (p<0.10), but a significant reduction in budget shares of cocoa-based products (p<0.05), carbonated drinks (p<0.01) and malt drinks (p<0.05). The study concludes that policies aimed at promoting increased demand and healthy choices of NABS must pay some attention to raising real income and increasing level of education among the citizenry. Profitability of business enterprises involved in dairies and cocoa-based products would also be better enhanced if the firms adopt cost saving strategies as against price hikes in a bid to enhance performance.Key words: Demand, Non-Alcoholic Beverages, LA-AIDS mode

Characterizing Groundwater Level and Flow Pattern in a Shallow Overburden Aquifer: a Study of Ilara-mokin and its Environs, Southwestern Nigeria

This study characterize groundwater yield and flow pattern on a shallow overburden aquifers of a basement complex rock in Ilara-mokin and its’ environs, southwestern Nigeria. A total of 40 wells were sampled by using a handheld GPS and well estimator to collect data on the wells parameters and the physiographic characteristics of the well’s locations. The data collected include: elevation, longitude, latitude, well depth, depth to water and well diameter of the sampled wells. The mean yield of the well has revealed by this study is 1.21m3, with high variability in yield depending on the nature of the underlying overburden aquifers of the sampled well. The static water level, groundwater flow direction, surface profile and 3-D elevation model of the study area were produced from the data collected using ArcGis 9.3 and surfer 8 GIS software. The groundwater flow direction in the study is towards the southwestern part of the study area with few exceptions as the case of Ikota in the eastern part of the study area. The study concluded that Ilara-mokin and it’s’ environs have poor groundwater yield that can sustain the increasing population. It is therefore recommended that there should be proper development, management and advance exploration of the groundwater in areas where water level is close to the surface especially within the lowland areas and isolated marginally thick overburden as confirmed by a previous hydro-geophysical studies carried out in the area.Keywords: Groundwater Flow, Yield, Overburden, Shallow Aquifer, Characterization, Static Water Level

Assessment of static water level and overburden pattern for sustainable groundwater development and management in Ilorin City, Nigeria

Basement aquifers are usually developed within the weathered, over-burdened and fractured bedrock of crystalline rocks which can provide a sizeable amount of groundwater if the overburden is relatively thick enough to store percolating water. This study assessed the static water level and overburden pattern for sustainable groundwater development and management in Ilorin city, Nigeria. The data on depth of boreholes, depth to water, water level of 100 boreholes and the Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) data conducted before the borehole were drilled, were collected from Kwara State Ministry of Water Resources and Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority, Ilorin. All the Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) data collected were conducted with ABEM SAS-1000 Terrameter using the Schlumberger electrode configuration, and the electrode spacing (AB/2) varied from 10m to 200m. From the manual interpretation of each VES curve, we estimated the overburden thicknesses. Field work was embarked on to get the coordinates (locations) of the sampled points using handheld GPS. Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient was applied to determine the level of association between borehole parameters and thickness of overburden. The static water level and contour map were computed with the data on depth to water and the coordinates to show the pattern of water level in Ilorin, using ArcGIS 10.2 and Surfer 12 GIS software. The depth of overburden and the point location collected were also used to plot the overburden map using IDW interpolation. This study classified Ilorin into poor (overburden <10m), marginal (10m-19m overburden) and good or high zone (overburden ≥ 20m) of groundwater potentials. The spatial pattern of overburden depth revealed that the majority of Ilorin city was underlain by marginally thick overburden. The study concluded that sustainable groundwater development and management in Ilorin city could only be attained by controlling the indiscriminate drilling of boreholes (wells), continuous mapping and regular updating of the available records on groundwater resources

Efficacy of Modified Psychotherapy to Mitigate Depression Among African American Adults and Older Adults: A Systematic Review

It has been established that due to several factors, African American adults and older adults in the United States respond poorly to pharmacologic intervention in treating depression. The study will help to provide evidence and raise awareness on how to better serve the African American population with depression. This systematic review of the literature examines the effectiveness of using modified evidence-based psychotherapy and faith-based resources in improving depression among older African American adults over the use of conventional pharmacological intervention. 21 studies that recommended utilizing psychotherapy intervention to improve depression in this population were reviewed to better understand the need for using modified psychotherapy and faith-based for African American adults and older adults. All the reviewed articles concluded that modified psychotherapy is a better intervention for African American adults and older adults than pharmacological intervention. Given the composition of African Americans used for the studies reviewed, more clinical research is needed to accommodate the diverse cultures among African Americans. This study presents evidence on the effectiveness of using psychotherapy and faith-based resources in improving depression among African American adults and older adults in lieu of using pharmacological intervention for which this population demonstrated extremely poor response

Hydrogeological Characteristics of Groundwater Yield in Shallow Wells of the Regolith Aquifer: a Study from Ilorin, Nigeria

Present paper tries to understand the influence of hydrogeological characteristics on groundwater yield of shallow wells in regolith aquifer, Ilorin, Nigeria. The data on hydrogeological characteristics such as drawdown, water level, depth of borehole, depth of overburden and well yield for 78 borewells were collected from Kwara State Ministry of Water Resources and Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority in Ilorin. While the aquifer transmissivity and well specific capacity was calculated from this data. The data obtained were subjected to Pearson moment correlation, multiple and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The results of the stepwise multiple regression (R2 of .929) indicates that aquifer transmissivity and drawdown contributed 92.9% to the variability in well yield in the study area. It is concluded that while constructing wells, aquifer transmissivity and the rate of drawdown be taking into account for the purpose of having productive well in the study area.Keywords: Aquifer Transmissivity, Well Specific Capacity, Regolith Aquifer, Drawdown, Well Yield, Groundwater, Ilorin, Nigeria