EMPLOYEE’S RETENTION STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA’S PUBLIC SECTOR

Employee retention strategies are becoming the most critical workforce management challenges in the dynamic business environments. Public Organizations in Nigeria are operating in highly competitive environment owing to today’s rapidly moving dynamic, uncertain and highly competitive global markets. This study aims to examine the impact of employee retention strategies on performance of Nigeria’s public sector. Secondary data obtained from relevant books, journals, websites resource were gathered and analyzed to accomplish this objective. Findings of the study establish the significance that employee retention strategies have on public sector performance in Nigeria. Moreover, the findings revealed the implication of labour turnover in the public sector and the strategies for its avoidance. In view of this, the paper argues that governments in Nigeria need to put in place, adequate employee retention policies that encourage and make employees feel valued. In addition, the conditions of services and other retention strategies in the public sector should be reviewed in line with the current economic situation of the country. These steps are necessary to achieve the much needed quality performance in the Nigeria’s public sector

Effects of Sowing Date on Yield and Yield Parameters of Some Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Cultivar Under Rainfed Condition in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

The study examined the variation in number of flowers, number of nodules, number of pods and seed yield of some groundnut cultivar as affected by planting date in Ogbomoso, Oyo state, Nigeria under rainfed condition. This is necessary to determine when moisture availability will be at optimum starting from the onset of rainfall, to avert loss which could arise from improper timing of planting. Teaching and Research Farm of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Ogbomoso with average annual rainfall of 1000 mm and temperature ranging from 28 to 33 ºC was used for the experiment. A 4 by 4 factorial experiment with four varieties of groundnut (three improved varieties Samnut-10, Samnut-23, Samnut-22 and Kampala (local variety)) and four planting dates of a week interval (29th April, 6th May, 13th May and 20th May, 2016) were tried without chemical amendment. All the parameters evaluated were affected by the planting date.  Samnut-23 and Samnut-10 planted on 29th April produced the highest mean number of flowers (15.67) and number of nodules (116.00) respectively which were significantly higher than others. Cultivar type did not have significant influence (p≤0.05) on the growth parameters. However, number of pods and seed yield was influenced by the cultivar. The highest number of pods (103.00) from this study was produced by Samnut-23 planted on 29th April. It was observed that the high number of pods produced by Samnut-23 did not translate to seed yield because Kampala produced the highest seed yield (73.51 g/plot) which was significantly higher than yield from other cultivars tried. Groundnut cultivars responded differently to planting date tried, with best planting period being early month of May. It was observed that all the cultivars produced their least seed yield when planted towards the end of month of May, therefore, should be discouraged for the tried cultivars at the trial location. KEYWORDS: Sowing date, Rainfed, Pod, Seed yield and Groundnut Production DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-18-06 Publication date:September 30th 201

Evaluation of the potency of Newcastle disease vaccine from veterinary outlets in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Vaccination against Newcastle disease (ND) is the most reliable tool in its prevention and control, it is therefore important that vaccines used are of good quality. This study was conducted to assess the quality of live ND vaccines sold in Abeokuta over a six months’ period. Live Newcastle disease vaccines were purchased from ten different veterinary sales outlets and their antigenic titres were determined using Hemagglutination assay (HA). The results revealed a difference in antigenic titres amongst the various ND vaccines sold in Abeokuta with only 20.33 % having high titre, 55.9 % having an average titre, and 23.7 % having low titre. The vaccine titres varied between different brands with storage and handling as contributing factors to the variations. Antigenic titre contained in vaccines properly stored showed significantly (p<0.05) higher antigenic titre and vaccines that were close to their expiration dates had lower titres. Newcastle disease vaccines in Abeokuta are of average titres, it is therefore necessary that adequate evaluation of ND vaccines be recommended before use in flocks and owners of vaccine sales outlets be educated on the need for proper handling and storage of these biologicals

Migrations and development policies in Nigeria.

The authors of this book chapter conclude that increased urbanization in Nigeria is a product of natural growth and migration. Rural-to-rural migration dominated during the colonial period. Independence was marked by rural-urban urban-urban and return migration streams. The authors posit that the problems of inadequate supplies of housing and clean water in urban centers led to overcrowding and the resulting urban social and health hazards. Urban in-migration was the cause of urban growth. The rural population structure was related to the availability of labor and food production. Rural development depended upon the availability of a resourceful willing and capable young population and reduced out-migration. Urban migrants increased the demand for educational services and strained existing resources. Rapid social changes have led to homelessness and changes in marriage and the family. Nigeria has a variety of climates and geography and abundant natural resources including oil. About 50% of the population is comprised of ethnic groups i.e. Hausa in the north Ibo in the southeast and the Yuroba in the west. During colonial periods large scale migration movements were fueled by social conflicts. Colonial practices increased the demand for labor in colonial agriculture and mining industries forced taxation on the adult population and produced a wage earning labor force. Traditional forms of social organization based on kinship and political or tribal rights were substituted with the European mode of social organization. The colonial regime created new urban centers and a population shift to developing areas in the north

Plantain Value Chain Mapping in Southwestern Nigeria

Understanding relationships, opportunities and bottlenecks in a commodity value chain is crucial to the determination of the contribution of a commodity to economic development. The objective of the study was to Map Plantain Value Chain in order to identify the key players, their roles, value added along the chain as well as constraints. Personal Interview and Focus group discussions were used to collect primary data from the actors along the chain. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Value added analysis. The study identified conventional and peculiar actors such as Input suppliers, Producers, Farm-Gate Assemblers, Market-Arena Assemblers, Insitu Wholesalers, Transit Wholesalers, Processors, Retailers and Consumers. The study revealed tremendous dominance of the Midstream sector in the commodity value chain and that Value addition, volume of trade and geographical coverage indices were highest at the midstream sector. The result revealed also that Plantains were traded mostly in unprocessed form and there was low level of export of the commodity. Producers sold most of their product (55%) at the farm gate.  Horizontal flow of the commodity was prominent among the actors. Value added at processing level was estimated at ?111/kg of processed product. The cross cutting constraints among the actors were inadequate credit accessibility, high transportation cost, inadequate market access and inadequate storage facilities amongst others. The study recommends intervention in the area of linking actors in the value chain to prospective markets for them to benefit from the various activities.  Keywords:Plantain, Value Chain Map, Value Chain Actors, Value Added, Southwestern Nigeria

DETECTION AND SEROTYPING OF MAREKS DISEASE VIRUS IN DISEASED CHICKENS IN ABEOKUTA

Outbreaks of Marek’s disease (MD) in vaccinated flocks still occur sporadically and lead to economic losses. This study reports the detection of serotypes 1 and 3 Marek’s disease virus using molecular techniques in pullets showing clinical signs of the disease. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied to evaluate the antibody response of chicks and the diseased pullets from the same parent stock against Marek’s disease (MD) at 4 and 21weeks of age respectively. Despite vaccination at day old, antibody titre in the chicks was negative while it was highly variable in the diseased pullets. From the results, the susceptibility of previously vaccinated birds to the pathogenic strain of MDV indicates inappropriate vaccination at day old and a call for concern in the poultry industry. It is therefore recommended that serology be carried out on birds to determine their immune status before and after MD vaccination. &nbsp

Postradiotherapy Outcome on Cervical Cancer Stage IIIB Patients with and without Paraaortic Lymph Nodes Enlargement: Hasil Pascadiadioterapi pada Pasien Kanker Serviks Stadium IIIB dengan dan tanpa Pembesaran Nodus Paraaorta

Objective : To determine whether there are differences in clinical response after radiotherapy and 1 year survival in patients with advanced cervical cancer with and without enlargement of PALN.Method : An observational analytic study using a retrospective cohort method was done using consecutive sampling. The subjects of this study were all women with a primary diagnosis of stages IIB to IVB cervical cancer who came to the gynecological oncology clinic of Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital and underwent MRI examination before undergoing treatment in January 2016 to May 2017Results: Among 76 subjects studied, there were 4 (5.1%) subjects who had enlarged PALN. There were no significant differences between the enlargement status of PALN and age (p = 0.829), age of first sexual intercourse (p = 0.33), parity (p = 0.642), mass diameter (p = 0.777). Patients with PALN enlargement have 2.13 times risk of having negative radiotherapy outcome (p = 0.02, OR 2.13, CI95% 1.12 – 4.07). There was no difference in 1-year survival between patients with and without enlargement of PALN (median 201 vs. 293, p = 0.072).Conclusion: Patients with PALN enlargement have increased risk of having negative radiotherapy outcome (p < 0.05). There were no differences in 1 year survival between patients with advanced cervical cancer with enlargement PALN.Keywords : cervical cancer,  lymph node enlargement, paraaortic, radiotherapy.   Abstrak Tujuan: Mengetahui adakah perbedaan respon klinis pascaradioterapi dan kesintasan 1 tahun pada pasien kanker serviks stadium lanjut dengan pembesaran KGB paraaorta dibandingkan tanpa pembesaran KGB paraaorta.Metode: Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian analitik observasional dengan menggunakan metode kohort retrospektif. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan dengan cara pengambilan sampel berturut-turut. Subyek penelitian ini adalah semua perempuan dengan diagnosis primer kanker serviks stadium IIB hingga IVB yang datang ke poliklinik Onkologi Ginekologi RSUPN Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo dan menjalani pemeriksaan MRI sebelum dilakukan terapi pada bulan Januari 2016 hingga Mei 2017.Hasil: Dari 76 subjek yang diteliti, didapatkan sebanyak 4 (5,1%) subyek yang mengalami pembesaran KGB paraaorta. Tidak didapatkan perbedaan yang bermakna antara status pembesaran KGB paraaorta dan usia (p = 0,829), usia hubungan seksual pertama (p = 0,333), paritas (p = 0,642), dan diameter massa (p = 0,777). Pasien dengan pembesaran KGB paraaorta memiliki risiko 2,13 kali lipat (p = 0,02, OR 2,13, IK95% 1,12-4,07) memiliki risiko respon terapi negatif. Tidak terdapat perbedaan kesintasan 1 tahun antara pembesaran KGB paraaorta dan tidak (median 201 vs. 293, p = 0,072).Kesimpulan Pasien dengan pembesaran KGB paraaorta memiliki risiko lebih tinggi mengalami respon radioterapi negatif. (p < 0,05). Tidak terdapat kesintasan 1 tahun antara pasien kanker serviks stadium lanjut dengan dan tanpa pembesaran KGB.Kata kunci: kanker serviks,  paraaorta,  pembesaran KGB, radioterapi