CONFLICT AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: A STUDY OF ROGER MAKANJUOLA’S ‘WATER MUST FLOW UPHILL: ADVENTURES IN UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION’

Conflict is a fact of life. The tongue-and-mouth dialectical discourse in Yoruba proverb typifies the inevitability of dissonance and dissension in a complex social system. Socialization, therefore, whether primary, anticipatory, professional or re-socialization, is fraught with conflicts. Ideological contestation over socioeconomic policies forms the basis of conflicts in the university in Nigeria. Conflicts in Nigeria has its antecedents in the colonial era (Bakare, K.A., 2021). A scenario of contest is ever constant, when the leadership is perceived as a comprador capitalist by the followership. At the basis of every trade union in Nigeria is the determination to rebuff exploitative capitalism. The university with its demographics, proxemics and vast municipal requirements is prone to conflict in an expansive proportion. Having noted that conflict is a constant variable, it is important to zero down on its management, its mismanagement and its resolution, situating it within a concrete context. In our attempt to show the nuances of conflict in the university estate, we have opted to study realistic episodes of conflicts as captured by a former Chief Medical Director cum Vice-Chancellor of a foremost university in Nigeria. The book, ‘Water must flow uphill’ is an experiential rendition of the abecedarian precepts of leadership and management in two complex organizations. It is a fluid and transparent expose on ‘how to’ and ‘how not to’ manage conflicts in large organizations. Its turbulence, wisdom, severity and chicaneries exemplify the coarse nature of leadership in Nigerian universities and allied estates, as experienced by a viciously honest personality. Militancy, mismanagement, honesty of purpose, leadership botherations; all form the themes of a book which stands out in its attempt to capture unbiased facts. It is a definitive statement on the need for moral and ethical re-alignment in the Nigerian workspace, and the larger society.  Article visualizations

VISION, MISSION AND THE 21ST CENTURY NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

Marketing big organizations requires deep thinking and extraction of the essence in a nutshell fashion. It is an exercise in epiphany, that projects thinking and motivation as guides towards value-adding; what underlines the renowned ‘Yo shinai, Yo kangai’ Japanese philosophy, popularized by the Toyota Motor Company. The ‘good thinking, good product’ statement is a philosophy that is self-sustaining, needing the energy to drive the market, and sell its potentials to prospective clients. A new economic paradigm has emerged in the Nigerian university space as a result of recent proliferation of private universities. This development which encourages healthy rivalry and competitiveness calls for a compulsory revision and re-modelling of vision and mission statements for some universities, to project values and drive market orientation in an expansive client-based knowledge economy. In an economy harboring 43 Federal universities, 48 State universities, and 79 Private universities, the competition is getting stiffer by the day, and the contest between the traditional first generation universities and the avant-garde private universities is widening. The government-owned public universities have to catch up with the ideals of modernity and global competitiveness presented by the 21st century. A population of over 200 million people provides a vibrant market for university business. In this study, we shall probe the relevance of vision and mission as structuring principles in the Nigerian university space, and interrogate their perspectives on goals and objectives in a developing nation. We shall seek to know how realistic the statements are, given contextual challenges, and given that the statements in some instances, show obvious misunderstanding of basic meanings and expected functions of vision and mission statements. We shall posit that lack of proper setup of the structuring pattern is comparable to a derailed locomotive heading for oblivion. Drawing from a few number of concrete examples, we shall conclude by reiterating the importance of getting the foundation right to be able to revolutionize and reposition our universities. Article visualizations

RE-WRITING THE PARADIGMS IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

From eutaxy to entropy. In recent times, it has become a consistent phenomenon not to expect to see a Nigerian University feature in the first one thousand position in the world ranking of universities. This is a red flag that should bother all stakeholders in the Nigeria’s education sector. History has it that in the 1960’s, through to early 80’s Nigerian universities were among the trailblazers in the world. It is a known fact that universities in this part of the world had exhibited unrivalled merits and scholarship at inception and had occupied the top echelon of academic practice in Africa and the world, producing world-class scholars and professionals. Our universities today struggle for recognition in Africa, especially in the public purview where they once excelled with seamless efforts. Could this be as a result of epistemic impasse caused by abject disregard for excellence which had suddenly set in on the part of those who were supposed to teach knowledge, research knowledge and market knowledge? Or as a result of other factors extrinsic to the universities that had wrought this pestilence and had brought about a pernicious decline both in academic and administrative activities? Whatever the case may be, it is obvious that urgent measures should be introduced to reverse this obnoxious trend. Article visualizations

Relationship between feed characteristics and histomorphometry of small intestines of growing pigs

The use of agricultural by-products has become the central focus in reducing feed costs in pig production. However, there is a need to determine how the gastrointestinal tract of pigs responds when subjected to fibrous ingredients. The objective of the study was to predict villi height and apparent villi surface area from physicochemical measurements of maize cob-based diets. Eighteen growing male pigs (initial bodyweight 14.3 ± 1.20 kg) were used in the experiment. The pigs were penned individually and subjected to diets containing 0 g, 80 g, 160 g, 240 g, 320 g, and 400 g maize cob meal/kg diet. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Using stepwise regression, bulk density (BD) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) were the best predictor variables influencing villi height (VH) and apparent villi surface area (AVSA). VH produced quadratic and linear responses with BD and NDF, respectively. The equations are VH = 211.3(BD)2 – 591.0(BD) + 442.4; and VH = 0.03(NDF) + 22.8. Conversely, AVSA produced quadratic and linear responses with NDF and BD, respectively. The equations are AVSA = 0.00036(NDF)2 – 0.012(NDF) +7.25 and AVSA = - 47.12(BD) + 45.03. In conclusion, the BD and NDF of a feed could be used to predict VH and AVSA of growing pigs fed maize cobs.Keywords: maize cob meal, mucosa lining, physicochemical properties, visceral organ

An Analysis of the Role of the National Assembly in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic and its possible reform

The legislature is one of the key institutions in the democratic process, to the extent that any attack on its composition or functioning is seen as a blow against democracy. This is premised on the fact that it symbolizes democracy and avails the people the opportunity to participate in governance. However, there have been allegations of misuse of powers and gross misconduct by members of the Nigerian National Assembly which have led to the calls for its scraping or total reformation. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the utility of the National Assembly in the democratic process in Nigeria. The paper uses two parameters: indispensable functions of the legislature and the institution’s impact in entrenching good governance in the country. Using the descriptive method, the paper examines the role of the National Assembly in Nigeria’s democratic process to determine its indispensability or otherwise. The paper found that though there are numerous issues that need to be resolved, the National Assembly is too weighty to be discarded. As a result of this, it encourages the Nigerian legislators should avoid unnecessary confrontation with the executive arm and improve on legislative-constituency relations to make the institution more effective

CATTLE HANDLING, HYGIENE AND SLAUGHTERING TECHNIQUES IN SELECTED CATTLE MARKETS IN ABEOKUTA AND ENVIRONS, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

The handling, hygiene and slaughtering techniques of cattle in selected cattle markets of Atokun, Randa and Odo-Eran in Abeokuta and environs, Ogun state, Nigeria were assessed. Questionnaires were administered with personal visits to cattle handlers to assess the handling practices and relevant information relating to cattle welfare and slaughtering. Data obtained from this study on the cattle handlers, showed that the literacy level of the rearers and butchers was low, with majority (48.90%) having primary education. The general sanitary conditions at the cattle markets in addition to hygienic practices by the butchers were generally poor. Handling of cattle from the lairage to slaughter slabs was unethical, with the employment of humane practices in the rearing, handling, transporting and slaughtering of cattle rarely observed across the cattle markets. High range of total bacteria count of 6.50 and 8.40 x 105cfu/g and coliform counts of 4.28 to 4.85 x 105cfu/g were observed in the thirty (30) beef samples collected across cattle markets with major isolated organisms being Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus spp. across the abattoirs under study. Results of this study suggest that the welfare of animals in the selected cattle markets is inadequate due to poor housing facilities, inadequate feeding, low medical attention and low literacy level of handlers as well as indiscriminate slaughtering resulting to contamination of beef cuts of the carcass from which they are derived

Re-emergence of monkeypox in Nigeria: a cause for concern and public enlightenment

Monkey pox infection is a zoonotic infection transmitted by direct or indirect contact with blood, body fluids and lesions of an infected animal. Human to human spread of Monkey pox has been described and infection is usually self-limiting, with an incubation period of 6-16 days. In Nigeria, the last case of monkey pox infection was recorded over 46 years ago. The recent emergence in Nigeria occurred in the year 2017 and was reported to have spread to 24 states with 228 suspected individuals affected. Laboratory diagnosis, as well as management and prevention of monkey pox infection in Nigeria, remain challenging as Nigeria is a resource-poor country with limited infrastructure, technical skill and training which is required in making a diagnosis. The ability of the monkey pox virus to evolve, its potential bioterrorism potential, as well as its recent emergence in Nigeria further justifies the need for improving the understanding of the presentation and prevention of monkey pox infection.Keywords: monkey pox, emerging virus, Nigeria, rash, zoonosis, orthopo

Effect of Fiscal and Monetary Policies on Industrial Sector Performance- Evidence from Nigeria

We unearth the impact of monetary and fiscal policies (i.e. stabilization policies) on the performance of the manufacturing sector as a real sector in Nigeria, using an error correction mechanisms model, and discover that those policies has expected impact on output of the manufacturing sector in Nigeria both in  the short-run and long-run. Relationship among the stabilization policies on one hand and industrial or manufacturing sector out put on the other hand.The model makes use of time series data while ordinary least squared was the techniques of analysis, the data were filtered with use of augmented dickey fuller unit root test while Johansen co-integration test was used to justify the long-run relationship among all included variables. While the error correction model serves the basis for adjustment from short-run drift (disequilibrium) to long-run equilibrium through its speed of adjustment.The research work established that stabilization policy has a great impact on manufacturing sector performance and that if certain adjustment are made it would better the lots of the people by developing the sector, through Government fiscal policy and its monetary policy measures. Keywords: fiscal and monetary policies, industrial sector, error correction model, Nigeria

THE POLITICO-SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN NIGERIA

The political, social and economic wellbeing of Nigerians have reached a tipping point because of the vicissitudes of climate change, the falling value of the Naira and the low price of oil in the international market. The negative consequences of climate change in Nigeria which includes low food and livestock production, drought, rise in temperature to mention but a few seem to be the challenges that will finally bring the country to her kneels if not contained promptly and effectively now. This paper seeks to identify the politico-socio-economic consequences of climate change in Nigeria by using the methodology of content analysis. The study anchors on the reflective modernization theory which will be used to explain the information gathered from the Ministries of Environment and Agriculture as well as other secondary sources. Important findings from the research showed that climate change is a global phenomenon with Nigeria contributing a negligible fraction of toxic carbon emissions which contributes to flooding, loss of lives and properties and political instability. This paper recommends that the Nigerian government should make budgetary allocations which would help combat climate change challenges and should develop the political will to join other countries which have acknowledged the catastrophic effects of climate change to force the industrialized world to cut down emissions of greenhouse gases. If the above recommendations are not taken seriously by all and sundry, the negative consequences will affect Nigeria’s social and economic fabric which can lead finally to political decay

Subarachnoid-to-Subarachnoid Shunt for Correction of Nonfunctioning Baclofen Pump in a Severe Case of Chronic Debilitating Post–Spinal Cord Injury Spasticity

Background Perhaps the most disabling condition seen in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) is spasticity. Spasticity is characterized as hyperreflexia and hypertonicity as a result of damage to the supraspinal tracts in the aftermath of SCI. Intrathecal baclofen (ITB) is the mainstay therapy for spasticity unresponsive to oral baclofen. One of the problems associated with post-SCI spasticity unresponsive to ITB is the development of scar tissue that prevents the diffusion of baclofen in the desired spinal cord area. This case offers a unique strategy to deal with multilevel scar tissue. Clinical Presentation This 46-year-old paraplegic male with a T8 SCI whose spasticity had been well managed with ITB therapy for many years recently suffered intractable spasticity necessitating multiple reoperations for a nonfunctioning ITB catheter secondary to extensive scar tissue and intrathecal adhesions. Placement of a subarachnoid-to-subarachnoid shunt eliminated the problem of extensive scar tissue preventing adequate baclofen therapy. Conclusions After undergoing multilevel thoracic and lumbar laminectomies with subarachnoid-to-subarachnoid spinal shunt, the patient's spasticity was finally brought under control with adequate daily baclofen infusion. This case demonstrates a creative way to address ITB catheter failure before considering other measures, such as neuroablative procedures (e.g., rhizotomy, myelotomy). This case reinforces the recommendation that ablative procedures, which have far greater complications, should be reserved for patients who have failed medical or other nonablative therapies