The New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) initiative of socio-economic development in Africa: achievements and challenges

The timeline for NEPAD’s programme of development in Africa is expected to consummate by 2015. Less than two years to the end-time for NEPAD’s implementation, it is expected that most of her objectives would almost be accomplished by now. Contrastingly however, this study discovered that inspite of some of the achievements of the development agency in Africa, a lot of her programmes are still lingering unaccomplished. These areas of lackluster performance are caused by several constraints besieging her operations. Some of these challenges have circumscribed the developmental agenda of this august body

Optimizing Procedure Management for Efficiency in Public Organizations

The paper   assessed how procedure management could be optimized for efficiency in public organizations. The motivation for the study was the general inefficiency being recorded in public organizations in Nigeria, largely due to ineffective procedure management. The underlying interest in the study is the recent inclination to new public management, which borrows heavily from private business and the increasing clarion calls for quality management and responsiveness in the public sector. The framework is the Kaizen principles of process and quality improvement. A descriptive analytical approach was used for the analyses of data. We discovered that Nigerian public organizations are bedeviled by ineffective and inefficient procedures. It was also discovered that the fear of legal implications poses a serious challenge to effective procedure management in Nigeria. Finally, efforts at procedure analysis and reformation are sparingly done in public organizations. Therefore, we recommend the Kaizen principle for effective and efficient procedure management; adoption of e-government; and frequent procedure analysis. These will add more values and quality to organizations’ services and customers while maintaining efficiency Keywords: System, Procedure, Operation, Kaizen, Efficiency and Procedure management

Effect of Vernonia amygdalina Ethanolic Root Extract on the Hepato- and Nephro-Protective Properties of Albino Rats (Rattus novergicus)

The hepato- and nephro-protective potentials of Vernonia amygdalina ethanolic root extract was evaluated for 14 days using standard bioassay in 45 normal male albino rats. The rats were divided into four treatment groups I – IV and a control group V. Groups I – IV were given 100mg.kg-1, 200mg.kg-1, 400mg.kg-1 and 600mg.kg-1 body weight, respectively while the control (group V) was given equal volume of feed and water. The extracts were administered orally to the animals for 14 days. Blood samples were collected using the ocular puncture method before and weekly after administration to evaluate the extracts’ effects on aspartate transaminase (AST), acid phosphatase (ACP), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bilirubin, creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels. The mean serum levels of the liver marker enzymes AST, ACP, ALT, ALP, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin ranged from 10.00±0.53 to 11.44±0.44, 31.29±0.64 to 33.14±0.56, 27.22±0.94 to 29.67±0.37 and 37.83±0.59 to 40.57±1.02, 3.42±0.08 to 3.61±0.07 and 2.06±0.11 to 2.51±0.05 respectively. The mean levels of the nephrotic enzymes, creatinine and BUN also ranged from 39.87±1.79 to 43.04±1.57 and 6.62±0.21 to 15.98±0.17 accordingly. Although no significant difference (p>0.05) was observed in the serum levels of the liver marker enzymes and creatinine when compared with the control, a dose and duration dependent significant increase (p<0.05) occurred in the BUN level. This tends to suggest that the ethanolic root extract of Vernonia amygdalina on a short term basis has some hepato-protective property while its nephro-protective ability is still doubtful. Keywords: Vernonia amygdalina, Ethanolic root extract, Liver maker enzymes, Nephrotic enzymes, Albino rat

The Implementation Of The 2004 Bank Reforms In Nigeria: A Post Facto Analysis

Abstract The praxis of bank reforms by governments of different countries of the world has constituted a common policy benchmark in public financial administration. Adopting a histo-descriptive-method, this paper reflects on the dynamics of the 2004 bank reforms in Nigeria, reviewing in the process, the brief history of the reform, the principles that underscored the reform, its actual implementation and challenges that circumscribed the policy. It explored the initiative during this era in Nigeria from the Nigerian government"s policy of financial sector liberalization and deregulation. The paper argues that though the 2004 bank reform policy had good intentions and achieved minimally its objectives, the entire policy implementation lacked significant implementation outcomes

Human Rights and Underdevelopment: Extrapolating the Liberalization Policy of Neo-Colonial Actors in Africa

This paper affirms that the idea of huma rights pre-supposes that human beings, by their nature, are entitled to certain inalienable rights that are necessary conditions of a good life, without which the quality of life is compromised. The concept also pre-supposes, simultaneously, an obligation on the part of the society to uphold these claims. However, in Africa, the colonial and neo-colonial actors’ operationalization of human rights have engendered underdevelopment of these rights, and in essence brought about socio-economic and political development quagmire in the continent. One key operational tool of these actors is the liberalization policy which its implementation so far has compromised the quality of life and human rights of Africans in their continent. The present study analyzes the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) and the current minimization of public funds in public education in Nigeria as derivatives of the liberalization policy in Africa. The study adopts secondary sources of data collection and the descriptive analytical tool as a method of study. The findings demonstrate that African countries nay Nigeria are exposed to the exploitative mechanisms of the liberalization policy. The study, therefore, advocates a paradigm shift that is in tune with human rights-based economic and educational governance for there to be an inclusive development in Africa

International Journal of Research in Arts and Social Sciences

Abstract The dynamics of godfatherism and its negative consequences in the development process of Nigeria has long been a topical issue. This study explores the details of the practice of godfatherism in Nigeria"s politics during the civilian administration of Olusegun Obasanjo. In this regard, the study"s aims were: to historicize on Godfatherism dynamics in Nigeria; to examine the causative factors orchestrating godfatherism and its implications in the country among other objectives of the study. The discourse adopted the methodology of qualitative analysis and with its use, discovers that there were several incidences of godfatherism praxis during the Obasanjo"s civilian regime. It is on the basis of these that, the study made recommendations