Accountability as Pragmatic Philosophy: Basis for Economic Revival in Nigeria

A virile, viable and strong economy anywhere in the world is a product of a “pragmatic philosophy” that is anchored on public accountability. Accountability as a pragmatic philosophy presupposes a natural unhindered tendency or impulse intrinsically flowing from personal conviction that giving account is necessarily good in itself. It requires one to freely and voluntarily give account of his actions without waiting to be challenged, seeing it as a necessary condition, an indispensable requirement for the survival of an economy and the development of a nation. The benefits of accountability, notwithstanding, include ensuring public trust and confidence as well as vindicating one who is entrusted with public resources or funds. It shows that one’s actions are guided by the rule of law, fairness and social justice. Regrettably, accountability has been elusive in Nigeria, resulting to high rate of corruption, looting of public treasury, abuse of power - the bane of economic doldrums and chequered development of the country. This paper therefore argued that without accountability, all efforts towards economic and social progress, justice and national development cannot be achieved in Nigeria because accountability eliminates corruption, embezzlement of public funds and wastages and promotes transparency, frugality and good governance which are conditio-sinequa-non to economic growth and national development

Justice and the politico-economic development of Nigeria: a philosophical analysis

The importance of the virtue of justice for peace and progress of a nation cannot be overemphasized. Justice is beneath the foundation of how we relate with one another, the kind of society we have and one we would expect to have in future, as well as how best to organize it. It has profound effect on the lives of citizens, influencing not only their prospect but more deeply their goals, attitudes, relationships and character. It also influences the economy, politics and every other aspect of our being so much so that we consider it central for the achievement of social order and the development of Nigeria. From the issue of legitimate use of political power, to Niger Delta agitation, true federalism, marginalisation and inequality, justice answers the demands of all. This paper therefore examines the notion of justice with consideration on social and distributive justice vis-à-vis the implication for the development of Nigeria, which requires that the basic structure of Nigeria be organized in order to bring to an end all the social and economic inequalities and marginalization that stunt or limit citizens’ progress and the expectations of the less advantaged members of the society. The paper argued further that in a heterogeneous society like Nigeria, the principle of justice must be employed in the distribution of social and economic goods so that everyone and not a privileged few, gets a fair share in order to promote the happiness of all and enthrone a harmonious and well-ordered society anchored on the principles of fairness and equity

Transformation of University Education for Graduate Employability in Nigeria: The Intervention of Entrepreneurship Education

This paper beamed attention on the problem of unemployment among Nigeria University Education graduates. The present education practice churns out products that are heavily dependent on white-collar and blue-collar jobs; products that cannot use the education received to cull-out their innate propensities towards vocation and entrepreneurship. This development is traceable to the fact that the curricula predisposed to their consciousness are not deeply vocational-friendly. The paper articulated how entrepreneurship education could be used to transform university education for the employability of its products and synthesized the philosophy that should inform the thinking and action of university graduates in their entrepreneurial learning. In addition to recognizing the attempts made in this direction by successive governments and associated problems experienced, the paper recommended strategies that could provoke meaningful transformation of university education with entrepreneurial tinge. Keywords: Transformation, Entrepreneurship, University Education, Employment, Nigeria

Design and Simulation of Wireless Local Area Network for Administrative Office using OPNET Network Simulator: A Practical Approach

Wireless local Area Network (WLAN) is a networking standard that links two or more devices with the use of wireless signal (radio frequency). It is based on the IEEE 802.11 standards (IEEE Standard 2007). Its advantages over the traditional wired technology, includes: reduction in wires, mobility and flexibility. It can be deployed in ad-hoc (infrastructure less) and infrastructure based, which uses access point as its central coordinating facility. In this paper, infrastructure-based WLAN is used. In this case, there is an access point (AP) and stations/clients (that could be mobile). This BSS connects to other neighbouring BSSs through a high speed back-bone, the back-bone then connects to the ISP through a modem for internet services. As a result, we designed and simulated WLAN and identified the key network performance parameters (such as delay, throughput, packet drop, etc) that must be addressed to guarantee optimal service delivery Keywords: WLAN, QoS, Broadband, Bandwidth, Throughput

Richards S. Peters’ Concept of Education and the Educated Man: Implications for Leadership Recruitment in Nigeria

This paper examines Richards S. Peter’s concept of education and the educated man as a template for leadership recruitment in Nigeria. The purpose is to determine the extent to which ascension into political leadership positions in Nigeria conforms to such conception especially against the background of the general belief that greatness of a nation is a product of its educational attainment. However, the paper through content analyses observes that political leadership in Nigeria from independence up to the present has fallen short of the criteria of education and the marks of an educated man. Hence, the manifest relegation of the concept and what it stands for. The paper concludes that the observance of these criteria in breach rather than in compliance inadvertently foregrounds godfatherism in political participation while serving as precursor to the various absurdities confronting the country. To achieve the objectives of this paper, it is hereby recommended that leadership recruitment is a challenge and should be for the truly educated as prescribed by R. S. Peters. Keywords: Richards S. Peters, Education, Educated Man, Leadership, Nigeria

Plato’s Socio-Political Philosophy: a Veritable Prescription for Achieving the Seven Point Agenda in Nigeria for National Development

Philosophy, right from its inception in antiquity, has always been a source of ideas, and inspiration for the transformation of society. In attempt to solve societal problems, philosophers ask critical questions and suggest rational answers to them just like some fundamental theories postulated by great thinkers in the past had been usefully applied to solve contemporary problems. The purpose of this exercise is to determine to what extent Plato's socio-political philosophy could serve as a veritable roadmap in resolving Nigeria’s critical challenges. The idea that runs through the work is Plato's idea of Justice which is anchored on the principle of division of labour is shown to point the way to the achievement of the 7-point agenda of the present administration. The paper concludes that governance should be an art predicated on exact knowledge of the good and that society is a mutual satisfaction of needs by individuals whose capacities supplement one another. It therefore recommends among others the need for specialized training for leaders to bring about purposeful and reliable leadership that breeds responsible followership. Keywords: Plato, Socio-Political, 7-Point Agenda, National Development

Reform and Quality Education in Nigeria: The Imperatives of Value Reorientation through Character Education

The frustration and disappointment of scholars, political observers and ordinary people on the current problems of development in Nigeria is not news. It is now obvious that the giant of Africa is on the verge of colossal failure demonstrative of acute, chronic and rapid growth in negative developments. Despite her huge natural and human resources and phenomenal development in educational fields, why is development qua development eluding this nation?. The present effort argues that our development as a nation must come about with dismantling the current value system that favours  invidious locust mentality and ensure a conscientious pursuit of serious transformation through character education. The paper also proposes the strategies that could midwife the new Nigeria that would emerge from such advocacy. Keywords: Reform, Quality Education, Value Re-orientation, Character Education

Determination of GSM Signal Penetration Loss in some Selected Buildings in Rivers State, Nigeria

The qualities of indoor signal reception are governed by the mechanism of reflection, refraction, diffraction and scattering of signal propagation through buildings which are dependent on the material of the building structure. These indoor outages can be traced to building penetration loss. Penetration loss depends on the type of building material used. This research work is a determination of signal penetration loss in some selected buildings in Rivers state, Nigeria. Global system for mobile communication (GSM) signals of MTN, GLOBACOM, AIRTELand ETISALAT networks were measured using Radio Frequency Signal Tracker in five different buildings (mud house with thatched roof, mud house/rusted corrugated iron sheet roof, sandcrete building/rusted corrugated iron sheet roof, sandcrete building/unrusted corrugated iron sheet roof and building with alucoboard wall cladding) in Port Harcourt metropolis in Nigeria. The results showed that buildings with alucoboard wall cladding has the highest GSM signal penetration loss while the sandcrete building/unrushed corrugated iron sheet roof has the lowest GSM penetration signal loss.http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v34i3.2

Cashless Policy in Nigeria and Its Socio-Economic Impacts

This paper examines the cashless policy in Nigeria and its socio-economic impact on small scale businesses. In Nigeria as in many developing countries, cash is the main mode of payment thus making the economy heavily cash – based. The policy was introduced in Nigeria by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in December 2011 and was kick-started in Lagos in January 2012. The objective of the study is to determine the possible implication of a cashless economy on small scale businesses in Nigeria. It will also proffer solution to the impending challenges that small scale businesses will face in a cashless society. With a review of existing literature on the concept of cashless economy and its effect on small scale business. Recommendation on how to effectively implement the cashless policy in order to encourage small scale business owners to be part of it were highlighted. It was concluded that if necessary measure are not put in place and the necessary stakeholders to the policy carried along with consideration on how the policy may affect them, the cashless policy will adversely affect small scale business and may engineer their failure