Relevance and commitment in Ezenwa-Ohaeto’s pidgin poetry collections

The question of relevance and commitment is a recurring one in African literature written in Standard English. This paper seeks to ask the same question with regards to poetry in Pidgin English. The question then becomes- is the poet who writes in pidgin English as committed to the social course of his society as his counterpart who writes in Standard English? If the above question is answered in the affirmative, a follow up question will be: Is there any relationship between his form, in this case, Pidgin English and the content of the message? If this question is also answered in the affirmative, the next question will be:- to what extent do form and content intertwine to give the reader a completely rewarding poetic experience. These questions are answered through the review of Ezenwa-Ohaeto’s pidgin poetry collections. The paper makes use of the Marxist critical theory

Evaluation Of Contact Pressure And Speed On The Wear Rate And Braking Effectiveness Of Automobile Disc Brake Pads Using A Locally Fabricated Test Rig

A locally fabricated Brake Pad Test Rig was successfully used to evaluate the wear rate and braking effectiveness of two samples of automobile disc brake pads at various speeds and braking forces. Detailed design analysis of the test rig, which was also used to determine the average stopping time at a constant pressure of 10bar and subsequently, a constant speed of 980rpm, is presented in this work. Results obtained from the performance test carried out on the rig show the functionality of the test rig. Keywords: Automotive Brakes, Test Rig, Brake Pad, Wear Rate, Braking Effectiveness

Importance of Marketing Education Courses as Perceived by Students and Lecturers in Tertiary Institutions in Enugu State, Nigeria

The study focused on the importance of marketing education courses for career preparation and job advancement in a global economy. The rapid advancement of the information age and increase in market size are some of the changes that have significant impact in the marketing profession. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the importance of marketing education in a global economy. Two research questions guided the study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 340 respondents comprising 50 lectures, and 290 students in the three universities in Enugu State. Data were analysed using mean. The findings of the study revealed that students are generally positive about the marketing courses as these course, are instrumental for career preparation and job advancement. It was recommended that marketing education should be made compulsory as a course that prepares students, for long life career and job advancement. Key words: Marketing Education, Career Preparation and Job Advancement

Increasing the resilience of urban water utilities to extreme weather events

The sustainability of municipal drinking water services in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria requires that its water utilities enhance their resilience to a range of risks posed by extreme weather events. Excellence in managing such risks is essential, not only to the bottom line and reputation of the utilities, but also to the wellbeing and prosperity of the people they serve and the preservation of nature in order to sustain ecosystem services. In the context of this study, organisational resilience has been defined as the adaptive deployment of the utility s assets and structures within its continua of inter-dependences to improve and sustain performance even in the face of repeated perturbations. On the other hand, vulnerability is defined as the utility s inability to withstand adverse stress based on limited or constrained capacity to adapt hence creating pathways through which risk impacts the utility. This definition of vulnerability is in tandem with those that argue that the key parameters of vulnerability are the stress to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity. In view of this, and also based on the findings of the study, the study notes that utility management could be a complex and challenging task, especially, in a multi-risk delta environment where extreme events are intense and frequent. Utility managers can become veterans of risks by dissipating, more than ever before technical competence, watershed/ecosystem awareness, social engagement skills and conceptual ability. The latter includes an understanding of how the complexities of the upstream and downstream environment impacts on the utility s internal environment and operations. The diffusive nature of risk makes every risk a potential high impact risk and the understanding of this, is the key to a resilient organization. Risk analysis and management in water utilities should aim to limit the diffusion of risks across streams in order to retard vulnerability. Utility resilience options will need to vary depending on climate related risks to each system, utility management goals, legislation, local and national water management strategies and finance. Utilities in the Niger delta needs to fully understand that they operate close to the edge by virtue of being below sea level and should cultivate a keen awareness of the consequences of flooding and saltwater intrusion, and the importance to manage them amongst others. The study has shown that there is need now, more than ever before for increased revenue generation, elimination of wastes/inefficiencies, financial investment and strategic management of water services operations in the study area if residents and the unborn generation are to be guaranteed of safe and adequate drinking water

The Impact of Monetary and Fiscal Policies on Nigerian Economic Growth: 1990-2010.

Monetary and fiscal policies have been established by several scholars to have contributed to economic growth of any nation. This paper focused on the identifying policy that contributed effectively to the level of economic growth in Nigeria. Data were collected from the CBN statistical bulletin covering the period of 21years. Unit root test, co integration, VAR model and graph were some of the econometrics techniques used for data estimation. Phillip-perron test statistic revealed that the time series properties of the variables attained stationarity at first order. The variables were co integrated at at most 1 with at least 2 co integrating equations. The individual variable: Minimum Rediscount Rate (LNMRR), Interest Rate (LNIR), Liquidity Rate (LNLR), Cooperate Income Tax (CIT) and Federal budget were not statistically significant to Gross Domestic Product (LNGDP) in the previous and current year. However, interest rate and liquidity rate impacted negatively on the GDP but minimum rediscount rate cooperate income tax and federal budget affect the GDP positively. Monetary and fiscal policies measures are jointly statistically significant to level of economic growth in Nigeria. The reaction of money and fiscal policies measure on the level of economic growth in Nigeria was found to be unstable over the years of study which indicated no long run relationship. However, the study further revealed that fiscal policy measures are more effective in gearing economic growth in Nigeria. The study recommended that there should be effective strategic policies that enhance better fiscal policy implementation in Nigeria that will in the long run contribute to the national economic growth and also more robust and viable monetary policy measures should be made to achieve sound economic growth. Keywords: Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy, Economic Growth, Co-integration, VAR model

A Comparative Analysis Of The Impact Of Corporate Taxation On Company’s Reserve and Dividend Policy In Nigeria: 2000-2011

This study critically examines the different selected sectors of the Nigerian Stock Market transaction profile to study the impact of corporate taxation on company’s reserves and dividends in Nigeria covering thirty five (35) companies drawn across seven (7) sectors for a period of 12 years (2000-2011). The variables of interest are: Aggregate Cumulative Total Dividend Payment (ACTDPT) dependent variable, and Aggregate Cumulative Total Cooperate Tax (ACTCPT), Aggregate Cumulative Total Earning per Share (ACTEPS) and Aggregate Cumulative Total Retained Earnings Per Share (ACTRES) independent variables. Ordinary Least Squares Estimation (OLSE), Coefficient of Variability (CV), Granger Causality and Autocorrelation Function/Partial Autocorrelation Function (ACF/PACF) were the different tests from E-view 4.1 and Microfit 4.0 models used to evaluate the sectoral data to determine the comparative impact. The empirical results from the OLS revealed varying degree of directional and magnitude response from ACTCPT, ACTRES, and ACTEPS to the ACTDPT for the seven sectors. The measure of dispersion using coefficient of variability approach shows that by virtual of performance ranking of the sectors, banking has the highest performance of sectors in terms of dividend policy and its impact on corporate taxation on company’s reserve in the last decade, followed by the banking, breweries petroleum and marketing, conglomerates, insurance, construction and allied, and food and beverages. The findings from the Granger Causality effect shows that there is no causality effect, no runs relationship, neither short run or long run and it is not significant at all. This implies that the implementation of corporate tax in Nigeria does not affect the payment policy among the various quoted companies under the stock exchange. Findings recommend implementation of ongoing restructuring policy on the sectors performance so as to increase the Aggregate Cumulative Total Cooperate Tax (ACTCPT), Aggregate Cumulative Total Earning Per Share (ACTEPS) and Aggregate Cumulative Total Return Earning Per Share (ACTRES) thereby improving the Aggregate Cumulative Total Dividend Payment Policy (ACTDPT) in Nigeria among the identified non performing sectors. Keywords: Cumulative, Sectors, Performance, CV, Dividend Policy, significant, Cumulativ

Monetary Policy and Nigeria’S Quest for Import-Substitution Industrialization

This study examines the impact of monetary policy variables on industrialization via import substitution strategy in Nigeria from 1981 – 2012. The deregulation of the foreign exchange market in Nigeria was with the aim of stimulating export and industrialization through import substitution. However, it turned out that Nigeria had become more import dependent than ever. We specified four explanatory variables for this study based on theoretical underpinnings. We sought to establish a relationship between the explanatory variables and industrial output. The Johansen trace test revealed that there was one cointegrating equation. The estimated error correction mechanism (ECM) revealed that 53 per cent of disequilibrium in industrial-GDP is corrected for in the long run. Keywords: Monetary policy, exchange rate, industrialization, imports substitution industrialization

Graduate Unemployment in Nigeria: Implications for National Development

It is common knowledge that the level of unemployment in Nigeria has continued to rise over the years. It is therefore worrisome that even graduates of tertiary institutions considered as skilled manpower have been bitten by this unemployment bug. However, studies on the subject matter have remained historic in their approaches. They have concentrated on such internal factors as failed government policies, economic recession and faulty planning to explicate the widespread incidence and prolonged manifestation of unemployment in Nigeria. These studies have failed to locate the sources. and by extension, the cause(s) of unemployment in Nigeria. This paper is a departure from the above stated trend. Noting that graduate unemployment is a recent phenomenon in Nigeria, this paper undertakes a historic examination of its occurrence by employing the political economy paradigm, which critically examines the role of the international financial institutions in determining to a large extent, the poor productive capacity of Nigeria. This study posits that it is this poor productive capacity that breeds unemployment even at the graduate level in Nigeria. It is therefore advocated that local raw materials be put into intensive use to increase production in Nigeria in line with the guidelines and measures enunciated by the Lagos Plan of Action (LPA). This, it is believed, will resuscitate the Nigerian economy and create employment.Key Words: Unemployment, underdevelopment, Dependent Economy, Productivity

Can Higher Inflation Lead to Currency Appreciation in Nigeria?

This work verified if higher inflation can lead to currency appreciation in Nigeria using an annual data from 1981 to 2013. The ordinary least square (OLS) method was adopted because of its best linear unbiased estimator property. The result showed that current inflation does not lead to currency appreciation in Nigeria, and rather what leads to currency appreciation is expected inflation. Although, monetary policy rate and export were significant in determining Naira value but they did not show the expected signs. The estimated model showed stability and all the explanatory variables used for the analysis accounted for 96% variation in explaining the direction of value of Naira as regards to appreciation or depreciation. The co-integration test showed that a long term relationship existed among the variables and they were stationary at order one I (1). Keywords: Currency, Inflation, Co-integration and Appreciatio

Effect of organic nutrient on microbial utilization of hydrocarbons on crude oil contaminated soil

The effect of organic nutrient (poultry manure) on biodegradation of soil (5 kg) contaminated with  crude oil (50 g) was investigated for seven weeks. Four different test options were prepared namely;(i) 100 g of contaminated soil + 30 g of poultry manure; (ii) 100 g of contaminated soil + 60 g of poultry manure; (iii) 100 g of contaminated soil + 90 g of poultry manure; (iv) 100 g of contaminated soil only(control). The microbial degradation was monitored by the measurement of total heterotrophic count (THC), hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial count (HUB) and gravimetric loss of the crude oil with time. The cumulative THC of 6.9x107, 9.0x107, 1.03x108 and 3.1x107 cfu/g were recorded for test options (i), (ii),(iii) and (iv), respectively. The hydrocarbon utilizing bacterial counts (HUB) were 1.68x105, 1.63x105, 1.9x105 and 4.8x104 cfu/g for tests options (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), respectively. There was acorresponding gravimetric hydrocarbon loss of 40.0, 45.26, 49.47 and 29.47% for test conditions (i),(ii), (iii), and (iv), respectively. The results of the study suggest that addition of organic nutrient (especially 90 g poultry manure) will further enhance microbial utilization of hydrocarbon