The architecture and chemistry of a dug-out : the Dufuna canoe in ethno-archaeological perspective

This research work emanated from a joint research project between the Johann-Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Germany and the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria; as outlined in the Bilateral Agreement of July 21st 1988.1 The research program is interdisciplinary in nature involving these areas: Archaeology, Geography, Linguistics and Historical Ethnology; all under the general theme of West African Savannah. Considerable research work has already been carried out in these areas by German explorers and scholars dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation. The present paper addresses itself purely to one and very important aspect of an archaeological campaign undertaken in the Chad Region of Nigeria in late 1990/1991 season. In consequence to reconnaissance survey and excavation conducted at a site called Gajiganna, abundant lithic materials were noticed and collected. The crucial question one poses to the site which lacks physical outcrops in and within the precinct of the settlement are, what could have been the source of the raw materials at the site? Were they transported from somewhere to the site? If so, why was it necessary for the materials to be brought to this site? These and other related questions posed a serious commodity problem for most sites in Borno with lithic materials

Socioeconomic status on academic performance among pre-service teachers of Kano state college of education and preliminary studies, Kano, Nigeria

Introduction: Education is a powerful and uncontrolled cornerstone that a nation can build towards the creation of responsible citizens, particularly young people for the future. Purpose: It is therefore very important for this study to be conducted among them in order to find out that their parents’ socioeconomic status have a positive or negative effect on their academic performance. Methodology: The study adopted an ex post-facto form of research design. The target sample for this study consisted of 120 second year pre-service teachers selected using simple random sampling from three units of the School of General Education. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used and t-test (Independent sample) was used to test hypotheses at 0.05 alpha level of significance. It was analyzed after the data was collected. Results: The results of the study showed that students with a high socio-economic status had a high academic output compared to students with a middle socio-economic status. On the other hand, there was also a significant difference between middle and low socio-economic status students in terms of their academic success. Recommendations: Government should also provide ample reading resources and a driving learning environment for less privileged pre-service teachers so that they can also compete favorably with their peers with higher socio-economic status

Consumers’ safety of some selected ready to eat and street vended foods in Wudil, Kano state as determined by microbial content

Because of their cost, affordability, availability and simplicity to prepare, ready-to-eat foods are highly consumed in all over Nigeria, therefore critical to Nigerians’ health. This research aimed at ascertaining the consumers’ safety in terms of microbial load in ready-to-eat sell on the street Awara (Steamed Cowpea Beans Slurry) and Moin-moin (Bean pie) sold in three different vending locations retailed to the students of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology Wudil, Kano state Nigeria. Total of 24 samples consisting of equal quantity of Awara (Bean pie) and Moin-moin (Steamed Cowpea Bean Slurry) were collected from three different location in Wudil town and analyzed for total aerobic bacteria, fungi and Staphyococcus count. Seven different species of microorganism of health concern were identified to include Micrococcus spp, Staphylococcus aureous, Bacillus spp., Klebsiella spp., Mucor, Rhizophus stoonifer and Aspergillus flavus. The total mean of the aerobic bacteria, fungi and Staphylococcus count across all the location in all the samples were found to be withing the tolerable range with the standard set by the International Commission for Microbial Specification for Foods (ICMSF) and Food and Environmental Hygiene Standard (FEHD) as well as the South Wales Food Authority Standards for ready-to-eat foods. Higher microbial counts were founds on Moin-moin sample and this may be attributed to its high moisture content which is found to range from 64.2 to 70.0 %. The comparison of this research finding with international standard justified the safety of consumers and concludes the acceptability of these foods as safe to eat even though the presence of microorganisms such as Aspergilus spp. has been found to pose serious public health issue such as aflatoxin intoxicatio

Thinking tomorrow today: planning for uncertainty and building organisational culture that can walk the talk / Sadeeq Garba Abubakar

Thinking tomorrow, today is about generating and manipulating ideas proactively and progressively. The critical issue is about expanding the scope of understanding all the facets of the organisational activities, and maintaining same approach and strategy through the future in a sustained manner. Manager’s ability should be screened on the basis of their pro-activeness and innovativeness in the management of thoughts that would foster the organisational advancement and effectiveness. This study is based on a case study design using secondary sources of data from a tertiary educational institution through an in-depth study and analysis of its organisational culture. Many of the early studies of this occurrence identified strong support for the idea that organisational culture and performance were indistinguishably linked. Recommendations given include the use of competitive and time effective management process to review, update, integrate, implement visions, decisions, and plans for tomorrow, whether in expansionary or recessionary times

Child Begging: Poverty and Misgovernance as a Causal Factor in Northern Nigeria

Child-begging is a phenomenon that sends the school going age children on the street and begs for alms, as they attend a local Islamic (almjirii) school in most part of northern Nigeria. The menace of child-begging in has assumed an alarming rate. The institution of the state does not do much to curtail this menace. This study adopted a thematic approach, and data was collected at secondary sources. The findings of the study reveals that High rate of illiteracy, coupled with low family incomes stemming from unemployment and lack of good governance in Nigeria explains the reasons for this menace. The recently conceived new Model Islamic school system by the state where both Islamic and Western Education is taught and pupils kept in the school hostel is yet to take effect. Could this address the menace in northern Nigeria? This paper examines the two possible causative factors critically and recommends that the government should address the issue of poverty and unemployment while ensuring consistency in implementing the new policy as conceived, planned. Keywords: Child-Begging, Poverty, Misgovernance, Northern Nigeria, Almajiri. Almajirai

Procedural Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions of Companies: A Comparison between Nigeria and India

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A’s) are, nowadays, frequent events in the lifecycles of companies, on the basis that M&As are one of the most successful means of enabling companies and economic entities achieve profits, whether through entry to new markets, taking advantage of economies of scale or reducing the costs associated with producing a greater number of products or services. India is now one of the leading nations in the world in terms of mergers and acquisitions while, Nigeria has also enjoyed an unprecedented high volume of mergers and acquisitions since 1999.  In both jurisdictions, the laws have laid down procedures for mergers and acquisitions. In India, sanction of the High Court is an essential prerequisite for the effectiveness of mergers; whereas In Nigeria judicial involvement in sanctioning mergers has been significantly reduced. This paper examines the procedural issues involved in mergers in these two populous developing countries of the Commonwealth with a view to learning a lesson from the situation of each other and recommending reforms to the laws of both countries. This article begins with a highlight of the regulatory framework and meaning of merger and acquisition in Nigeria and India; gives an overview of the types of merger and examines the procedural issues in mergers in both Nigeria and India. The paper makes a comparative analysis between the two jurisdictions. The paper acknowledges the comprehensiveness of the laws in both jurisdictions however call for plugging some of the identified gaps in the law

MAGNITUDE, VICISSITUDES AND REMEDIES OF URBAN POVERTY IN NORTH-EAST NIGERIA

Nigeria is divided for political convenience, into six geo-political zones; The north east, in the last decade is in global media because of the ceaseless conflict and war-like situation between the Nigerian government and youth insurgents. The dictum of western education is “unlawful” was the agitation of the insurgents, and they seek to change the educational status quo. North East Nigeria is blessed with an arable land for agricultural activities and mineral resources. The inability and lack of the political will by the governments both at central and state governments to strategically invest in the growth of these sectors for development purposes, brought about many challenges for the north east geo-political zone. Greater percentages of the population within the north east are youths in their productive ages that were engaged in rural-urban drift in search for a better livelihood and economic comfort. This paper seeks to explore the magnitude, changes and solutions of urban poverty in north east Nigeria. The paper adopts a qualitative design to investigate the perceived economic deprivation, social challenges and political miscalculations by the state and their inability to plan for the economic well-being of its population. Data were sourced at secondary source and thematic analysis was employed for analysis. Urban poverty brought many untold hardships to the people in the north east states, Hitches arising from fast urbanization with rapid development of the cities in the North-East, are very apparent. Lack of ensuring satisfactory and steady establishment of the basic needed services such as housing, health care amenities, water, electricity etc are remains the greatest encounter. This will further incapacitate family’s social growth and economic progress unless income generating opportunities are created by policy makers and backed with a greater political will

Haematological Response and Blood Chemistry of Yankasa Rams Fed Graded Levels of Tamarindus indica (Tamarind) Leaves

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of graded levels of tamarind leaves (Tamarindus indica) based diets on the haematological and serum biochemical parameters of Yankasa rams. Twelve (12) rams with an average weight of 17.4 kg were allotted to three treatments. The treatments evaluated were 0%, 15% and 30% inclusion levels of the test ingredient in a Randomized Complete Block Design. The diets were iso-nitrogenous and the trial lasted for eight (8) weeks. Effect of the diets on haematology, serum chemistry and serum electrolytes were determined. The results reveal no significant difference (P> 0.05) in packed cell volume, red blood cell, haemoglobin, urea, total proteins, creatinine and the serum electrolytes between control and study animals. However, significant increases (P< 0.05) were obtained in the globulin (3.95, 4.05 and 4.45 g/dl for 0%, 15% and 30% inclusion levels respectively) and cholesterol levels (2.70, 3.20 and 3.60 mmol/l respectively) with increase in T. indica leaves. It is concluded that inclusion of tamarind leaves in the diet of Yankasa rams had no deleterious effect on the haematological parameters evaluated. It is recommended that further study on the feeding potential of T. indica be conducted on other species of livestock to ascertain the feeding value of same

Administration of Companies Income Tax in Nigeria: Issues of Compliance and Enforcement

All companies in Nigeria are required by the Companies Income Tax Act 2007, to pay tax to the federal government on incomes or profits made by them; however, Nigeria’s economy is characterized by low tax compliance and enforcement. Low tax compliance is a matter of grave concern in many countries especially developing ones like Nigeria because it limits the capacity of their respective governments to raise revenues for development purposes.  In the same vein, There is no gainsaying the fact that tax enforcement has become an essential aspect of tax administration in view of the ingenious ways corporate taxpayers, use to undermine the revenue generation process by not remitting what is due to government, under declaration of income as well as withholding revenue due to government for their own use etc. However, the question many Nigerians ask is, is there strict enforcement of corporate tax laws in Nigeria considering the low level of corporate compliance? This paper examines compliance and enforcement issues in corporate Tax administration in Nigeria. The paper suggests ways of addressing problems of low tax compliance and enforcement in Nigeria