Habitat use and implications for avian species in Sambisa game reserve, Borno state, Nigeria

The study determined the effect of vegetation physical structure on avian species diversity and abundance in Sambisa Game Reserve in Borno State, Sudano-Sahelian vegetation. Bird species were observed, identified, counted and the associated vegetation variables were estimated in a 64 1000-m-long transects, 3 surveys per transect, from 2011 to 2012. The vegetation variables were lumped into various principal components (PCs) with principal component analysis (PCA), but only the first principal component (PC1) with the highest variance (25.15 %) and characteristics of complex vegetation, named vegetation physical structure complexity, was used in the regression analysis. A positive linear relationship existed between PC1 and bird species diversity indices (F1, 165 = 51.54, P < 0.001 for Shannon Wiener bird species index and F7, 187 = 59.69, P < 0.001 for bird species richness). Feeding guild abundances (Insectivores, Frugivores, Raptors and Nectarivores) showed positive relationship with the PC1 but granivore abundance showed a negative relationship with PC1. The PC1 probably played the most important role in the pattern of bird diversity and abundance in the Reserve. Increasing bird diversity and abundance across the complexity gradient was probably accommodated by increasing potential food and protection resources. If the logging activities in the Reserve are not properly checked, there will be serious threats of bird population decline and bird species loss, especially, insectivores, due to their high dependence on high trees with dense undergrowth. However, granivore population will build up and pose threats to the Reserve host communities’ farmed cereal crops.Key words: Bird diversity; habitat loss, vegetation, Sambisa Game Reserv

Nominalization in TIV

Nominalization is a linguistic process of deriving nouns from other word classes or linguistic units. Nominalization is evident in many languages of the world. The Tiv language also exhibits nominalization. This paper critically analyses nominalization in Tiv. The objectives of the paper are: to determine the processes through which nominalization takes place in the Tiv language, the extent to which the processes of nominalization are productive in the Tiv language, and the classes of words and linguistic units that are nominalized in Tiv. Data were sourced from the native speakers of Tiv using the researcher – participant technique. The researchers documented the lexical items used during the interaction, determine the basic components of the lexical items and the word classes such lexical items belonged to. The intuitive knowledge of the researchers as the native speakers of the language was harnessed. The secondary data were sourced from the already existing literatures such as textbooks, journals and the internet. The theory adopted in the paper is Hokett’s (1954) structural theory whose models are the Item-and-Process (I.P) and Item-and-Arrangement (I.P). It has been found out that the processes through which nominalization takes in the Tiv language are prefixation, prefixation plus some modifications, tonality and desententialization (sentence deconstruction). These processes are discovered to be very productive in nominalization in Tiv. It has also been found out that verbs roots and adjectives are the classes of words that are nominalized (lexical nominalization) in the Tiv language together with sentences (syntactic nominalization)

Commercial Bank Credit and Manufacturing Sector Output in Nigeria

The study examined the effect of commercial bank credit on the manufacturing sector output in Nigeria from 1980 to 2015 using Cochrane-Orcutt method. Five variables of manufacturing sector output, inflation rate, interest rate, loans and advances and broad money supply were used for the study. The variables were tested for unit root using the Augmented Dickey Fuller approach and were found to be stationary at levels. The study found that, inflation rate and interest rate have negative effect on manufacturing sector output while loans and advances and broad money supply have positive effect with manufacturing sector output in Nigeria. The study therefore recommended formulation and implementation of policies that aim at reducing both inflation and interest rates on one hand and on the other hand, increasing both loans and advances as well as broad money supply so as to enhance improvement in the sector’s output. Key words: Manufacturing Sector, Bank Credit, Cochrane-Orcutt

Analyzing inflation in Nigeria: a fractionally integrated ARFIMA-GARCH modelling approach

The study looked into the stochastic properties of CPI-inflation rate for Nigeria from 1995Q1 to 2016Q4. The study employed an autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average and a general autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARFIMA-GARCH) methodology as well as ADF/KPSS to investigate the long-memory properties of CPI-Inflation for Nigeria. The study found that CPI-inflation in Nigeria is shock dissipating at a geometric rate (fast mean reverting ability). The ARFIMA-GARCH process showed that CPI inflation in Nigeria is a heteroskedastic fractionally integrated process with quick mean reverting ability. The study therefore concludes that shocks to CPI-inflation in Nigeria such as sudden hikes in prices of energy products will not cause a permanent change in general price level but will eventually return to its mean state, and therefore having an implication for the Inflation-Unemployment tradeoff of the Philips curve.Keywords: Inflation, AFIMA, GARCH, Fractional Integrated and Long Memory, ADF and KPS

Effect of abnormal increase in credit supply on economic growth in Nigeria

We investigate the effect of abnormal increase in credit supply on economic growth in Nigeria after controlling for the quality of the legal system, size of central bank asset, banking sector cost efficiency and bank insolvency risk. The abnormal increase in credit supply has a significant effect on economic growth. The abnormal increase in credit supply increases real GDP growth. The abnormal increase in credit supply decreases real GDP per capita during the global financial crisis. The abnormal increase in domestic credit to private sector has a significant positive effect on GDP per capita when there is strong legal system quality in Nigeria. In contrast, the abnormal increase in domestic credit to private sector has a significant negative effect on real GDP growth when there is strong legal system quality in Nigeria. The abnormal increase in credit supply is ineffective in increasing GDP per capita during crisis years. Policymakers should be cautious in pressuring financial institutions to release an abnormally large amount of credit into the economy particularly during financial crises. Rather, policymakers should encourage financial institutions to supply credit in a sustained manner – not in an abnormal manner – and in a way that supports growth

ANALYSING Inflation in Nigeria: A Fractionally Integrated ARFIMA-GARCH Modelling Approach

The study looked into the stochastic properties of CPI-inflation rate for Nigeria from 1995Q1 to 2016Q4. The study employed an autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average and a general autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARFIMA-GARCH) methodology as well as ADF/KPSS to investigate the long-memory properties of CPI-Inflation for Nigeria. The study found that CPI-inflation in Nigeria is shock dissipating at a geometric rate (fast mean reverting ability). The ARFIMA-GARCH process showed that CPI inflation in Nigeria is a heteroskedastic fractionally integrated process with quick mean reverting ability. The study therefore concludes that shocks to CPI-inflation in Nigeria such as sudden hikes in prices of energy products will not cause a permanent change in general price level but will eventually return to its mean state, and therefore having an implication for the Inflation-Unemployment tradeoff of the Philips curve

Asymmetric Effects of Renewable Energy Consumption, Trade Openness and Economic Growth on Environmental Quality in Nigeria and South Africa

The study investigates the asymmetric effects of renewable energy consumption (REC), trade openness (TOP) and GDP per capita (GDP) on environmental quality in Nigeria and South Africa using the Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model from 1990Q1-2014Q4. To ensure this, the Zivot-Andrews unit root test and nonlinear ARDL cointegration tests are employed. The empirical results based on the NARDL found that REC, TOP and GDP have asymmetric effects on environmental quality in Nigeria and South Africa in the long-run and the short-run dynamics. Specifically, the long-run effect of a negative change in REC and GDP is stronger than that of a positive change of the same magnitude. Similarly, the effect of a positive change in TOP is stronger than the negative change. The results of the short run for Nigeria indicates that the effect of a negative change in REC and GDP is stronger than that of the positive change, while the effect of a positive change in TOP is stronger than its negative change. For South Africa, the positive change in REC and GDP is stronger than the negative change while for TOP the negative change is stronger than the positive change. The policy implications of the findings are carefully discussed in the text

Inflation and Stock Market Returns Volatility: Evidence from the Nigerian Stock Exchange 1995Q1-2016Q4: An E-GARCH Approach

The paper investigated the effect of inflation on stock market returns on the Nigerian stock exchange market, employing a volatility modeling approach. Using monthly data on stock market returns and consumer price index inflation rate, the paper employed GARCH and E-GARCH volatility modeling techniques for analysis. The study found that CPI inflation is not an important variable in explaining stock market return volatility in Nigeria. The E-GARCH model did not find existence of asymmetry in the stock return series; that is good news and bad news have identical impact on stock returns in Nigeria. The GARCH model show high persistence in the stock returns series, though a shock to stock returns has only a temporary impact

Towards mitigating ecological degradation in G-7 countries : accounting for economic effect dynamics, renewable energy consumption, and innovation

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Inflation and Stock Market Returns Volatility: Evidence from the Nigerian Stock Exchange 1995Q1-2016Q4: An E-GARCH Approach

The paper investigated the effect of inflation on stock market returns on the Nigerian stock exchange market, employing a volatility modeling approach. Using monthly data on stock market returns and consumer price index inflation rate, the paper employed GARCH and E-GARCH volatility modeling techniques for analysis. The study found that CPI inflation is not an important variable in explaining stock market return volatility in Nigeria. The E-GARCH model did not find existence of asymmetry in the stock return series; that is good news and bad news have identical impact on stock returns in Nigeria. The GARCH model show high persistence in the stock returns series, though a shock to stock returns has only a temporary impact