‘New Nigeria’: A socioreligious dimension of prophetic envisioning

Globally, the quest to create societies free of corruption and violence that foster appreciation for human dignity and quality of life is highly envisioned and desired. Similarly, the current political, economic, religious and social tension in Nigeria calls for deep and courageous reflections about the country’s future in the League of Nations. These social realities have created a quest for a new society of justice, love, freedom and faithful stewardship in governance. Thus, this article portrays a song by Solomon Lange, titled ‘New Nigeria’, as prophetic within the tradition of prophetic envisioning. Also, it interprets the intersections between the prophetic dimension of this song and the sociocultural realities in Nigeria. Specifically, it argues that amidst Nigerians’ aspirations and struggles to build a new and corruption-free society, this song can contribute to raising national awareness that stimulates alternative consciousness, which invites the citizenry to courageously and tirelessly hope and work towards its actualisation

Science and the environment: The Kuhnian paradigm and the challenge of the ordinary people

Across the nations of the world, serious attention is now being paid to the environment because of the increase in environmental disasters. Most of these disasters are not natural but as a consequence of the activities of human beings and their science including their technological apparatuses and deployments. Issues such as global warming, climate change, flooding, desertification, air, water and land pollutions, deforestation, wild fires among so many debilitating issues that affect the environment today have become a source of concern to world leaders, environmentalists, philosophers and other concerned individuals. But the question is; what is the cause of the increase in environmental disasters? Is anything being done to change the narrative? Are the „ordinary people‟ aware of the impact of their use and enjoyment of science and technology on the environment? Who takes the lead in shifting the paradigm? Thomas Kuhn had opined in his magnus-opus – The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, that every paradigm has relevance in the age to which it is accepted and practiced by the scientific community. But a time will come when anomalies would begin to be noticed in accepted paradigms. These anomalies will lead to crisis that will finally lead to a shift in paradigm thus heralding a scientific revolution. A shift in paradigm means a deliberate departure from the old way of doing things in other to face new challenges that may have been caused by the former way things were done. Using the analytic and critical methods, this paper attempts to situate the impact of science and technology and the activities of the ordinary people on the environment. The Kuhnian notion of „paradigm shift‟ shall be adopted as a framework to establish a workable panacea to change the narrative. The idea is to canvas for a paradigm shift in the management of the environment by co-opting „ordinary people‟ to participate in shifting the environmental paradigm of this age.&nbsp

Neurosteroids and maternal behaviour

Maternal behaviour is exhibited by female rats post partum. This includes, nest building, nursing, pup retrieval, licking and grooming. Lactating mothers also show maternal defense behaviour with aggression directed against conspecifics. This behaviour has been attributed, in part, to the dramatic changes in steroid and neuropeptide hormones that accompany pregnancy and parturition.Peripheral steroid release is required for normal parturition and lactation. The brain is also a target for steroid hormones and evidence suggests that central release of steroid and peptides can induce many maternal behaviour. Neurosteroids are known to modulate a wide range of neurotransmitter and receptor systems in the central nervous system. They affect primary excitatory and inhibitory systems (glutamate and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), and so regulate a range of behaviours including learning, anxiety, cognition, sexual behaviour and aggression. 5a- reductase type 1 (5a -R) and 3a- hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3a -HSD) are the two enzymes involved in the synthesis of neurosteroids; allopregnenolone (Allop) and tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone (THDOC) in the brain from progesterone and deoxycorticosterone, respectively. In this study, brain regions such as the supraoptic nucleus (SON), medial amygdala (mAmyg), medial preoptic nucleus (MPO), bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST), and paraventricular nucleus (PVN) were activated in lactating mothers following the exhibition of maternal aggressive behaviour. Using immunocytochemistry for the immediate early gene (Fos -IR) as a marker of neuronal activation, there were approximately two to three folds more Fos -immunoreactive (Fos -IR) cells, in each brain region analysed in the aggressive lactating dams compared with non -aggressive controls.In brain regions such as the SON, mAmyg, MPO, BNST and PVN the Fos -IR cells were also double labelled for 5a -R and 3a -HSD. Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) labelled cells were also observed in these brain regions but there were no Fos -IR cells labelled for GAD in any of the brain regions analysed. Together these results implicate neurosteroids in the exhibition of maternal aggression. Activation of cells containing the enzymes 5a -R and 3a -HSD suggest that neurosteroid synthesis in specific brain regions may play a role in regulating aggressive behaviour perhaps through the GABAergic mechanism, but further work is warranted

The impact of corporate governance and the provision of non-audit services on auditor change decision

Auditing plays a crucial role in corporate governance process and it has been shown to increase the reliability and quality of an organization’s financial performance. Hence, understanding the reasons why companies change their auditor is very important. In Malaysia, not much study has been conducted on auditor change. Thus, the study seeks to examine the impact of corporate governance and the provision of non-audit service on auditor change decision. The study used companies listed on Bursa Malaysia, as at 31st December, 2009 to 2011. Furthermore, the research used a sample size of 712 non-financial auditor change companies to test logistic regression Model of auditor change determinants. The results revealed that board independence, non-audit service, changes in management, size and big 4 are significant determinants of auditor change. The outcome of the study could improve corporate governance practices by management, and also increase the demand for audit quality in an organization. The study therefore, recommended that future studies should include additional corporate governance variables like audit committee, management ownership and ownership concentration. Lastly, a longer period of years could be covered so as to have a true reflection of the issu

FoI Act, Mass Media and the Civil Society in the Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria

This study explores the relevance of the Nigerian Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) to the fight against corruption in the country. It examines the awareness of the Act by both journalists and the civil society who need it to effectively expose corrupt practices and complement the efforts of anti-graft agencies in the fight against corruption in the country. Libertarian press theory, which advocates for total freedom of speech and of the press to operate in society, serves as the theoretical framework for the study. Descriptive survey design has been adopted, with uniform questionnaire items issued to a sample of 260 respondents comprising journalists as professionals and members of the civil society across various disciplines and professions. These have been selected using purposive sampling method within Jalingo metropolis, the capital city of Taraba State. The resulting data have been analysed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings reveal that residents of the surveyed population are aware of the existence and provisions of the FoIA. However, the Act has not been effectively utilized to fight corruption due to fear of harassment and intimidation, corruption among journalists who are after ‘brown envelope’ and personal interests among other reasons. The study recommends that adequate security measures should be put in place to safeguard the lives of those who expose corruption. Also, journalists are charged to put national interest first above personal interest, and desist from the act of begging for financial rewards from public office holders. This will make them to be independent, and place them in a better position to expose corruption in the country. Keywords: FoI Act, Mass Media, Civil Society, Corruption and Nigeria

A moderating role of board characteristics on the effect of antecedents on the stage of enterprise risk management implementation

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) has become an important issue of increasing attention among the business community throughout the world. However, the concept is still relatively new among Nigerian companies and little is known about why many organizations are not fully implementing it. The main objective of this study is to examine the current state of ERM practices and the stage of its implementation in the Nigerian banking sector. The study further examined the effect of the antecedents on the stage of ERM implementation, and evaluated the moderating effect of board characteristics on the relationship between antecedents and the stage of ERM implementation. The study used a survey approach to collect cross-sectional data across 361branches and the headquarters of the 21 Nigerian commercial banks using 722 respondents. The response rate is 60 percent. Logistic Regression Model was used for data analysis. The finding revealed that there is an ERM complete in place in majority of the banks. Furthermore, the finding showed that internal audit effectiveness, human resource competency and top management commitment effect significant influence on the stage of ERM implementation while regulatory influence had partial effect. Likewise, there is a moderating effect of board characteristics on internal audit effectiveness and the stage of ERM implementation. The finding has a policy implication for the Board of Directors to improve their oversight functions and the regulatory authorities to entrench risk based supervision in all the Nigerian banks. Nevertheless, the study has limitation in terms of power of prediction with respect to measurement scale of the dependent variable and the respondents. Future research is therefore needed to evaluate the effectiveness of ERM process using a more robust scale and top management as respondents. Therefore, a clarion call is made to introduce an ERM practices across all the Nigerian companies irrespective of their status

Assessment of annual minimum temperature in some parts of northern Nigeria

This work attempts investigating the pattern of minimum temperature from 1971 to 2006, an attempt was also made to predict the pattern from 2007 to 2030. The aim of the study therefore is to see the behaviour of minimum temperature as we study Climate Change in Northern Nigeria. This will enable us to know the trend of change for this study period. The following objectives helps in achieving the set aim; determine variations in minimum temperature, determine the trend of minimum temperature in the study area and predicting the values of the element for the period, 2007 – 2030, this was also subjected to time series analysis. The data was collected from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Maitama, Abuja. The length of data was thirty-six (36) years from eleven (11) stations. Simple Statistical Measures of mean, median, maximum, minimum, standard deviation, variance, skewness, kurtosis and coefficient of variability were used for discerning the patterns and distribution of minimum temperature. The results achieved indicate that the study area could be divided into two on the basis of low minimum temperature (1970s and 1980s) and high minimum temperature (1990s and 200s). During the predicted period, 2007 – 2030, mean annual minimum temperature continue to increase from 21.1°c in 2007 to 21.5°c in 2030. Minimum temperature varies slightly in the region, and it has not varied significantly over the study period.Keywords: Annual, Minimum temperature, predicted, variability, Northern Nigeri

The Problem of Evil in DC Universe Animated Movies, 2007–2016. DC Multiverse, an Ironic Illustration of Leibniz’s Theodicy?

This article explores the question of evil and its metaphysical and moral implications in a series of animated movie adaptations of the DC Universe produced since 2006. The contemporary evolution of the medium, called the “Iron Age of comics”, has seen the auto-reflexive nature of comics produce problems and themes related to the main question discussed in Christian theodicy: how can we perceive and define the possibility of evil in a world where God’s omnipotence should have eliminated such a possibility? Moreover, why does evil seem to spread indefinitely in spite of all the efforts deployed by superheroes to stop evil? We will discuss the problem of evil as a natural narrative topic in light of comics’ mythological and religious roots and with a particular study case: DC Comics Multiverse as an illustration of Leibniz’s “best of all possible worlds” argument