Igala Traditional Marriage in Relation to Christianity

Marriage is a sacred and customary duty which every adult Igala is expected to undertake in order to be “fulfilled” in life. As such, somewhat similar to the provisions of other cultures in Africa and religions such as Christianity, there are procedures, limits and some constitutive rules that cater for a normal and sacred nature of marriage in Igala. These include: courtship and the marriage ceremony itself. Marriage can be said to be fruitful in Igala culture if only it brings forth children. Hence an unfruitful marriage can easily break-up. It is believed that at the end of this work, the effects of traditional marriage in the life of Igala people in relation to Christian marriage will be better appreciated. This research employs information from field, books, Journal, oral history, the internet and articles. The research will ultimately add to the body of knowledge on similarities and differences between Igala traditional marriage and that of Christianity. The study finds that truly, the marriage institution among Igala people in relation to Christianity alters the life of the people. Keywords: Igala, Tradition, Marriage, Christianit

Research Output and Pattern of Publication among Faculty in Nigerian Private Universities: Babcock University Experience

The paper investigates the patterns of research output publications of faculty of Babcock University, Nigeria. Survey design was adopted; the population for the study consists of 154 faculty of Babcock University. Data for the study was collected using questionnaire titled Patterns of Research Output and Publications among Faculty in Private Universities (ROPAFPU).  Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts and simple percentage while the hypotheses were tested using Product Moment Correlation and chi- square. The result of the hypotheses showed that there is significant relationship between the status of faculty and pattern of research output publication, there is also significant relationship between the qualification and pattern of research output publication of the faculty and there is also significance difference in pattern of publications based on gender. Recommendations made for the improvement of research output publication of the faculty  include mentoring, collaboration with foreign colleagues in research and publication; male lecturers should endeavor to publish more journal publications and female faculty be encouraged to increase their seminar presentation as well as text books publishing. Key Words: Research output, Babcock University Faculty research output, Research and national development, Babcock University Faculty Publication pattern

Serum zinc status in sickle cell anaemia children at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria

Background: Several clinical manifestations of sickle cell anaemia (SCA) have been associated with zinc deficiency. Determining the zinc status of children with SCA in Nigeria, a country that accounts for the highest burden of the disease worldwide, will provide a template that could assist in critically appraising the need or otherwise for zinc supplementation or fortification programmes in these children.Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative study conducted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria among 700 children (350 SCA patients and 350 age and sex matched hemoglobin AA controls). Serum zinc was analysed using the atomic absorption spectrophotometry.Results: The median serum zinc concentration of children with SCA was 6(3-7) μmol/l and it was significantly lower than that of the controls 8(4-9) μmol/l, p = 0.04. The prevalence of zinc deficiency in this study was 67% in children with SCA compared with 34% in the control group, (p<0.0001). Theproportion of zinc deficient patients was more among children from lower socio economic class (68.5%, 35.5%) than in the upper socio economic class (38.5%, 16.3%) in both cases and controls groups respectively.Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of zinc deficiency in the study population especially among those with sickle cell anaemia. Zinc  supplementation or fortification should be considered as part of  intervention strategies to improve the zinc status of these children particularly those with sickle cell anaemia.Key words: Serum zinc, Sickle cell anaemia, children, Jos, Nigeri