Assessment of Building Collapse in Nigeria: The Major Causes and Practical Remedies

Over the past years, the magnitude of the occurrences of building collapse has led to the loss of life and properties in Nigeria. Research shows that in recent times, the collapse of building in Nigeria is becoming increasingly rampant and if stringent measures are not engaged to curb this menace, there could be cases of more devastating challenges in future. In a bid to and provide practical measures through which the menace of building collapse can be curbed, this study examines the causes of building collapse in Nigeria. The methodology includes; conduction of investigations and site inspections and secondary data. The study reveals that building collapse in Nigeria emanates majorly from; overloading, lack of maintenance, illegal Alteration or conversion of existing buildings, quackery, use of inadequate/improper foundation, inadequate preliminary site investigation, poor concrete mix ratio, inadequate structural analysis / design, lack of adherence to material specification / poor building material specification, inadequate supervision by professionals. Force majeure was also identified one of the causes of building collapse. Moreover, based on the results obtained in this study, recommendations were made to prevent the future occurrence of this menace. It is concluded in this paper that building collapse in Nigeria could be substantially reduced if the identified pitfalls are avoided. Keywords: Building Collapse, Building Construction, Structural Failure, Nigerian Constructio

Nigeria’s Federal Legislators’ Bloated Remuneration and Implications for Public Policy and Good Governance

This paper is a descriptive type. The study employs secondary data that was sourced from journal articles, online materials, government documentaries, and dailies to examine the huge salaries and other allowances “earned” by members of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The study is against the background of the controversies that enormous salaries and allowances of legislators have generated in the country since the return of democratic rule in 29th May; 1999. Despite the biting economic situation, poverty, unemployment and collapsed public infrastructures, members of the National Assembly continue to receive controversial salaries and allowances, and still often clamor for more. This study examines this issue and its implications for the country. The study concludes by proffering policy options which include but are not limited to giving serious thought to the need for part-time legislators who would only be entitled to sitting allowance, a significant reduction in the payments of all political office holders, and reduction of the two chambers of the National Assembly in Nigeria to one house-unicameral legislature, or at worst; reduction in the number of national lawmakers to maintain a cost-effective legislature.

Partisan Politics, Political Culture and Restructuring Drive for Good Governance in Nigeria

This paper discusses a number of partisan political attitudes among Nigerians such as party switching; especially by incumbent political office holders to a ruling party, taking kickbacks for party funding, use of money and material things to lure electorate, recruitment of party-militia to foment violence, party control by incumbent political office holders, and followers docile attitude to leadership service, and examines how they have constituted wrong political culture. The study also discusses the effects of such attitudes on good governance in Nigeria, and offers policy options for restructuring the behaviours. The study relied on secondary data and was content analyzed. The study argues for a need to restructure the wrong partisan behaviours among political stakeholders because they have made good governance elusive, incumbent political office holders more powerful and corrupt, partisan politics patron-client inclined and breed violence during electioneering periods. A number of restructuring policy-agenda were offered to move the country forward and put governance in enviable position

2019 General Elections in Nigeria and the New Dimension of Youth Involvement in Osun State

The study examined the extent to which the Nigerian youths were able to participate in the 2019 general elections compared to the previous ones from 1999 It also examined the fate of the Nigerian youths with the passage of the Not Too Young to Rule NTYTR Act The study also assessed the effect of the NTYTR Act on the 2019 general elections in Nigeria The study adopted quantitative method of research with the use of a self-structured questionnaire that was administered on 200 youth respondents between the ages of 18 and 35 years in Osun State Data were analyzed quantitatively and presented in bar charts tables and chi square statistics The study found that the Nigerian youths did not participate fully in previous general elections compared to 2019 after the passage of the NTYTR Act in the country The study showed that the NTYTR Act made the outcomes of the 2019 general elections to be better than previous elections because youths are now more encouraged to take part in the electoral contest unlike what it used to be The study concluded that NTYTR Act significant influenced the participation of youths in the 2019 general election and that more youths are likely to be more involved in future elections in the country if the trend is sustaine

Upscaling cassava processing machines and products in Liberia

Open Access JournalCassava is produced by more than 80% of farming households and is an important contributor to gross domestic product (GDP) in Liberia. It is therefore important to assess the status of cassava processing into food and other products. A total of one hundred and sixty (160) well-structured questionnaires were used for the collection of information from eight counties, with twenty respondents from each county. It was found out that all the counties lack adequate modern cassava processing machines, with almost all cassava processing operations being done with rudimentary equipment. Gari and wet fufu are common products in Liberian markets, with no high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) or derivatives. Consequently, user and gender friendly processing machines were installed in six established modern cassava processing centres, and new cassava products, such as fufu powder, tapioca, and HQCF with its value-added products (10% bread and pastries), were introduced. This upscaling will enhance the cassava value chain in Liberia with improvement in livelihoods, especially for vulnerable women and unemployed youth

Green Corrosion Inhibitory Potentials of Cassava Plant (<em>Manihot esculenta</em> Crantz) Extract Nanoparticles (CPENPs) in Coatings for Oil and Gas Pipeline

Internal and external corrosion affects oil and gas pipelines and were discussed in this chapter. Corrosion inhibitors are one of the methods that can be used to achieve corrosion control and prevention. The main discussion in this chapter was the use of cassava plant (Manihot esculenta Crantz) extract nanoparticles (CPENPs) as an additive in coatings to serve as a green corrosion inhibitor for oil and gas pipeline. Trace elements, such as O, Si, Ca, K, Fe and S, which are hetero-atoms, have been identified in CPENPs. Elements like Si and Ca would also improve the strength of coatings as well as reduce corrosion rate of coated metals. It has also been revealed that CPENPs is composed of the following compounds SiO2, CaCO3, Ca2(SO4)2H2O and CaC2O4(H2O), which would help in improving the mechanical properties of alloys, composites and coatings. SiO2 if added to coatings will improve the coating hardness, while the presence of CaCO3 in coatings will form a precipitate that will serve as a protective film on the surface of the metal, thereby protecting the metal from corrosion. The nature of bond and organic compounds that exist in the CPENPs was also discussed

Strengthening the Legislature for Effective Performance at the Third Tier of Government in Nigeria

The legislature is a vital organ of government in a democratic regime just as the executive and the judiciary. Unfortunately, the legislature at local government level in Nigeria has become moribund to deliver its vital roles due to a number of challenges such as party politics, appointment of caretaker members into council areas, use of local-state joint account, overbearing of the state government(s) on grassroots activities, and so on. As a result of the above challenges, the legislature at the third tier of government needs to be repositioned for effective service delivery. Hence, this paper examines the challenges of the legislature at the third tier of government with a view to making it more assertive to deliver on its constitutional roles. The study adopts qualitative method in its investigation. Data for the study were gathered from secondary sources and were content analyzed. The study revealed that the legislative activities at the grassroots in Nigeria are below expectation. This paper concludes that if the legislative arm of government is properly strengthened at the grassroots, it is capable of enabling people to receive urgent attention, assist in public engagement, reduce marginalization, and convey higher degree of legitimacy on the legislators for decision making. Keywords: strengthening, the legislature, effective performance, service delivery, third tier of government. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/11-4-05 Publication date: April 30th 202

School Factors as Correlates of Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Achievement in Southwestern Nigeria

Mathematics is bedrock for scientific and technological development. In recent times, the performance of pre-service mathematics teachers in the colleges of education in south western Nigeria has not been encouraging. This study, therefore, investigated availability of infrastructure, textual materials and instructional materials as correlates of pre-service mathematics teacher’s achievement in colleges of education in South-western Nigeria. This study is a survey design and Vygotsky’s social learning theory provided the framework. Five colleges of education were purposively selected. The college must be government-owned tertiary institution. Total enumeration was used to draw 511 final year pre-service mathematics teachers made up of 211 males and 300 females and 51 mathematics lecturers in the five colleges. Questionnaires were used to facilitate data collection and were analyzed using multiple regression analysis at 0.05 level of significance. There was significant joint contribution of the three variables on pre-service teachers’ achievement in Mathematics (F(3,507) = 6.66; R=0.20) accounting for 3.2% of its variance. Instructional (? = 0.18, t = 3.31) and textual (? = 0.13, t = 2.58) materials predicted pre-service teachers’ achievement in Mathematics. Relevant instructional and textual materials were determinants of learner’s achievement in Mathematics in colleges of education in Southwestern Nigeria

Evaluation of CD4+ T Cells in HIV Patients Presenting with Malaria at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Nigeria

CD4 count is an important immunological marker of disease progression in HIV seropositive patients. This study was carried out to determine the effect of malaria or fever of unknown origin on the population of CD4+ T lymphocytes of HIV seropositive patients attending the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) clinic of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria. 36 subjects were selected for this study. Ongoing history of fever was used as a case definition for malaria and malaria was confirmed from microscopic examination of thick and thin film of blood sample obtained from the patients during presentation with fever. The CD4 count was evaluated during presentation of fever and post-fever using flow cytometry. There was significant decrease in CD4 count of the patients. However, upon classifying the patients into 2 groups - those that returned to the clinic after a week and those that returned after a month - a significant increase in CD4 count was noticed in the group that returned after a week, while a significant decrease was noticed in the group that returned after a month (at p value of 95%). Further classification of the patients based on presence of malaria parasite, and body temperature resulted in varying effects on CD4 count post-fever (in the general group, 27 were positive for malaria parasites. Of these 27, there was an increase in CD4 count in 9 (33.3%). However in the group that returned after a week, all 6 (100%) that were positive for malaria parasites showed increase in CD4 count. Five (26.3%) of the 19 patients that had body temperature within the range of 35.5-37.4^o^C showed an increase in CD4 count, while 7 (41.2%) the 17 patients that had body temperature of 37.5^o^C and above showed an increase in CD4 count. The results led to the conclusion that while some components of the immune response to malaria could strengthen the immune system of HIV seropositive patients by increasing their CD4 count, other components will suppress their immunity by decreasing their CD4 count, accelerating the progression to AIDS