INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ENVIRONMENT IN NIGERIA: REVIEWING CONFLICT CAUSES AND TAXANOMIES AMONG PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES

The institutional and legal framework of bargaining that has been established in Nigeria can be seen as encapsulating the shape, rather than the substance, of meaningful industrial relations. As such, it closely corresponds to the broader disagreement existing in other areas of social life between the constitutional, legal, and normative mores inherited from the colonial government and real behavior patterns. The main issues that divide wage earners, on the one hand, from employers and government, on the other, have an existence far alienated from the recognized system of industrial relations, while the unions, the employers, and the government continue to give formal adherence to the system. As a response to the need to resolve issues between employers and their workers speedily, the Industrial Arbitration Panel [IAP] was established in 1976. The Act which was established vested the Panel with jurisdiction to hear and determine trade disputes between workers and employers, including inter and intra Union disputes in both private and public sectors of Nigeria. The paper seeks to review the industrial relations environment in Nigeria. It emphasizes on how conflict and its taxonomies shapes the behavior of public sector employees. The paper equally concludes that the causes of conflict among public sector employees is greatly influenced by the inter-play of institutional, political and legal factors within the industrial relations environment.  Article visualizations

Empirical Assessment of Performance of Dangote Cement Plc: An End-Users’ Perspective

End-users, who are the focus of this assessment of performance in respect of Dangote Cement Plc, have been regarded as the most important stakeholder of any business activity. Previous works have not showcased an assessment of performance based on an end-user’s perspective which is why this study sets out to resolve the problem concerning how end-users react to market changes when patronizing the Nigeria cement manufacturing industry. Simple regression model was used to test the hypotheses – to show the relationships between the dependent variable - Cement Production Level (CPL) and the independent variables - Annual Average Price per bag of Cement (AAPC) and Turnover (TO). The study found that the explanatory variables portrayed significant positive relationships with CPL. In both cases, this relationships were very strong because the correlation coefficients (R) were above 97% and the adjusted coefficients of determination (adjusted R2) which are the explanatory variables showed that there was more than 62% significance in their relationships with CPL. This means, that over 97% of Dangote Cement Plc’s production (supply of cement) succeeded in keeping prices up 62% of the time. The paper found that end-users increasingly continue to patronize products of necessity even when they are produced by a firm quite monopolistic in nature because they have no near substitutes. As a result, there is a policy implication that even though end-users expect quality products, great value, or a compelling brand and would equally avoid products of companies that fail to deliver on customer service, they (end users) may have no succor other than a regulatory regime set by the Government especially where monopolistic goods of necessity (such as cement) are concerned. Accordingly, the study recommends that government (or its agency) should set up minimum production volume benchmarks, regulate margins and establish price ceilings to protect the end-user. Key terms: Assessment of performance, Cement, End-user, Cement Production Level, Annual Average Price per bag of Cement, Turnover. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-10-15 Publication date:May 31st 202

Phytochemical analysis and assessment of bioethanol production potential of Cymbopogon schoenanthus (camel grass) under different pH

In this research, the phytochemical and bioethanol content of Cymbopogon schoenanthus was assessed under three different pH. The phytochemical screening and proximate analysis was carried out according to standard qualitative and quantitative methods. Where alkaloids, balsam, flavonoids, glycosides, saponin, carbohydrates, Protein, volatile oil, minerals etc. were analyzed. Bioethanol was produced using enzymatic hydrolysis after pretreatment under different pH viz: pH 6, 7 and 8 all under ambient temperature. It was then fermented using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Each of the treatments was made in triplicates. The absorbance was determined for reducing sugar and at the end of the production it was subjected to Gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy to analyze the end product of bioethanol produced. The result for phytochemicals shows the presence of flavonoids in C. schoenanthus (13%) followed by volatile oil (6.44%). Alkaloids, saponin and tannins are all present. The result for proximate analysis shows highest percentage of carbohydrates (70.69%) followed by ash (11.66%), protein (11.14%), fibres (2.83%). The mineral analysis shows the presence of calcium (1.18 mg/L), magnesium (1.02 mg/L), phosphorous (6.37 mg/L), potassium (1933.33 mg/L) and sodium (59.17 mg/L). The absorbance of reducing sugar was higher at pH8 (0.0679). Same happened to the concentration of the bioethanol. The GC-MS analysis of the bioethanol produced shows the presence of Ethyl alcohol (bioethanol) in all the treatments at different pH. However, Hydrazine carboxamide was present in all the treatments. In addition iso-butane, 1- butanol, butanoic acid and propane were found present, all having fuel potential and are good source of gasoline. These are produced as a result of fermentation and enzymatic activities of the organic compound present in the biomass sample.Keywords: Bioethanol, Cymbopogon schoenanthus, pH and Phytochemical screenin

A Preliminary Study on Microbial Contamination of Leafy Vegetables in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria

Five leafy vegetables commonly consumed in Sokoto metropolis were evaluated for microbiological quality using standard procedures involving standard plate count (SPC). The vegetables investigated included Lactuaca sativa (Lettuce), Amaranthus hybridus (Spinach), Vernonia amagdalina (Bitter leaf), Brassica oleracea (Cabbage) and Moringa oleifera Lam (Horse radish). Ten fungal species which include Alternaria alternata, Absidia corymbifera, Aspergillus Niger, A. flavus, Cladosporium herbarum, Fusarium oxysporium, Geotrichum candidum, Mucor racemoses, Rhizopus stolonifer and Trichoderma harzianum and four species of bacteria: Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocystogens and Staphyllococus aureus were isolated from the leafy vegetables. The total colony counts of fungi ranged from 1.8 x 106 – 6.28 x 105 (cfu/g) of the vegetables while that of bacteria ranged from 1.0 x 106 to 2.94 x 106 cfu/g of the vegetables. The highest counts of microbial organisms were found on A. hybridus while M. oleifera and B. olerarea had the lowest fungal and bacterial counts respectively. There is a need to reduce the levels of microbial contamination on leafy vegetables through appropriate production practices, careful handling by the vendors and appropriate processing with a view to minimize the risk of human exposure to fungal and bacterial pathogens associated with the vegetables

Qualitative And Quantitative Phytochemical Screening Ofcola Nuts (Cola Nitida And Cola Acuminata)

A study was carried out to evaluate the phytochemical constituent ofaqueous and methanol nut extracts of Colanitida and Colaacuminata. The phytochemical screening which involves both the qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed the presence of secondary metabolites; alkaloid, tannins, glycoside, steroids and saponins glycoside with higher contain in methanol and aqueous extracts. The saponins content is higher in the aqueous extract  and not detected in the methanol extract of the two species. Flavonoids expressed strong presence in methanol extract of C.nitida and not detected in the aqueous extract as well as the aqueous and methanol extracts of C. acuminata. For cardiac glycoside and volatile oil, they show moderate and trace presence in the methanol and aqueous extracts respectively. Anteraquinones are not detected in all the extracts of the two species. The quantitative result shows that, there were significant differences (p<0.05) in glycoside, tannins, saponins and alkaloid content of C. acuminata compared to C.nitida, withC. acuminata having the highest percentage of alkaloid (1.00%) while C. nitidahad (0.80%) alkaloid content,C. acuminatahad (0.80%) saponins, with C. nitida having (0.40%), more over the tanninscontent of C. acuminatawas higher (0.89%) compared to C. nitidawith (0.77%) while the glycoside content of C. acuminatawas (0.53%) and that of C. nitida was (0.43%). The results as indicated above disclose the scientific basis for the traditional uses of cola nut. Finally, the study  recommend the isolation of these metabolites using highly purify methods in other  to obtain their maximum therapeutic potentials. Keywords:Colanitida, Cola acuminate,Qualitative and Quantitative PhytochemicalScreening

Impact of a 10-Year Eye Care Program in Sokoto, Nigeria: Changing Pattern of Prevalence and Causes of Blindness and Visual Impairment.

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to ascertain the current magnitude and causes of blindness and visual impairment in persons aged 50 years and over and to assess the impact of a 10-year eye care program in Sokoto State, Nigeria. METHODS: A rapid assessment of avoidable blindness (RAAB) survey (in persons 50 years and over) was conducted in 2016. Participants were selected in Wurno health zone using a two-stage cluster randomized sampling with probability proportional to size. Operational definitions were based on RAAB and World Health Organization eye examination record definitions. Eye care program documents were reviewed and data from a baseline survey undertaken in 2005 were reanalyzed. RESULTS: A response of 89.1% (2405 of 2700 participants) was obtained in the 2016 survey. With available correction, the unadjusted prevalence of blindness was 7.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.4, 8.9). The odds of blindness were 1.8 times higher in females than males (95% CI: 1.3, 2.4; P < 0.001). Major causes of blindness were cataract (48.9%) corneal disease (20.1%), glaucoma (10.3%), and uncorrected refractive error/aphakia (8.7%). The age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of blindness has declined from 11.6% (95% CI: 7.4, 17.0) in 2005 to 6.8% (95% CI: 5.6, 8.0%) in 2016. CONCLUSION: The blindness prevalence is high, and the major causes are avoidable in the health zone. The findings suggest that investments in the program over the last 10 years might have led to almost a halving in the prevalence of blindness in th e population. However, the small sample size of persons 50+ years from Wurno zone in the 2005 survey necessitate caution when comparing the 2005 and the 2016 surveys

Host Preference, Salt Balance and Molecular Characteristics of African Mistletoes in Selected Areas of Sokoto State, Nigeria

Mistletoes are hemi parasitic plants that are widely distributed and parasitize host trees globally. The aim of this study was to identify African mistletoes using DNA markers, determine their host preferences and salt balance in selected communities of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria. A total of 8communities were surveyed and the number of mistletoes on the host trees were counted and recorded. In addition, host characteristics such as canopy spread, tree height, water holding capacity and mistletoe-host nutrients (N+, K+,&nbsp; Ca2+ and P+ concentrations) equilibrium was determined. Molecular identification of collected mistletoe samples was done using DNA Barcoding with Rbcl targeted specific primers and sequence analysis using DNA Subway database. The results revealed that Acacia nilotica tree was highly infested by the mistletoe. Host canopy spread, basal area and height had no influence over mistletoe infestation. The concentration of N+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and P+ were found to be higher in the mistletoes compared to the host trees. Molecular identification of the collected mistletoes revealed close relationship with Moquiniella rubra, belonging to the family Loranthaceae. It can be concluded from the result that the mistletoes in the study areas are Moquiniella rubra and depend solely on the host trees for their nutrients requirement and survival

Wurno zone Sokoto Nigeria_2005

This data was part of an all-age blindness prevalence survey conducted in Sokoto state Nigeria in 2005. The data is for persons aged 50 years and over who were examined in Wurno health of Sokoto state. The sample were selected using a stratified sampling strategy. The operational definitions were based on WHO/PBL coding instructions for eye examination record