Estimating the Likelihood of Women Working in the Service Sector in Formal Enterprises: Evidence from Sub Saharan African Countries

The paper uses individual data for 9,957 female employees (drawn from a total sample of 29,332 individuals) in formal enterprises from 16 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries to analyse the likelihood of women in the service sector. A well-structured questionnaire was used in all the countries to collect the data required for the analysis. The data reveal that there is a significant higher presence of women (81.56 percent) working in services as compared to the manufacturing and agricultural sectors; indicating that the service sector is more favourable for women employment compared with men. This indicates that female employment not only in the service sector is a driver of growth, and thus high female employment rates indicate a country’s potential to grow more rapidly. More so, in many developing countries women’s employment is sometimes considered as a coping mechanism in response to economic shocks that hit the household. With regards to methodology, both demographic and household variables are used in the probit model. The findings indicate that there is a significant and positive participation of the female labor force in most of the countries. Age, household size, and tertiary education levels emerged as the most important and positive determinants in the model. Contrary to a priori expectation, the results show that marital status reduces the likelihood of a woman to be employed in the service sector. These findings could serve as useful inputs for the design of optimal sectorial employment policy measures aimed at promoting gender equality in SSA countries. Keywords: women, service sector, likelihood, probit model, Sub Saharan Afric

Effects of land clearing methods on a tropical forest ecosystem and the growth of Terminalia ivorensis (A. Chev.)

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Towards an integrated crop management strategy for the African stalk borer, Busseola fusca (Fuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in maize systems in Cameroon

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Nso, Mbum and Iyamho Creative Imagination and Social Concerns: The Study of Proverbs

This study investigates the relevance of oral performance in addressing social concerns within the context of the three oral communities under study. It contends that the oral literature of the Nso and Mbum people of the North West region of Cameroon and Iyamho people of Edo state, Nigeria lodge cherished African values that are still significant to the people’s conception of development in this evolving society. Every community strives to reinforce positive values in order to enhance development. The paper considers the collection and documentation of proverbs that are on the lips of Nso, Mbum and Iyamho people relevant because this cultural heritage that habours their valuable mores, lores and customs are threatened by globalization. Many have thought that oral literature is outdated and that given its mode of transmission which is by word of mouth, it cannot address serious contemporary social issues. Through the participant observation method and interviews with members of the communities under study, the findings tentatively reveal that orature which generally consists of material that is several generations old and is transmitted orally contains local knowledge systems that can be useful in the discussion in addressing social concerns to enhance sustainable development within the various communities under reference. Considering the crucial position of context in oral literature, new historicism, interpretative cultural translation and pragmatic functionalism theories guided the analysis, and revealed, that since all successful development efforts begin with the right decision which is anchored on good human qualities and resources, the indigenous knowledge system expressed in Nso, Mbum and Iyamho proverbs can be exploited and applied alongside some innovative methods to foster development. The study therefore assumes that since sustainable development anchors on the quality of the mind, we need to conceive our projects locally and think globally

School Service Quality and Student Achievement

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between school quality service and student achievement in secondary schools. The relationship between school quality service and student achievement was observed. The school service quality was also determined. The difference between gender achievement, and the difference in achievement of student from different places of residence were also discussed. Data were gathered using questionnaire. Data were processed using SPSS 7.5 Win. Correlation, stepwise regression, t-Test and ANOVA were carried out. The population consisted of 217 students from two schools. Results from the study showed no significant relationship between school service quality and student achievement. There is also no significant difference between quality service in the two schools. There are significant differences in achievement between gender and the places of residence of the students. Based on this study, it is suggested that the management should look intor other factors and conduct further studies to improve student achievement in schools

Power and Marginality in the Poetry of Nol Alembong and Emmanuel Fru Doh

The political history of Anglophones in Cameroon in determining their evolution and growth as a people and community has been bedeviled by intrigues, fraud, manipulations, betrayals, double standards, abuse of power and the marginalization of Anglophones. Given the numerical disadvantage of the Anglophones who constitute only one fifth of Cameroon’s population, the Francophones who are in the majority use the political power they possess to oppress, subjugate and repress the Anglophones. The fundamental question that is raised in this article is: for what reason is power acquired in contemporary African politics? Against this backdrop, the poetic orientation of Anglophone Cameroonian poets sprouts from the close scrutiny and consideration of the past and present socio-political, historical, cultural and economic landscape.Guided by the new historicist critical theory and the socialist realism of the Lukacsian and Leninist-Marxist paradigm in analyzing and evaluating Nol Alembong’s Forest Echoes (2012) and Emmanuel Fru Doh’s Not Yet Damascus (2007), this paper argues that the poetic works of Alembong and Doh are a response to the social isolation, economic exploitation and political marginalisation of Anglophones in Cameroon. The paper proposes and recommends the culture of dialogue in order to express a response to life and create a harmonious society where peace is maintained and sustained and tension is defused

Rethinking Language and Gender in African Fiction: Towards De-gendering and Re-gendering

The recognition and acceptance of the social construction of gender and the coercive nature of gendered subjectivities has been at the centre of feminist discourse which challenges the subjugation of the woman. G.D. Nyamndi, therefore, in his Facing Meamba attempts to address these concerns and proffer feasible solutions. The representation of women in literature, the role of gender in both literary creation and literary criticism, as studied ingynocriticism, the connection between gender and various aspects of literary form in such genre and metre embody masculine values of heroism, war, and adventure. This androcentric stand has compromised the rights of the woman, resulting in her marginalization, alienation and exclusion from socio-cultural activities. She is maligned with a sense of inadequacy. The patriarchal centre prevails and dominates the woman who has been pushed to the margin of the society. In this regard, Nyamndi demonstrates that, the African woman still has a place within the postcolonial context even though the man is imbued with more powers than the woman. Informed by the postcolonial theory, this study argues that, gendering constitutes a grave danger to a harmonious existence between the two genders. The study revealed that, de-gendering and re-gendering can create harmony between the man and woman because the two concepts are basis for gender equality. To achieve this, language which constitutes a semiotic mould has been exploited to deploy themes like, gender inequality and cultural issues

Migration, Diasporic Realities and the Quest for Home in Chika Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street and Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom

This paper preoccupies itself with a close analysis of the concept of migration, diasporic realities and the quest for home in Unigwe’s On Black Sisters’ Street and Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom. Migration is a recurrent issue in the world today. Due to one reason or the other, people leave from one geographical location for the other—usually to Europe and America for greener pastures. The study investigates the socio-economic experiences of these African characters in the diaspora and the despair encountered resulting from dreams deferred. In this regard, this paper examines the disillusionment and frustration that characterize Unigwe and Gyasi’s fictional characters in the selected works as they grapple with their expectations and the actual realities in the New World. The work operates on the premise that characters in the texts are induced and motivated by dreams of a better life to immigrate to Europe and America where they end up being trapped in hardship, culture shock and identity crisis. Guided by the Postcolonial theory, this study revealed that, one’s perception of place in which he/she finds himself or herself is determined by the socio-cultural background of place/local; and that success is linked to mentality and personality. The study also found out that characters end up in disillusionment when their expectations are not realized, and this puts them in a melancholic state, hence, their decision to return home

Mongo Beti and Liberty: A Study of His and Other Names in his Fiction

The primary concern of this paper is to argue that Mongo Beti is very political in his search for liberty in the choice of his pseudonyms the names of some of his major characters and consequently his fiction Before he discovered the hypocrisy in the practice of assimilation Alexandre Biyidi Awala did not see himself as different from the real Frenchman When the dawn of realization came withdrawal syndrome showed Thus the French intellectual still lurking in the Cameroonian Biyidi informed him to adopt a pseudo-identity to be able to express his disgust with a system that enslaved him for a long time This search for a second concealed personality yielded a set of symbolically charged names Eza Boto means the alienated people or people without any authenticity or autonomy Mongo Beti the son of soil the child of Beti land These names tell us what Biyidi thinks of the system he represents in his fiction This view is highlighted in this paper by examining Beti s fiction paying particular attention to the symbolic significance of the names of some of his major characters This is done with a view to corroborating Es Kia Mphahlele s contention in his The African Image that every creative writer must be committed to something beyond his art to a statement of value not purely aesthetic but to a criticism of life geared towards liberating a people VI This paper therefore opines that literature in its critical realist tradition contributes immensely to the freedom liberty of ma

Ecoculture and Spirituality in the Poetry of Nol Alembong and Bongasu Tanla-Kishani

This study set out to demonstrate how spirituality is declining in African ecoculture, and how Nol Alembong and Bongasu Tanla-Kishani have handled the problem in their collections of poems entitled, The Passing Wind and Konglanjo! Spears of Love without Ill-Fortune respectively. The study employs the tenets of Ecocriticism and Afrocentricity to argue that, the poetics of Alembong and Kishani reposition the ecological, cultural and spiritual links that have been distorted by the New World Order accentuated by capitalist greed, and the evolution and advancement of modern technology. The study revealed that a thorough study from the Romantic through the Transcendental eras shows that there has been a decline in the link between humans and nature as humans are systematically shifting away from nature. Given that Africa is spiritually tied to nature as Mazisi Kunene, Chinua Achebe, Kashim Ibrahim Tala, Nol Alembong etc. have argued, it becomes problematic when human/nature link begins to wane. Analyzing some selected poems from Alembong and Kishani’s collections against the backdrop of Ecocriticism and Afrocentricity, this study revealed that: African spirituality is earth-centered and this makes Alembong and Kishani to reaffirm the interconnectedness among nature, humans and spirituality. The poor treatment of nature thus leads to a decline in African spirituality. The second main finding of this study is that, the continuous decline in African spirituality persists because when it comes to mores and ethos governing nature and spirituality, focus is largely on Western notions which are capitalistic and individualistic in nature. The ultimate revelation of this study is that, man’s search for spiritual meaning has contributed to the physical destruction of the earth, thereby causing the disruption of the order of the universe and the essence of beings The study recommends the need to include African communalistic approach in the fight against human destruction of nature and spirituality