The Legislature and Democracy in Nigeria, (1960-2003): History, Constitutional Role and Prospects

In Nigeria the constitutional role of the Legislature is yet to receive adequate scholarly attention. The main area of focus in most literature has been the executive arm of government and its other related activities. This paper examined the evolution of legislative functions in Nigeria with a view to justifying its contributions to democracy especially in the first, second and fourth republics (1960-2003) respectively. Related concepts of legislature and democracy were clearly explained with concrete supportive scholarly literature. The historical evolution of legislative function in Nigeria was also explored to demonstrate the common but often neglected place of the legislature in democratic governance. Based on this, premise, proper constitutional roles of the legislature in the promotion of democracy in Nigeria were analysed to show clearly that democratic culture cannot be sustained without harmonious executive and legislature partnership. The prospects of this partnership were outlined with far reaching recommendations on how to promote healthy executive and legislature working relationship in present democratic dispensation in Nigeria. Keywords: Legislature, democracy, constitution, history and role. 

Assessing the Moral Relevance of Peace Education Contents in the Basic Education Social Studies Curricula for Effective Citizenship Participation in Nigeria

Social Studies is a core subject at the basic education level in Nigeria which has the potentials of inculcating functional knowledge and desirable morals into pupils for effective citizenship participation through peaceful co-existence. However, despite this positive trend, the moral significance of peace education contents of the subject seem not to have been adequately explored. This lacuna justified the need for this study which sought to find out the moral relevance of peace education contents in basic education social studies in Nigerian schools. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with content analysis bias. A sample of 200 social studies teachers undergoing in-service sandwich training were selected through stratified random sampling technique from states across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study. Similarly, two major instruments namely 10-item questionnaire titled “Teachers’ Awareness of the Moral Relevance of Peace Education Contents in Basic Education Social Studies Curriculum” and content analysis of the same social studies curricula published by NERDC, a foremost Nigerian educational regulatory body were used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed with the use of arithematic percentages. Findings of the study showed that majority of the teachers were not only aware of the moral relevance of peace education  contents in basic education social studies curricula but were also of the  opinion that the subject could be used to meet the moral and peace education needs of Nigerian pupils for the purpose of inclusion citizenship participation. It was also established that peace and moral education contents were adequately reflected in the basic education social studies curricula. These findings were exhaustively discussed with far-reaching recommendations on how to improve the teaching and learning of moral aspects of peace education contents through the basic education social studies curricula for effective promotion of inclusive citizenship participation in a multi-ethnic and religious society like Nigeria. Keywords: Basic Education, Moral, Moral Relevance, Social Studies Curricula, Citizenship Participation.

Teachers’ perception of the effectiveness of Computer-Assisted-Instruction in the teaching of Junior Secondary School Social Studies in Nnewi Education zone, Anambra State, Nigeria

This study sought to determine teachers’ perception of the effectiveness of Computer-Assisted-Instruction (CAI) in the teaching of junior secondary school Social Studies in Nnewi education zone, Anambra state. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Three research questions and three hypotheses (at 0.05 level of significance) guided the study. The population of the study consisted of all the twenty-nine Social Studies teachers in the education zone. There was no sampling since the entire population of the study was used.  A 16-item questionnaire titled “Questionnaire on teachers’ perception of the effectiveness of Computer-Assisted-Instruction (CAI) on the teaching of junior secondary school Social Studies” was used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation while t-test statistic was employed to test the null hypotheses. The findings of the study showed that the respondents perceived CAI to be effective in the teaching of Social Studies in junior secondary school in the education zone.  The findings also showed that there is no significant difference in the mean perception of Social Studies Head teachers and teachers on the effectiveness of CAI in the teaching of JSS Social Studies. It was also shown that there is no significant difference in the mean perception of male and female Social Studies teachers on the effectiveness of CAI in the teaching of JSS Social Studies. Similarly, it was also revealed that there is no significant difference in the mean perception of urban and rural Social Studies teachers on the effectiveness of CAI in the teaching of JSS Social Studies curriculum. These findings were exhaustively discussed with far-reaching implications, conclusion and recommendations on the efficacy of CAI in enhancing students’ achievement and teachers’ knowledge of JSS Social Studies. Keywords: Perception, Computer-Assisted-Instruction, Social Studie

Cost Implications of the Prevalence of HIV/AIDS on the Economic Development of Nigeria.

HIV/AIDS emerged in the last three decades as visible threat to health and the socio-economic conditions of developing countries including Nigeria. Against this background, this study sought to determine the cost implications of the prevalence of HIV/AIDs on the economic development of Nigeria. The study adopted mainly qualitative approach sourced from National Bureau of Statistics-(NBS) and Central Bank of Nigeria-(CBN) statistical Bulletin respectively for analysis. Findings seem to support claims that the incidence of HIV/AIDS exert serious negative influences on the economic growth of Nigeria. This is due to the fact that HIV/AIDS reduces to a large extent the proportion of the working population with its huge corresponding cost implications, which in turn affect economic resources in the country. The policy interventions strategies recommended for stemming the scourge of HIV/AIDS include; prevention of new infections, cost reduction of treatments for patients, positive adjustments of patients to employment environment and development of activities like pycho-educational programme to motivate and foster HIV/AIDS prevention and management  behaviours among the Nigeria populace especially the youth. Keywords: Cost, Economic Growth; Employment, HIV/AIDS, Productivit

Cost Implications of the Prevalence of HIV/AIDS on the Economic Development of Nigeria

HIV/AIDS emerged in the last three decades as visible threat to health and the socio-economic conditions of developing countries including Nigeria. Against this background, this study sought to determine the cost implications of the prevalence of HIV/AIDs on the economic development of Nigeria. The study adopted mainly qualitative approach sourced from National Bureau of Statistics-(NBS) and Central Bank of Nigeria-(CBN) statistical Bulletin respectively for analysis. Findings seem to support claims that the incidence of HIV/AIDS exert serious negative influences on the economic growth of Nigeria. This is due to the fact that HIV/AIDS reduces to a large extent the proportion of the working population with its huge corresponding cost implications, which in turn affect economic resources in the country. The policy interventions strategies recommended for stemming the scourge of HIV/AIDS include; prevention of new infections, cost reduction of treatments for patients, positive adjustments of patients to employment environment and development of activities like pycho-educational programme to motivate and foster HIV/AIDS prevention and management  behaviours among the Nigeria populace especially the youth. Keywords: Cost, Economic Growth; Employment, HIV/AIDS, Productivit

Awareness and Attitude of Senior Secondary School Students towards HIV/AIDS Risk Factors and Preventive Measures in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

The study determined the level of awareness and attitude towards HIV/AIDS risk factors for enhanced preventive measures among senior secondary school students in Ebonyi State. The study adopted a convergent parallel mixed-method design. The population of the study comprised of all the 6,912 Senior Secondary 2 (SS2) students in Ebonyi North Education Zone. The sample for the study comprised 378 senior secondary school (SS2) students. The instruments for data collection were a questionnaire developed by the researchers and a Focus Group Discussion Guide. Both instruments namely the questionnaire and the focus group discussion guide were face validated by experts from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Quantitative data analysis was done using mean and standard deviation and t-test statistics. Qualitative analysis with respect to the Focus Group Discussion was done using thematic analysis method. Findings of the study showed among other things that senior secondary school students are aware of HIV/AIDS risk factors and do have a positive attitude toward such HIV/AIDS risk as well as their preventive measures. The findings of the study further revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female students on attitude and preventive measures towards HIV/AIDS risk factors in the study area. Similarly, there was no significant difference in the mean responses of urban and rural senior secondary school students on awareness of HIV/AIDS risk factors and attitude towards the risks factors in the study area. However, there was a significant difference in the mean responses of male and female students on awareness of HIV/AIDS risk factors with the female students having a higher mean than their male counterparts. There was also a significant difference in the mean responses of urban and rural students on awareness of HIV/AIDS preventive measures with the urban students having a higher mean than those in the rural area