Deforestation and Greening the Nigerian Environment

Trees in forested and agricultural landscapes are particularly important because they disproportionately provide high values of environmental services and biodiversity. The Government has over the years promulgated laws as regards forest conservation and protection but these laws are not enforced. The objective of this study is to analyze the current deforestation status of the Nigerian economy and its capacity for depleting the green environment. The methodological approach to this study relies on the use of primary data sources. The data were sourced through questionnaire and interview to test the participation of households in deforestation activities from the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. The Results of the qualitative analysis shows that poverty, awareness and lack of enforcement are important variables that affect greening the environment. The paper concludes that the three levels of Government, communities and individuals can successfully manage forests in a sustainable way, when the appropriate policy actions are enforced

Knowledge and Perceptions of Marital Rape among Women in Oyo State, Nigeria

Marital rape is a serious public health problem affecting many women worldwide. In Nigeria, there is dearth of evidence-based information on issues relating to knowledge and perceptions of marital rape among women. This study was therefore designed to assess the knowledge and perceptions about marital rape among married women in Oyo State, Nigeria. The cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1200 women aged 18-60 years who were ever-married. Participants were recruited using a multi-stage random sampling technique. A validated semi-structured questionnaire which contained a-8 point knowledge of health consequences of marital rape and a-20 point marital rape perception scales was used for data collection. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. Respondents’ mean age was 36.6 ± 9.6 years, while their husbands’ mean age was 42.1 ± 10.3 years. Mean knowledge score was 3.9±2.2 and 23.4% had poor knowledge of marital rape. Respondents who had poor knowledge who were aged ≤24 years, 25–49 years and ≥50 years were 31.6%, 25.3% and 9.6%, respectively (P≤0.05). Mean perception score was 8.9 ± 3.6, and 69.8% had supportive perceptions relating to marital rape. A higher proportion of respondents with marriage duration of >20 years (84.6%) had marital rape supportive perception compared with those with marriage duration of 0-10 years (64.9%) (P≤0.05). Knowledge of marital rape remains inadequate, especially among younger women. Furthermore, many women had supportive perceptions for marital rape, a situation which can adversely hinder adopting appropriate preventive behaviours. Multiple community-based health educational interventions have potentials for addressing the phenomenon

Rural dwellers involvement in small scale poultry farming in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

Poultry production at all levels appears to be lucrative and profitable but many factors appear to limit the involvement of rural dwellers in this sector. This study was carried out at Oluyole Local Government Area Oyo State to assess the level of involvement of rural dwellers in small scale poultry farming. Some parts of Oluyole local government were purposely selected for this study because of higher  concentration of rural dwellers that are involved in poultry production. A total of ninety five respondents were sampled and had a well-structured questionnaire administered to them to determine their socio economics characteristic, their level of involvement, benefit  derived and constraint faced in poultry farming. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts, percentage and  means, Chi-square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) at 0.05% level of significance. The results show that majority of the respondents were males (61.1%), married (68.8%) and have tertiary education (59.1%). Majority (50.5%) of the respondents were between the ages of 31-45years. Socio-economic characteristics such as age, region, sex, educational level, household size and income had no significant relationship with the respondent’s level of involvement in small scale poultry farming (P<0.05). Results on level of involvement shows that most (48.8%) of the sampled correspondents were involved in boilers production. The study also shows that the benefit derived in poultry farming remained the same regardless of the level of involvement of the farmers in various poultry activities, with r –value (0.177), p-value (0.089) indicating that the relationship is not significant (P<0.01), it also indicated that the relationship between the  constraints facing the respondents and their level of involvement is not significant with r –value (0.154). Also, the major constraints facing the respondents included difficulty in accessing loan and quality feed. Government should therefore make loan facilities at affordable interest rate while all the stake holders should work together to improve farmers’ access to quality feed, vaccine, technical know-how and adequate extension workers

Awareness of Selected Information and Communication Technologies for Extension Training on Improved Agricultural Practices Among Extension Agents of Ogun and Oyo States, Nigeria

Over several decades agricultural production in Nigeria has improved through the extension services, coupled with the invention of ICTs in recent time. The application of any ICT gadget would be determined by its awareness and its appropriateness for the intended purpose desired to serve by the user. This study, therefore, assesses awareness of selected ICTs for disseminating agricultural information to farmers by the Extension Agents (EAs) of Ogun and Oyo States, Nigeria. Multistage sampling method was employed to obtain data from 287 EAs with interview schedule and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). Using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools, the paper analyses personal characteristics of the EAs in both States; agricultural crop information disseminated through the selected ICTs and level of awareness of the selected ICTs among the EAs. It was deduced in the study that the EAs and extension agency used different ICTs in disseminating agricultural information to farmers in the areas, though the EAs have different level of awareness on the usage of selected ICTs for such purpose, with GSM-phones ranked 1st (wms=4.76), radio (wms=4.63=2nd), extension bulletins/posters/newsmagazine ranked 3rd (wms=3.74) respectively. The PPMC analysis revealed that age (0.117*), educational level (0.145*) and years of working experience (0.176**) of EAs recorded a significant relationship with awareness level of selected ICTs at both 1% and 5%. The T-test analysis further revealed that a significant difference existed in the awareness level of the selected ICTs among the EAs of Ogun and Oyo States. The study, therefore, recommends the need to encourage the use of other ICT gadgets apart from GSM-phonesthrough adequate awareness on the use and appropriateness of ICTs for disseminating agricultural information to users and also socioeconomic characteristics of the applicants for extension service should be given consideration during recruitment exercise. Keywords: Awareness, ICT, Agriculture, Extension Agent DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/11-10-02 Publication date:May 31st 202

Perception of white meat consumption among urban households in Ibadan North Local Government of Oyo State

This study examines the consumer’s perception of white meat among household in Ibadan north local government area of Oyo state, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling was used through questionnaire to gather information from 110 respondents used as a sample size for the study. Data were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics tools such as frequency and percentage, while inferential statistics such as chi-square and PPMC were used for the hypotheses. The result of the study revealed that majority (63.6%) of the respondents were married, also in their active age (93.2%) and engaged in trading and civil service work as their primary occupation. Also, majority (55.5%) had up to secondary education and tertiary school level with household size 1-5.The result further revealed that 52.4% of the respondents had unfavourable perception of white meat consumption while 47.6% had favourable perception. Also, better cholesterol content (53.6%) and reduced health risk (51.8%) were some of the perceived benefits of white meat considered by respondents. Constraints such as high cost of white meat (99%) and low income (88%) were considered as major constraints to white meat consumption. Chi-square analysis revealed that marital status(X2=18.693, P=0.028), education(X2=17.753, P=0.038) and primary occupation(X2=18.266, P=0.032) of respondents were found to have significant relationship with their perception of white meat consumption at 0.05 level. Also, PPMC analysis showed that there was relationship between perceived benefits and perception for white meat at 0.05 level of significant. The study, therefore, recommends that the enlightenment programmes on nutritional benefit of white meat consumption should be promoted for consumers to have right perception

Forensic psychiatry in Africa : prospects and challenges

Forensic Psychiatry has a history that dates back almost two thousand years, and has evolved into a recognised discipline with a robust background of scientific enquiry, mostly because mental health care has always had an important interface with the law. Nevertheless, even in the developed world there are differences between countries with respect to the extent forensic mental health services have developed. This has been exacerbated by the differences in legal systems, resources and priorities in each country. Consequently comparisons and cooperation between forensic psychiatrists internationally has been difficult. In Africa, which is the second largest and most populous continent and containing an immense diversity of languages, religious traditions, ethnic groups and sociopolitical systems forensic psychiatry has largely remained underdeveloped within the context of a pervasive neglect in the provision of mental health services. The situation is compounded by the dearth of information about forensic services on the continent. As described by an eminent African psychiatrist, "the practice of forensic psychiatry in Africa is shrouded in both mystery and confusion". In addition to the lack of appropriate facilities, most countries in Africa have, on average, one psychiatrist per one million inhabitants. Moreover many psychiatrists have migrated to developed countries, leaving a small number of mental health professionals burdened with large numbers of patients.http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_medjda.htm

Knowledge of rural dwellers towards biodiversity conservation in onigambari forest reserve of Oyo State

The study examined the knowledge of rural dwellers of biodiversity conservation in Onigambari forest reserve, Ibadan Oyo State. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents from the study area. Data were collected with the aid of  interviewed schedule and analyzed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. The distribution showed that majority of the respondents were male (65.8%), married (63.3%) with household size of 5-8 (65.8%). The result further showed that majority (56.7%) of the respondents recorded low level knowledge on biodiversity conservation. Marital status (X2=9.925, P<0.005), Educational status  (X2=33.031, P<0.005) and Household size (X2=13.561, P<0.005) were found to have significant relationship with the knowledge of the respondents to biodiversity conservation. The study therefore recommends that opportunities of getting formal education should be made available to the dwellers in the study area as this will enhance their knowledge on biodiversity in the study area. Keywords: Forest reserves, Knowledge, Biodiversity and Conservatio

Guest Editorial: Forensic psychiatry in Africa: prospects and challenges

Forensic Psychiatry has a history that dates back almost two thousand years, and has evolved into a recognised discipline with a robust background of scientific enquiry, mostly because mental health care has always had an important interface with the law. Nevertheless, even in the developed world there are differences between countries with respect to the extent forensic mental health services have developed. This has been exacerbated by the differences in legal systems, resources and priorities in each country. Consequently comparisons and cooperation between forensic psychiatrists internationally has been difficult. In Africa, which is the second largest and most populous continent and containing an immense diversity of languages, religious traditions, ethnic groups and sociopolitical systems forensic psychiatry has largely remained underdeveloped within the context of a pervasive neglect in the provision of mental health services. The situation is compounded by the dearth of information about forensic services on the continent. As described by an eminent African psychiatrist, "the practice of forensic psychiatry in Africa is shrouded in both mystery and confusion". In addition to the lack of appropriate facilities, most countries in Africa have, on average, one psychiatrist per one million inhabitants. Moreover many psychiatrists have migrated to developed countries, leaving a small number of mental health professionals burdened with large numbers of patients.http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_medjda.htm