MOTIVATION AND ETHICS: CRITICAL FACTORS FOR SUSTAINABLE PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

The primary function of any government is to ensure an equitable distribution of public goods and services to its citizens. Despite the material and human resource in Nigeria, Nigerians have been short-changed by the quality of public service delivery in the country. Against this backdrop, this paper: examined the issues affecting public service delivery and demonstrated how motivation can enhance ethical behaviours among public servants. Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from year 2000 to 2016 was used to argue the position of the paper. The study discovered, among other things that certain Human Resource (HR), political and institutional factors have led to the erosion of moral conduct by public servants. While measures such as reforms and campaigns have been taken to curb political and institutional issues, limited remedial actions have been proffered to tackle that of HR. These have negatively affected public service delivery in Nigeria. Therefore, apart from putting some ethical principles in place, there is need to motivate public servants to get at their best. In addition to this, good behaviour is to be rewarded and bad behaviour is to be punished across all public services in the country, by a truly independent and incorruptible statutory body. By doing this, sanity and equitable service delivery will be achieved.     &nbsp

Cereals and grain legumes supply chain: implications for food and feed availability in Nigeria

Cereals and grain legume are of benefits for human consumption and the feed industry. Grain merchants and market speculators are involved in their distribution across the country. Their low production outputs with imports restriction made their supply grossly inadequate to meet the demand. This paper examined selected grains output in Nigeria from 2010 to 2022, analysed grain supply chain and examined the implications of the activities of grains merchants on grains hoarding. The study used secondary data on output of maize, millet, sorghum, soybean, groundnut and cowpea. Data was presented using table and graph with the aid of Stata software. Conceptual analysis was adopted for the demonstration of grains supply flow. In 1,000 metric tonnes, output of millet reduced from 5,170 in 2010 to 2,000 in 2022. That of maize increased from 7,677 in 2010 to 12,745 in 2021; sorghum’s output reduced from 7,141 to 7,000 while that of soybean increased from 142 in 2010 to 680 in 2022. Outputs of millet and sorghum dipped between 2011 and 2013. Grain merchants and speculators hoard grains and sell at higher prices to households and feeds industry due to yearly excess demand over supply. Households buy grains and livestock products at higher prices, households in turn makes labour available to farmers at higher prices with concurrent general price increases. This affects food and feed availability. The paper recommended that Government should purchase grains directly from farmers. Industrial users should also be encouraged to be off-takers of grains through contract farmin

Genotoxicity Evaluation of Landfill Solid Waste Leachates from a Waste Dumpsite in Lagos State, Nigeria using the Allium cepa Assay

The management of municipal landfill’s leachate is considered one of the most significant environmental issues. Potential mutagenic and genotoxic effects of solid waste leachates (SWL) were investigated using the Allium cepa root meristematic cells assay technique. In Allium root growth inhibition test, experimental onion bulbs were cultivated in various concentrations of the SWL and distilled water was used as a negative control. The root tips from the treated bulb were processedby orcein squash technique after 72 h. The mean lengths of root bundles were obtained andeffective concentration (EC) values calculated. Some of the physicochemical properties of the WL were also determined. The A. cepa assay was carried out at concentrations of 0.05, 0.1, 2.0, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100% of the WL. There was a statistically different (p < 0.05), concentrationdependent inhibition of onion root growth and mitotic index, and induction of chromosomal aberrations in the onion test. The results of the physicochemical analysis revealed that the concentrations of some parameters were above the maximum permissible limit set by the world health organization (WHO) and could partly be correlated with the toxicity of wastewater. The landfill leachates pose a risk to human health and the environment in general. Hence, ecotoxicity/genotoxicity assays would be useful in leachate risk assessment when coupled with physicochemical analysis

Toxicity evaluation of waste effluent from cassava-processing factory in lagos state, nigeria using the Allium cepa assay

Mutagenic and genotoxic effects of cassava wastewater (CWW) were investigated by assay of Allium cepa root meristematic cells. The physicochemical parameters of the wastewater samples showing cyanide content were also determined. In Allium root growth inhibition test, experimental onion bulbs were cultivated in various concentrations of the CWW and distilled water was used as a negative control. After 72 h, the root tips from the treated bulb were processed for cytological studies by orcein squash technique. The mean lengths of root bundles were obtained and effective concentration (EC) values calculated. The cytotoxic effects on the onion root tips showed strong growth retardation at high concentrations of the effluent with EC value of 10%. The 50 mitotic index (MI) rapidly decreased with increasing effluent concentration compared to control. There was significant increase in frequency of chromosome aberrations (sticky chromosome, c-mitosis, vagrant chromosome, bridges fragment, binucleated cells, multipolar anaphase, attached chromosome and laggard chromosome) in root tip meristem cells of Allium cepa at all tested concentrations. Further analysis using oneway ANOVA revealed that there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in concentration-dependent inhibition of onion root growth, mitotic index and induction of chromosomal aberration in the Allium cepa test. The results indicate that the effluent samples collected were highly mutagenic. The results of physicochemical analysis revealed that the concentrations of some parameters (conductivity, total suspended solid (TSS), total dissolved solid (TDS), biological oxygen demand (BOD), nitrate, cyanide, chloride and metals-magnesium, aluminum, chromium, cadmium, manganese and iron) were above the maximum permissible limit set by world health organization (WHO) and could partly be correlated with the toxicity of wastewater. The findings indicate that the substances contained in the cassava effluents may be toxic to living organisms and may pollute the environment if untreated

Antibiotics resistance of a strain of Escherichia coli isolated from bore hole in Ile Ife, Osun state, Nigeria

Abstract:Escherichia coli were isolated from water from two boreholes in Ile Ife, Osun state, Nigeria. This was an indication of faecal contamination. These strains of Escherichia coli were Gram negative short rods, Catalase positive, Methyl red positive, Voges Proskaeur negative. The strains could ferment glucose galactose, sucrose, lactose, mannitol and maltose with the production of acid and gas but could not hydrolyze starch. A particular strain was resistant to sulfamethoxazole, ampicillin, cotrimoxazole, cephaloridine, streptomycin, carbenicillin, sulfafurazole and tetracycline but sensitive to gentamicin, colistin, nalidixic acid, nitrofurantoin and colistin sulphat

Cassava Wastewater and Solid Waste Leachate as Cyanogenic Substrates for the Growth of Nitrile and Linamarin-Utilizing Bacteria

The direct discharge of wastewaters containing cyanogenic compounds poses severe health hazards, hence this study aimed to establish the biodegradative potential of nitrile and linamarin utilizing bacterial strains in the degradation of cyanogens in cassava wastewaters (CWW) and solid waste leachates (SWL). Glutaronitrile-utilizing bacterial strains (Bacillus sp. strain WOD8 KX774193 and Corynebacterium sp. strains WOIS2 KX774194) were isolated from solid waste leachates while linamarin-utilizing bacteria strains (Bacillus pumilus strain WOB3 KX774195 and Bacillus pumilus strain WOB7 KX774196) were isolated from cassava wastewaters. They were identified on the basis of morphological and biochemical characteristics, microscopic and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Microbial growth assessment coupled with pH changes were performed under aerobic batch conditions. Growth was evaluated at intervals (2 days) by the intensity of turbidity (O.D. 600 nm) in CWW and SWL media. The doubling times of strains WOD8 and WOIS2 when grown on CWW and SWL (without supplementing mineral salts medium) were 12.83 and 10.83 d (specific growth rate, µ: 0.054 and 0.064 d-1) and 20.38 and 17.77 d (µ: 0.034 and 0.039 d-1) respectively. Also, strains WOD8 and WOIS2 grew on supplemented CWW and SWL with doubling times of 10.04 and 9.9 d (µ: 0.069 and 0.070 d-1) and 16.12 and 16.12 d (µ: 0.043 and 0.043 d-1) respectively. Similarly, the doubling times of strains WOB3 and WOB7 when grown on CWW and SWL (without supplementing mineral salts medium) were 8.25 and 7.53 d (µ: 0.084 and 0.092 d-1) and 8.66 and 9.90 d (µ: 0.080 and 0.070 d-1) respectively. Whereas, the same strains had doubling times of 6.30 and 5.78 (µ: 0.11 and 0.12 d-1) and 6.30 and 9.24 (µ: 0.11 and 0.075 d-1) respectively when grown on supplemented CWW and SWL. It would appear that CWW has the highest potential as a natural growth substrate than SWL, and its use for biomass production may contribute to a reduction in the overall environmental impact generated by discarding cyanogenic residues

NITRILE-METABOLIZING BACTERIAL STRAINS ASSOCIATED WITH MUNICIPAL WASTE TIPS IN THE LAGOS METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Cyanide is one of the dominant pollutants in the environment. This study aimed at exploring the potential of microbes in the detoxification of cyanogenic substances. Bacillus sp. WOD8 KX774193 and Corynebacterium sp. WOIS2 KX774194 strains were isolated from solid waste leachates. The doubling times of strain WOD8 and strain WOIS2 when grown on glutaronitrile and benzonitrile (without supplementing glucose) were 12.2 and 7.86 d (specific growth rate, μ: 0.057 and 0.088 d-1) and 15.75 and 13.33 d (specific growth rate, μ: 0.044 and 0.052 d-1) respectively. Also, strains WOD8 and WOIS2 grew on glutaronitrile and benzonitrile (with supplementing glucose) with doubling times of 9.76 and 7.62 d (μ: 0.071 and 0.091 d-1) and 10.5 and 8.15 d (μ: 0.066 and 0.085 d-1) respectively. The results from the present study suggest that the nitrile-metabolizing capabilities of these bacterial isolates can potentially be explored for the degradation and bioremediation of nitrile contamination in the environment

Isolation and characterisation of nitrilase producing Aspergillus species recovered from solid waste leachates at two dump sites in Lagos, Nigeria

Aims: Nitrile compounds are cyanogenic intermediates, products, byproducts and waste products of agriculture, chemical and pharmaceutical industries and fossil fuels degradation. The enzymatic hydrolysis of nitriles to non-toxic carboxylic acids or amides plays an increasingly important role in environment remediation. This study aimed at exploring the potential of Aspergilli in the detoxification nitrile compounds at two selected dump sites in Lagos, Nigeria. Methodology and results: Decomposing solid waste leachate samples (SWL) were randomly collected at two selected dump sites namely Olusosun (Ojota) and Isolo (Oke-Afa). Samples per site were pooled, processed by selective enrichment and screened for the presence of Aspergilli by culture technique and intergenic spacer sequencing (ITS). Biomass generation and pH changes in the culture fluids were monitored at 4-days interval by dry weight measurements. Nitrilase production was determined spectrophotometrically. Two nitrilase producing Aspergillus strains: Aspergillus fumigatus strain WO2 with accession number MF78882 and Aspergillus niger strain WO7 with accession number MH542673 were identified. Growth investigation revealed biomass generations of 17.8 g and 23.8 g dry weight per one liter media for A. fumigatus strain WO2 and A. niger strain WO7 respectively. Progressive pH monitoring showed decline from 7.2 to 4.5 and 7.2 to 6.2 was obtained for strains WO2 and WO7 respectively, during nitrilase production at different yields of 0.0150 and 0.0161 mg/mL/min respectively. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: This study supports the studied dump sites as important sources of nitrilase-producing A. fumigatus and A niger strains with potentials as cost-effective environmental bioremediation agents in Nigeria

CHARACTERIZATION OF LINAMARIN-UTILIZING BACTERIAL STRAINS ASSOCIATED WITH DETOXIFICATION OF CYANOGENS IN WASTE EFFLUENTS

The cyanide molecule is one of the dominant pollutants in the environment. This study aimed to isolate and identify the bacterial strains capable of utilizing linamarin and to assess their roles in the detoxification of cyanogenic substances in waste effluents in Lagos, Nigeria. Two bacterial strains, Bacillus pumilus strain WOB3 KX774195 and Bacillus pumilus strain WOB7 KX774196 were isolated from cassava wastewater samples by standard microbiological procedure. They were identified on the basis of morphological and biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Microbial growth assessment was performed in triplicates under aerobic batch conditions. The generation times of strains WOB3 and WOB7 were 40.71 and 10.88 d; with specific growth rates of 0.025 and 0.064 d-1 respectively on linamarin. Strain WOB3 had maximum growth of 0.552 (OD600nm) by day 12 at pH 6.2. Likewise, strain WOB7 recorded optimum growth of 1.276 (OD600 nm) by day 10 at pH 6.4. The maximum values obtained for linamarase activities by WOB3 and WOB7 were 3.3 x 10-2 mgmL-1min-1 and 7.61 x 10-2 mgmL-1min-1 respectively. The results from this study suggest that the bacterial isolates possess degradative capacities, which could be deployed in the bioremediation of cassava processing wastes

Physico-chemical properties of municipal refuse in Lagos metropolis and cellulolytic activities of resident microorganisms associated with organic matter degradation

This study investigated the activities of micro organisms involved in the degradation of organic matter in solid wastes and their potential to produce cellulolytic enzymes. Soil samples of decomposing waste piles were collected from four designated landfill sites in Lagos metropolis and analyzed for physicochemical properties, toxic heavy metal content and microbial populations. Findings revealed that the moisture content of the soils ranged from 7.6 - 10.0% in all the locations sampled. Ojota-Olusosun site had the highest organic matter content of 10.65%. The highest viable bacterial counts were 28.2 ± 3.0 x 106 cfu/g while fungi were 47.0 ± 4.0 x 104 cfu/g respectively. A similar pattern was observed for phosphate and chloride levels while some heavy metals were also detected in varying and high amounts. There was a significant positive correlation at 5% level between fungal viable counts and phosphate ion while a significant negative correlation was observed for total hydrocarbon. The bacteria associated with the soil samples were identified as Escherichia coli, Bacillus spp, Klebisella spp, Micrococcus spp. and Acinetobacter spp while the resident fungal species were mostly the Aspergillus spp and an isolate identified as Mucor spp. The moulds were found to be capable of utilising lignin and cellulosic substrates for growth and for production of cellulolytic enzymes. Results from this study suggest that such micro organisms could be useful in bioconversion of cellulosic substrates and solid wastes to cellulolytic enzymes for industrial processes