Alternative Modes of Financing Higher Education in Nigeria and the Implications for University Governance

Under-funding has been identified as one of the major problems presently facing the university system in most of the African nations, Nigeria inclusive. The study documented both financing and expenditure patterns in the Nigerian universities, and found that most monies, which go on direct teaching, are in fact used for the payment of salaries and entitlements of staff

Causes and impacts of global financial crisis on the performance of Nigerian banks (a case study of selected banks)

Incessant bank failure in the face of several banking policies calls for appropriate prophylactic measures capable of stemming the tide because the pain of bank failure touches the banker, customer, government and the general public as well. Thus, when the global financial crisis came, it destabilized the expected return of the consolidation exercise of 2005 which seriously affected the operation of Nigerian banks. This study evaluates the causes and implications of the global financial crisis on the performance of Nigerian banks with a view to determine the extent of this impact and determining various options that could cushion the impact as well as avoiding future reoccurrence. The secondary data used in this study are those relating to loans and advances, customers deposit and investment in securities (independent variable), while the dependent variable is bank performance. Ordinary Least Square method of Multiple Regression Analysis was used to manipulate the time series data into Econometric model of inflation, while F test was used to test the formulated hypotheses. This study reveals that global financial crisis has a negative impact on the performance of Nigerian banks despite in defiance of high liquidity possessed by these banks immediately after the consolidation exercise of 2005. It was recommended that banks should desist from financing other banks’ investment in securities to avoid multiplier effect syndrome while the Nigerian government should find alternative ways to fund their budget deficitBanking policies; Loans and Advances; Securities; Liquidity; Consolidation; Lending rates; Deposit rate.

What the African Continental Free Trade Agreement Protocol on Dispute Settlement says about the culture of African States to Dispute Resolution

An effective Dispute Settlement Mechanisms (DSM) upholds a rules-based trade regime; enunciates, clarifies and develops the jurisprudence of its constituent trade agreement; and also ensures predictability in the trading regime. Article 20 of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) establishes the DSM. The AfCFTA Protocol on Dispute Settlement (“Dispute Protocol”) provides for the rules and procedures for the settlement of disputes. Unlike the majority of the African regional economic community courts that are modelled after the Court of Justice of the European Union, the AfCFTA-DSM follows a handful of other regional judicial bodies – such as the Southern African Community Development Community (SADC) and the Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement (TFTA) – that are modelled after the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism

Use of Mobile Phone and In-Vehicle Interaction: A Case study among selected students in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Mobile phone use among university students is now pervasively altering their social interaction with others. The study investigated the influence of mobile phone use among commuting University Students on their interaction with co-travellers and the environment through which they travel. Three hundred students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria were purposively sampled to respond to a 10-minute questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions such as ownership of mobile phones, type and number of phones owned, frequency of usage and the influence of mobile phone usage during transit on interaction between the students and their co-travelers and with the environment they traveled through. Results showed that all the respondents possessed at least one mobile phone. In addition, results revealed a negative correlation between time of use of mobile phone and interaction with co-travelers (α=0.05, r= -0.039) and no significant correlation between length of use of mobile phone and interaction with the environment (α=0.05, r=0.079). The study established that mobile phone intrusiveness has an influence on students' interaction during commuting

Forecasting Nigeria\u27s Electricity Demand and Energy Efficiency Potential Under Climate Uncertainty

The increasing population and socio-economic growth of Nigeria, coupled with the current, unmet electricity demand, requires the need for power supply facilities expansion. Of all Nigeria’s electricity consumption by sector, the residential sector is the largest and growing at a very fast rate. To meet this growing demand, an accurate estimation of the demand into the future that will guide policy makers to adequately plan for the expansion of electricity supply and distribution, and energy efficiency standards and labeling must be made. To achieve this, a residential electricity demand forecast model that can correctly predict future demand and guide the construction of power plants including cost optimization of building these power infrastructures is needed. Modelling electricity demand in developing countries is problematic because of scarcity of data and methodologies that adequately consider detailed disaggregation of household appliances, energy efficiency improvements, and stock uptakes. This dissertation addresses these gaps and presents methodologies that can carry out a detailed disaggregation of household appliances, a more accurate electricity demand projection, peak load reduction, energy savings, economic, and environmental benefits of energy efficiency in the residential sector of Nigeria. This study adopts a bottom-up and top-down approach (hybrid) supplemented with hourly end-use demand profile to model residential electricity consumption. and project efficiency improvement through the introduction of energy efficiency standards and labelling (EE S&L) under two scenarios (Business As Usual and Best Available Technology). A consumer life-cycle cost analysis was also conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of introducing EE S& L to consumers. The results show significant savings in energy and carbon emissions, increased cooling demand due to climate uncertainty, and negative return on investment and increase lifecycle costs to consumers who purchase more efficient appliances. These results are subject to some level of uncertainties that are mainly caused by the input data. The uncertainties were analyzed based on a Monte Carlo Simulation. The uncertainties that were considered including the type of distributions applied to them were outlined and the result of the outputs were presented

Negotiating the AfCFTA in the Shadow of International and Regional Struggle for Power: A Caution!

In this piece, I reflect on the contemporary international and regional struggle for power or influence and their potential implications for the Agreement for the Establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). At the international level, Africa continues to be a battlefield of the struggle for global power, most recently, among a triad of countries: China, Russia and the United States of America. Regionally, the negotiation and eventual implementation of the AfCFTA will be embedded in a complex socio-economic and political dynamic that dates back to colonialism. These dynamics and the paradigm of trade alliances that emerge from them are important factors that African leaders and policy experts involved in the negotiation of the AfCFTA must be proactive in addressing. In an era of increasing mega-regional trade agreements, the imminent completion of Phase I negotiations (involving issues such as trade in goods and services), and the anticipated commencement of Phase II Negotiations is a watershed for regional economic integration in Africa

Background: Towards a Critical Assessment of Canadian-Nigerian Bilateral Relations

Although the diplomatic relations between Canada and Nigeria is almost six decades old, the nature of this bilateral relationship has not been the subject of rigorous academic research. While a recent body of research by international relations scholars has taken up the broad critical study of Canadian-African relations, a significant gap exists with respect to studies that focus on thecontext of Canada’s engagement with individual African countries. Against this background, this paper briefly examines the bilateral trade and investment engagements between Nigeria and Canada. The modest aim is to highlight the existing framework that guides the relations of both countries, highlight some projects, and document some preliminary observations while posing further questions that will deepen our understanding of the socio-legal implications of Canadian- Nigerian bilateral engagements

Overview of the Quarterly Report of the Nigerian Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment

The present report entitled “Special Economic Zones: Emerging Frontiers for Industrial Growth” covers the period of January – March 2019. The Report is divided into sections that provide important updates on the current steps being taken by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment (FMITI) and the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in thematic areas that include: trade and trade policy, SMEs, investment, industry, the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) and general news update