Effects of Adolescents Exposure to Sexual Contents on Social Media in Nigeria

The study examined the effects of adolescents’ exposure to sexual contents as available in the social media. Data was gathered among 305 literates adolescents using quantitative structured face-to-face interviews. They were distributed using Nigerian age-sex ratio of 51 and 49 between male and female respectively. The study locations consist of densely populated urban areas in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria. The locations were chosen due to high proportion of adolescents in the areas according to the country’s census results. Data were analysed using univariate and multivariate analyses. Common social media identified among the respondents includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Instagram and LinkedIn. The result also revealed that users of social media in age group 10-14 years are 4.614 times more likely to be exposed to sexual activity at P-value = 0.000. Adolescent users of social media with primary education are 26.953 times more likely to be involved in sexual activity (P-value = 0.000). Those who use social media like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are 6.932, 4.630, 3.566 and 2.682 times (respectively) more likely to be exposed to sexual activity compared to their counterparts that use other forms of media. The paper posits that it is inimical not to monitor adolescents’ exposure to sexual contents and censor the scenes available on social media gadgets. The study recommends that sexuality education must be popularised in order to stem the risk of HIV/AIDS among the group studied

A Qualitative Assessment of the Effects of Child Marriage on Female Education and Entrepreneurship in Northeastern Nigeria

Marriage at its right time and with the right person is one of the best things that can happen to a man. No religion, race or colour is against this globally. Unfortunately, as glamorous such a day of espousal should have been, child marriage has made it sour for child brides as most of them are forced into it in their mid-teens; thereby aborting beautiful and achievable life goals and future ambitions. This paper examines the factors inducing child marriage in Northeastern Nigeria, the effects and how these affect women’s educational attainment and entrepreneurial skills. Secondary data from Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, 2008) and other published data were used. Results show that avoidable poverty-a cause and an effect, limited educational attainment and powerlessness of women are the three main effects of child marriage in Northeastern Nigeria which seriously affect women entrepreneurial skills and all-round development in that region. We conclude therefore that more purposeful preventive interventions are seriously and urgently needed. In achieving this, we recommend compulsory education for all girl child of northern origin, economic empowerment for teenage girls and child brides and promote community leaders participation in the advocac

Substance use among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background. In sub-Saharan Africa, substance use among adolescents has continued to be a major public health concern, albeit poorly documented across many settings. Objective. To estimate the prevalence of substance use among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods. We searched Pubmed, EMBASE, AJOL and Google Scholar for population-based studies on adolescents (age 10 - 19 years) and reporting on the prevalence of substance use across sub-Saharan Africa. Search dates were from January 2000 to December 2016. A random effects meta-analysis was conducted with pooled prevalence rates (and 95% confidence interval (95% CI)) of estimated substance abuse among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. Results. Twenty-seven studies across sub-Saharan Africa including 143 201 adolescents (mean age 15.6 years) were selected. The overall prevalence of ‘any substance use’ in sub-Saharan Africa was 41.6%, with the highest rate in Central Africa at 55.5%. The use of caffeinecontaining products (including coffee or kola nut) was most predominant at 41.2% (95% CI 24.3 - 58.1) but limited to West Africa. These were followed by alcohol at 32.8% (95% CI 26.0 - 39.5), tobacco products 23.5% (95% CI 17.7 - 29.3), khat 22.0% (95% CI 12.5 - 31.5) and cannabis 15.9% (95% CI 12.2 - 19.1). Other abused substances included depressants at 11.3% (95% CI 6.5 - 16.1), amphetamines 9.4% (95% CI 6.0 - 12.9), heroin 4.0% (95% CI 3.5 - 4.5) and cocaine 3.9% (95% CI 1.4 - 6.5). Conclusion. Our study reflects a high use of psychoactive substances and drugs among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. It is important that interventions and rehabilitation programmes are comprehensive and targeted at adolescents and parents in these settings

Unemployment in Nigeria; A Challenge of Demographic Change?

With the current population of approximately 182million people (PRB, 2015); Nigeria is the most populous Black Country in the world. Arguments are ripe whether her ever-growing population is the sole factor responsible also for her continuous growth of unemployment. To answer this question, this paper extracted secondary data from Population Reference Bureau (PRB, 2003-2015), United Nations Annex Table (2012), International Monetary Fund (IMF, 2002-2015) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS, 2003-2015) to prove whether unemployment is mainly caused by demographic change in Nigeria or there are other intrinsic factors responsible for this social challenge. A comparative analysis of the population and unemployment structure of three purposively selected and heavily populated countries in three different continents-Nigeria, China and USA were undertaken. Results show that population growth is not the SOLE factor responsible for increase in unemployment in Nigeria as unemployment statistics is stable for U.S. and China while their populations are growing, but the reverse is the case for Nigeria as both population and unemployment are growing. Recommendations were thereafter made to address other likely factors identified

AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA CAPITAL CITIES: EXAMINING CORE INDICATORS OF AN ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY CITY

It has been observed that daily interactions of millions of Nigeria population estimated at 186.5 million by PRB (2016) with their immediate environment have serious implications on her landscape, environmental aesthetics and atmospheric well-being. Urban decadence, proliferation of slums, deforestation, congestion and all forms of pollution are some of the resultant effects of man’s interaction with his environment which is having adverse effects on Nigerian major cities. Increased industrial activities have engendered more carbon emission in the country and it is estimated at 26.1 million tons per annum, the fourth highest in Africa (PRB, 2016). This paper examines the state of environmental management in the state capital cities of Nigeria in the light of five research-proven indicators of environment-friendly cities. The paper applies qualitative method using the indicators to examine which state capitals are really environment-friendly out of the 37, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in the country. Results show that only five state capitals out of 37 can be referred to as environment-friendly cities in Nigeria. Recommendations that can spur others to follow in their footsteps by adopting global best practices that makes a settlement environment-friendly were given

INTER-SPOUSAL COMMUNICATION AS A DETERMINANT OF CONTRACEPTIVE USE IN NIGERIA: A MIXED METHOD

The need for understanding the level of communication among couples is important in reproductive health. Agreement by couples on contraceptive adoption is a major consideration if population growth will be reduced. Therefore this paper tests the hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between interspousal communication and contraceptive use in Nigeria. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative method of data collection. The quantitative data employed the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey Couple recode dataset, while the qualitative data was collected using Focus Group Discussion. Data was analyzed using Stata13 and the qualitative data was analyzed using NVivo 11 software. The result of the logistic regression model showed that there is a significant relationship between inter-spousal communication and contraceptive use (P<0.001). The result of the unadjusted model showed a Log-likelihood ratio [LLR] = 2335.0875, R2 = 27.05% and Chi-square= 1731.32 on 29 degree of freedom while, the adjusted model showed a [LLR] = 435.0011, R2 = 38.20%, Chi-square= 268.36 on 32 degrees of freedom, p<0.05. The reduction of 1296.3189 in the Log-likelihood ratio and an increase of 11.15 % in the R2 indicate a very good fit. In the qualitative study the findings showed that majority of the couples using contraceptives discussed with their spouses and more than half of them received their husband’s maximum support. We conclude that couples communication will improve the uptake of contraceptives and reduce the increasing population growth in Nigeria

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS: WHERE IS THE PLACE OF DEMOGRAPHY? A POSITION PAPER ON DEMOGRAPHY AND STEM

The presentation is a position paper on the interconnections between the education policy, curriculum choices on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and the place of demography. The study is aggregate of thoughts complemented with archival review of existing literature and empirical analysis on admission trends and population growth. It was also firstly presented in one of the several departmental seminars. The study emphasised that demographic trends and growth are the main engine for technological progress. The study portrays demographic trends as crucial engine for technological progress and also works as the drivers of human capital towards achievement of economic prosperity. The result revealed wider gender gap that range from 41.4% to 51.5% in both pre-and post- STEM policy, though it finally stablised at 41.5% in 2009. The study positioned demographers as the conduit for delivery of optimum population or population explosion via assisted fertility technology e.g. in-vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic diagnosis, human reproductive cloning, fetal DNA in maternal plasma, and genetic diagnosis). Therefore, while the pursuit of science, technology, engineering and mathematics is crucial for growth, the neglect of the sources of supply of human drivers or the demographic-based pull-and-push factors could engender wobbling and crawling structure of technological advancement. The authors however recommends adequate knowledge of these interplays for plausible appropriate education and technological policies towards the delivery of desire sustainable economic developmen

Gender-Based Violence and Pregnancy Outcomes among Couples and Cohabiting Partners in Nigeria.

Over the last two decades, the international community has expressed concerns on the increasing occurrence of gender-based violence and related consequences, particularly in African and many low-and middle-income countries. The 2006 United Nations General Assembly declaration on elimination of violence against women has been applauded across many settings. Intimate partner violence is a typical example of genderbased violence that occurs among males and females who have intimate relationships either as husbands and wives, or are in cohabiting relationship. This paper examines factors likely to influence gender-based violence and effects on pregnancy outcomes in Nigeria. The study used the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) couple data set of 8658 couples aged 15-49 for women and 15-59 for men. 6,961 were interviewed for domestic violence. Analysis employed univariate, bivariate and multivariate techniques i.e. binary logistic regression. Pregnancy outcome, measured as either live birth or stillbirth is the ultimate dependent variable. Explanatory factors are of two types (1) intervening factors are, physical, and emotional violence, and (2) background factors including age, residence, education, employment status, and religion among others. The results showed that residence, employment status, religion and partner’s age were significant factors explaining emotional, and physical violence among couples (p<0.05) While physical violence and emotional violence were significant associated with pregnancy outcome of either a live birth or still birth (P<0.05). The study also showed that respondents whose husband takes alcohol have a higher odds of experiencing violence while those who are working and educated beyond primary school also have higher odds of experiencing violence. These findings have significant implications for policy and programmes geared to improve on gender equity, and reproductive health of women in Nigeria

Influence of Family Structure on Adolescent Sexual Behaviour in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria

The study investigates the influence of family structure on adolescent sexual behaviour in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. The research was conducted by taking a sample of 330 adolescents who are 15-24 years. The analytical techniques used in the study are: univariate, bivariate and chi-square tests. The key findings of this study are: firstly, there are two types of family structures identified which include: in-tact and divorced families. Secondly, that the in-tact (at p=0.000) has significant influence on adolescent sexual behaviour. Thirdly, at p=0.000, it was observed that divorced family has significant effect on adolescent sexual behaviour. The recommendations for this study are that there is urgent strong counsel for folks in Nigerian society at large to shun divorce and value marriages thereby having more intact-homes which will curtail to a large extent immoral sexual behaviour among the adolescents

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS: WHERE IS THE PLACE OF DEMOGRAPHY? A POSITION PAPER ON DEMOGRAPHY AND STEM

The presentation is a position paper on the interconnections between the education policy, curriculum choices on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and the place of demography. The study is aggregate of thoughts complemented with archival review of existing literature and empirical analysis on admission trends and population growth. It was also firstly presented in one of the several departmental seminars. The study emphasised that demographic trends and growth are the main engine for technological progress. The study portrays demographic trends as crucial engine for technological progress and also works as the drivers of human capital towards achievement of economic prosperity. The result revealed wider gender gap that range from 41.4% to 51.5% in both pre-and post- STEM policy, though it finally stablised at 41.5% in 2009. The study positioned demographers as the conduit for delivery of optimum population or population explosion via assisted fertility technology e.g. in-vitro fertilization (IVF), preimplantation genetic diagnosis, human reproductive cloning, fetal DNA in maternal plasma, and genetic diagnosis). Therefore, while the pursuit of science, technology, engineering and mathematics is crucial for growth, the neglect of the sources of supply of human drivers or the demographic-based pull-and-push factors could engender wobbling and crawling structure of technological advancement. The authors however recommends adequate knowledge of these interplays for plausible appropriate education and technological policies towards the delivery of desire sustainable economic developmen