Terrorism and Insecurity in Nigeria: Moral, Values and Religious Education as Panaceas

The act of terrorism and general insecurity situations in Nigeria require that solution be sought to safe-guard the nation against balkanization and the educational system from collapse. Every nation’s educational system is to help it overcome her peculiar problems.  If this is a truism, then Nigeria’s educational system is supposed to help her overcome the problem of terrorism that is shaking it to its foundation. It is in the light of this that this paper examines terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria and proffered moral, values and religious education as panaceas. In doing this, the paper discusses the central role that security plays in the development of nations for which Nigeria cannot be an exception. The paper further explains the concepts of terrorism and insecurity with instances of terrorist acts in Nigeria. The possible causes of insecurity in Nigeria such as bad governance, corruption, graduate unemployment, among others pointed out by other writers were highlighted. These factors were according to this paper symptomatic rather than causative. The paper therefore, queries false values, bad morality and misleading or inadequate religious education as cardinal causative factors and recommendations were given in this regard. Keywords: Terrorism, Insecurity, Moral, Values and Religious Education, Direct Instruction, Selective Reinforcemen

APPRAISING INDIA’S ROLE IN UNITED NATIONS PEACE KEEPING OPERATION IN AFRICA: THE CASE OF SOUTH SUDAN

India has long invested in promoting goodwill among African states by participating in United Nations Peacekeeping operations. India is the third-largest contributor of personnel to UN peacekeeping operations and has contributed to various missions across the world including in Somalia, Mozambique, Angola, Sierra Leone, and more recently, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. As part of a broader push to build stronger ties to African countries, India has redoubled its commitment to peacekeeping efforts over the past decade, and in the views of many in the UN peacekeeping system, the capacity of Indian peacekeepers makes them essential to any peacekeeping effort on the continent. India also possesses the capacity to provide well-trained troops who are accustomed to operating in a diverse array of terrain. In addition, the paper will assess India’s strategy of using peacekeeping as a tool of foreign policy. This paper will assess the role of India in the South Sudan Crisis. The paper’s source of data will be essentially secondary involving books, journals; articles on the subject matter under review

The Implications of Girl-Child Education to Nation Building in the 21st Century in Nigeria

This paper examines the implications of Girl-child to nation building in the 21st century in Nigeria The paper began by pointing out the wrong notions that many Nigerians have particularly the rural dwellers about women being consider as properties for man and objects for their pleasure and how this notion restrains them from training their girl-children in schools The paper further examined the concept of girl-child education to be all inclusive some hindrances to effective girlchild education such as economic factors sexual violence and abuse political factors the school environmental factors and socio-cultural and religious factors were highlighted Included in the paper also was the implications that effective girl-child education would have on nation building such as povertyreducing effects improves health and nutrition reduces inequality reduces women s fertility rates lowers infant and mortality rates and increases women s labour force participation rates and earnings The paper finally recommended among others that government at all levels should give more attention to girl-child education well to do individuals can contribute to girl-child education by giving them scholarship to study in higher institution provision of school facilities and equipment that can ease their learning effectively as it contribute to nation building and the need to create more awareness for parents on sexual violence and abuse and this can be through radio and newspaper jingles and advertisement as well as periodical seminars and conference

A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF MISSION SCHOOL IN NIGERIA AND ITS PSYCHO-SOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS

This study examined the operations of the past and present mission schools in Nigeria by comparing cost of training to know whether it was cheaper with the past mission schools than the present mission schools. The study further examined variables such as adequacy of infrastructures, quality and quantity of personnel, discipline of staff and students as well as the goals or objectives that were and are the driving forces of these schools in other to determine where and how they differ and the direction of the difference. Two hundred respondents through purpose sampling techniques were used to answer the research questions. The instrument used to collect data was a twenty one (21) item questionnaire divided into five sections, A-E. The instrument was personally administered on the subjects and the return rate was 100 percent. The data was analyzed using mean and standard deviation statistical tools and the results obtained included among the following that: it was cheaper to train in the past mission schools than the present mission schools in Nigeria, that discipline of staff and students were higher in past mission schools than the present mission schools and that the past mission schools had more qualified personnel and produced more qualitative and disciple students than the present. Recommendations that were based on the findings were that the present mission schools particularly, the universities should reduce their fees to allow more accessibility and affordability, increase award of scholarship to the promising and indigent students as well as that mission schools should not lose sight of what they existed for; they should use their benevolence for soul winning rather than driving people away from the Christian faith by being callous and exploitative.       Article visualizations

Total polyphenolic content and antioxidant properties of Moringa oleifera leaf extracts

The study was carried out to evaluate the relative antioxidant properties and polyphenol contents of partially purified fractions of  Moringa oleifera leaves extracts. The total phenolic, total flavonoid, anthocyanin, proanthocyanidine and tannin contents of the crude methanolic extract, aqueous fraction and ethyl acetate fraction were determined using established methods, while the  antioxidant properties of the test fractions were evaluated using five in vitro radical scavenging assays: 2,2-diphenyl- 1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay, nitric oxide inhibitory assay, lipid peroxidation assay, reductive potential assay, and the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assay. The highest radical scavenging effect and polyphenol contents were  observed in the ethyl acetate fractions than the other fractions: the order of activity for all the assays was ethyl acetate reaction > crude extract > aqueous extract. The results obtained in the present study indicates that M. oleifera could be a potential source of natural antioxidant and could be applied as a functional food as regard its relatively low tannin content.Keywords: 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl, Antioxidant, Polyphenols, Moring

Information and Communications Technologies in Special Needs Education: Challenges and Prospects

Scientific and technological progress of the last few decades has brought not only the economy globalization and worldwide expansion of technologies but changes in social relations, culture, and education as well. Experience has shown that the impact of disability on individuals could be cushioned through the intelligent application of technology. The usefulness of ICT in special needs education manifests in at least four dimensions: instructional, environmental, human resources and the learner technologies. How can ICT help to facilitate effective instruction in special needs education both in special and inclusive classes? Can ICT alleviate the environmental challenges confronting persons with special needs? In what ways can ICT empower the teaching and support staff in special needs education? What gadgets are relevant and suitable for use by special learners to ease their education? These are some of the questions this paper addressed under the sub-headings: special needs children; education of special needs children; ICT in education of special needs children; challenges of ICT in the education of special needs children; and prospects of ICT in education of special needs children. The paper concludes that there exists a considerable potential in the educational uses of ICTs alongside with many challenges and dangers. Useful recommendations were made to maximize the benefits of ICT in special needs education. Keywords: ICT, Special, education, children

Policy Framework for Inclusive Education in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges

This paper explored the policy framework for inclusive education in Nigeria. The proper approach towards educating persons with special needs has been a subject of academic debate in contemporary times. Inclusive education is an approach to educating students with special educational needs. Under the inclusive model, students with special needs spend most or all their time with non-disabled students. It is a break away from the old norm of segregating persons with special needs in a special school setting. Notable policy documents on inclusion in Nigeria include the 1977 National Policy on Education; Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989; Child’s Rights Act, Laws of the Federation 2004; the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act 2004; and the National Policy on Education (2008). The paper observed that for the inclusion policy to be successful, issues that must be addressed include the role of parents in the inclusion process, continuous review of policy, research, and educational resources. The paper identified the cost of running an inclusive school, societal attitude, accessibility, educational modifications, and cooperation among special and general teachers as main challenges confronting the success of inclusive education in Nigeria. The paper concluded that the task of including the needs of students with disabilities, and those of their families, in any national policy on education is important and carries life-long implications and the Universal Basic Education Act 2004 provides a legal backing for a claim to inclusion. Keywords: Inclusive, education, policy, Nigeria, issues, challenges

Assessment of Special Education Service Delivery: A Global Perspective

This paper preoccupied itself with the assessment of special education service delivery to persons with disabilities Individuals with disabilities who are the subjects of special education encounter difficulties that prevent or make it strenuous to use a part of their body completely or easily or that they cannot learn easily Special education service delivery requires the expertise of special educators and para-professionals like the psychologists social welfare workers medical personnel and a host of others who are charged with the delivery of quality special education services to meet the needs of all persons with disabilities Special education services include rehabilitation services assessment identification strategies home hospital based services provision of materials equipment and assistive technology for persons with disabilities etc Globally there are two paradigms for service delivery namely special school setting and general or regular school settings The paper sampled trends of service delivery in India Brazil Kenya Malaysia and of course Nigeria The paper found that most countries have embraced the regular classroom as modality for service delivery for persons with disabilitie

The Implications of Girl-Child Education to Nation Building in the 21st Century in Nigeria

This paper examines the implications of Girl-child to nation building in the 21st century in Nigeria The paper began by pointing out the wrong notions that many Nigerians have particularly the rural dwellers about women being consider as properties for man and objects for their pleasure and how this notion restrains them from training their girl-children in schools The paper further examined the concept of girl-child education to be all inclusive some hindrances to effective girlchild education such as economic factors sexual violence and abuse political factors the school environmental factors and socio-cultural and religious factors were highlighted Included in the paper also was the implications that effective girl-child education would have on nation building such as povertyreducing effects improves health and nutrition reduces inequality reduces women s fertility rates lowers infant and mortality rates and increases women s labour force participation rates and earnings The paper finally recommended among others that government at all levels should give more attention to girl-child education well to do individuals can contribute to girl-child education by giving them scholarship to study in higher institution provision of school facilities and equipment that can ease their learning effectively as it contribute to nation building and the need to create more awareness for parents on sexual violence and abuse and this can be through radio and newspaper jingles and advertisement as well as periodical seminars and conference

Improving Strategies for Educating Gifted Children in Nigeria

This paper discussed strategies for educating children with intellectual superiority in Nigeria. Man has always recognized that the progress and advancement of a society depends on the genius, creativity and contribution of a few of its members. This paper probed into the meaning of the phrase “gifted children.” The paper looked at the Nigerian National Policy on the education of gifted children; strategies for educating the gifted which amongst others include compacting n differentiating the curriculum land providing enrichment activities; allowing students to pursue independent projects based on their own individual interests; interactive teaching; team teaching, collaboration, and consultation with other teachers; extracurricular activity and competitive outing; addressing the counseling needs of each student to support emotional growth as needed; and the need for the teacher to establish and maintain a warm, accepting classroom. The paper found the inadequate blueprint on the education of the gifted in Nigeria and the lukewarm attitude of the society to the idea of giftedness as key challenges. The paper concluded that the education of the gifted should be given adequate attention in view of their well acknowledged capabilities when developed and the strategies put forward in this paper are the surest ways of doing this. Keywords: Improving, Strategies, Educating, Gifted, Children, Nigeria