Time management: an imperative factor to effective service delivery in the Nigeria public service

Time is a special/worthy commodity that is given equally to everyone regardless of age, station, whether public or private sector. Time is always ever present to everyone, but no one ever seems to have enough of it. In Nigeria, the need for time management in organizations especially the public service cannot be over emphasized. Time management helps in achieving individual and organizational goals in view of the limited amount of time available to man. The article examines how time, which is available to all, yet scarce, can be managed to enhance effective and efficient service delivery in the public service. The article also beams a search light on organization of activities towards effective time management, as well as, the relationship between supervisors and subordinates as regards time management. The study discovered that Nigeria public servants are faced with time management problems which have become a hindrance to effective service delivery. Nevertheless, the article advances certain measures, which if adopted by the public servants will promote the virtue of time management that can lead to employee effectiveness and efficiency in the public service. Among others, employees in the public service should be encouraged to prioritize their activities, maintain a proper time audit in their work place, be prepared to adjust to the best use of time. They should be on guard against unscheduled visitors and telephone calls. Also meetings should be held during specific hours of the day, while other times should be devoted to work. These recommendations should be seen as strategies for effective work habit in the Nigerian public service.Keywords: Organization, Management, Performance, Productivity, Efficienc

Determinant of Infant Mortality Rate: A Panel Data Analysis of African Countries

This study examines the factors that affect the rate of mortality among infants under one year of age using panel data sets from the World Bank’s World Development Indicator database from the year 2000 to 2009 from 53 African countries. Using a random effect model in a 2SLS analytical method, results obtained after correcting for endogeneity showed that fertility rate significantly affect infant mortality rate in a positive way. Similarly, GDP per capita as a proxy for income, public health expenditure as a percentage of GDP, Prevalence of HIV and the participation of adult female in the labour force significantly affect infant mortality rate. Furthermore, of all the explanatory variables used in the analysis, fertility rate and GDP per capita had the most impact on infant mortality rate respectively. This study also confirms Chowdhury’s (1988) postulation that there is a dual causality between infant mortality rate and fertility rate. Keywords:Infant mortality; Fertility rate; Health; Population; Afric

Preserving the Rural Place: A Geotourism in a Globalized World

The traditional rural place signifies rural areas with small settlements, low population density, agrarian-based economies and a traditional society. This paper aimed at drawing the attention of the policy maker’s attention to the importance and need to create values from rural landscape and preserve the existing biodiversity of the local environment. People do first occupy a space that are transformed into a meaningful place or given a sense of place vital for navigating something like an abstract geometric space. Often time, this captures our live experience of the landscape. The global socio-ecological took roots from moral crisis emerging from unsustainable consumption and a new paradigm of sustainable development directed at holistic human development. As more than half of the Nigeria’s rural population live below poverty line speaks volumes that much needs to be done. Policies on ecosystem services need review for adequate protection for sustainable service delivery. Above all, provide opportunity for all to have synergies that promote the development of rural organization such as community–driven cooperative to enhance investment in essential infrastructures and services, and recognize the role of urban areas in fostering rural development. Keywords: Rural areas, Geo-tourism, Place, empowerment, Sustainable rural development DOI: 10.7176/JTHS/56-02 Publication date:May 31st 2021

Strategic Implication of Rising Global Food Security Crisis

The study investigated the rising global food security crisis. Emphasis was placed on the strategic implication of this menace, and this was done with a focus on Nigeria. To carry out the study effectively, secondary data was used. The rising global food security crisis is occasioned by rising global food prices. This is also accompanied by scarcity of staple food sources. It was discovered that there was indeed a rising global food security crisis, and that the strategic implication of this is rarely investigated. Causes of global food security crisis include global high cost of energy, use of bio fuel based energy, increase in global population and demand for food, climate change, under investment in agriculture production, armed conflict corruption and bad government in Africa. The strategic implication of food security included general insecurity health problems migration environmental degradation etc. The outbreak of COVID-19 brought to the knowledge of all that a combination of short-term responses and long term investment driver of foodinsecurity.  It was concluded that there is indeed a rising global food security crisis. It was therefore recommended that the United States (U.S.) and other donor countries should make agriculture and rural development is priority in its internal assistance programmes. It was also recommended that since global security challenges, such as terrorism are linked to food security crisis and poverty in general, current international and local efforts should include measures that put food on every citizens’ table by way of frustrating and eradication of terrorism, recommendation also includes the development of practical strategies to improve agricultural practices such as food storage should be researched and developed being a major challenge faced by developing countries. Keywords: Food Security, Poverty, Food storage, rising prices, insecurity, global health and armed conflicts. DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/11-4-05 Publication date:May 31st 202

The Impact of Climate Change on Landforms in Nigeria

This paper examined the impact of climate change on landforms in Nigeria. Today, different landforms are changing from one state to another as a result of human activities, weathering and soil erosion brought about by agents of denudation and fluvial processes. Therefore, the objectives for which this study was carried out are: .To examine whether or not there is actually climate change in Nigeria in terms of rainfall, examine the different relief regions in Nigeria, examine causes of climate change and to determine the consequences of climate change in Nigeria. For this reason, the data used for the study were collected from both the primary and secondary sources of data collection. The primary data used were erosion pins to determine the level of sediments that are eroded from most of the steep slopes associated with highlands. The secondary data used were collected from articles in journals and related text books analyzed descriptively and statistically. The different relief regions in Nigeria were looked at. It was discovered that as the highlands are getting reduced as a result of climatic elements especially rainfall the lowland areas are filled up with the loads and sediments that are deposited on them. And recommendations were therefore made on the need for proper land use zoning systems to curtain elements of climate and the need for everyone to protect the environment and not by destroying it in the name of human activities through agriculture, construction and services. Key words: Relief, Erosion, Flood and Tectoni

Environmental Governance in Nigeria: The Community Perspective

This study examined the community involvement in environmental governance in Nigeria. The main objectives were to identify prevailing environmental problems in Nigeria and examine the community’s participation in its management.  To achieve this, a process approach was followed in which secondary data, sourced from text books, articles in journals and the internet were utilized. The study revealed that communities in Africa had little or no role to play in the governance of their environment. The study showed that government alone played this role which has been seen to be ineffective considering the extent of air pollution, oil spillage and deforestation in the urban and rural environments in the continent.  On the basis of this, the study therefore recommended among others things that, participatory approach to environmental governance including the government, the private sector; multinationals and the community were    required to effectively harness the environment. The study also recommends that policies should be strengthened while environmental education should be a basic requirement for communities. Keywords: Environment, Governance, Community, Nigeria

Competitiveness of Fish Farming in Lagos State, Nigeria: An Application of Policy Analysis Matrix

This study assessed the competitiveness of commercial fish farming in Nigeria using the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) on a sample of 84 fish farmers in Lagos State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select the number of respondents in the study area. Both primary and secondary data were utilized for the analysis. The study employed two fish production outputs including smoked and fresh fish products. The PAM results revealed that both products were both privately and socially profitable. However, smoked fish was more profitable of the two products. Furthermore, results revealed that outputs from the production outputs (smoked and fresh fish) are taxed as revealed by the nominal protection coefficients on output and input. This was further confirmed by the Effective protection coefficient (EPC) and Subsidy ratio to producers (SRP) values. The study recommends that government should ensure a level of policy intervention in aquaculture production in which fish farmers are given incentives that will incentivize them to improve productivity and the quality of fish produced and processed. One of these incentives can be in the form of provision of improved farm technologies for production and processing in order to enhance competitiveness

The Dilemmas of Adopting Performance Related Pay as a Reward Strategy for Academic Staff in Nigerian Public Higher Institutions of Learning

In today organizations, many employers of labour in private driven and public driven organizations seems to be attracted to performance related pay (PRP) as a means of reward and compensation. Even though PRP strategy is claimed to have distinct advantages over automatic pay increase (formal and transparent reward systems linked to tenure and promotion), they are still not without problems. Among these problems envisage in Nigerian higher institutions of learning are the issue of acceptability of performance related pay as a means of reward and compensation, and low level of motivation and performance. These aforementioned problems were raised in the study research questions and also answered. This was achieved by assessing the extent to which academic staff through administered questionnaire in Nigerian higher institutions of learning believe that the introduction of performance related pay will indeed bring about the claimed motivational and performance enhancement benefits

The Role of Information and Communiication Technology Combating Crime in Nigeria in The Post Covid 19 Era: A Study of the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Command

The study seeks to examine the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on combating crime by the security forces in the wake of corona virus pandemic with special reference to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). Within the framework of cybernetic theory, this study adopts the descriptive survey method to examine the relationship between the two variables under investigation. Multi stage sampling technique was used to draw a sample size of three hundred (300) participants for the study. Data were collected from the sampled population, and formulated hypotheses were tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) statistical tool. The finding of the study reveals that there is a significant relationship between the use of ICT and the effort by the police force to effectively combat crime in Nigeria. The study also discovers that the use of ICT in the fight against crime by the NPF is faced with some challenges, which includes among others; lack of infrastructure, lack of adequate training, uncooperative attitude of ICT service providers and lack of inter-agency cooperation. The paper in conclusion, recommends that the NPF should improve on the usage of ICT especially during this post COVID-19 era by providing a robust training program for her personnel on the usage of ICT in combating crime, the government should provide adequate infrastructure to enhance effective application of ICT in crime fighting and an effective collaboration between ICT service providers and the NPF in fighting crime in Nigeria

Effect of Micro-Credit on Welfare of Small Scale Entrepreneurs in Nigeria: A Case Study of Oyo State

The study evaluated the effect of microcredit on small scale entrepreneurs in Oyo state, Nigeria and its implication on their welfare. Primary data were collected with the aid of well-structured questionnaire. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted in selecting 200 respondents comprising agriculture and non-agriculture small businesses within Ibadan metropolis. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Foster Greer Thorbecke and binary logit regression. Results of analysis of respondents' access to credit revealed that more than two-third (69%) of the respondents did not have access to microcredit while only 31% had access to microcredit. On the implication of micro-credit access to welfare of the respondents, the study revealed that poverty incidence was higher (P0=0.4876) among respondents that did not use microcredit than those with access (P0=0.4419). This suggests that incidence of poverty declines with access to microcredit but this is only by a small percentage of about 5%. Similar to the result of poverty incidence, respondents who did not use microcredit had the highest (P1=0.1104) poverty gap. However, the severity of poverty index among respondents with access to microcredit was higher (P2=0.0359) than those without access (P2=0.0352). The study recommends that strategic policies should be set up to mitigate factors that inhibit access to micro-credit by small scale entrepreneurs as the study showed that access to microcredit is necessary for small business growth and for improving welfare. Such policies should target the economically active age group of small-scale entrepreneurs, improving their literacy levels, and encouraging their ownership of account with lending institutions such as micro-finance bank of choice