Critical Environmental Challenges in the Niger Delta: Exploring Strategic Solutions

The Oil industry is the most important sector in the Niger Delta economy while other industries play a minor role only. Consequently, it is not possible to comprehend the environmental crises plaguing the region without paying special attention to the multinational oil companies’ phenomenon, because it particularly salient to the long and terrible record of environmental degradation which has gone on unchecked for over fifty years. The emergence of makeshift refineries as mechanisms of illegal access to oil resources by residents have accentuated the environmental and health problems for the people because the environment is being destroyed daily through Oil spillage and disposal of waste from crude refining across the creeks and waterways. The degradation of the environment from pollution of running waters to rivers and the destruction of farmlands is monumental and catastrophic. Solid waste management, as it appears, is the most pressing environmental challenge faced by urban and rural areas in the region and with the population explosion of the major cities, the problem of solid waste management is assuming alarming proportions. Government have initiated and implemented various policies to address the problems yet, the degradation subsists largely because the policies are not sustainable. Keywords: Environmental Challenges, Niger Delta, Oil Industry, Pollution, Sustainable Policies DOI: 10.7176/DCS/9-7-03 Publication date:July 31st 201

Election and violence in 2016 rerun elections in Rivers State, Nigeria

Nigeria’s democracy suffers from special problems of free, fair, non-credible, and violent elections drowned in vote buying. To be stable, democracy must be deemed legitimate by the people and will not be valued unless it deals effectively with social problems and achieves a modicum of order and justice. The 2016 Rerun elections in Rivers State revealed threats against election officials, violation of human rights of voters and citizens by non-state armed groups and state security forces energized by politicians. Pervasive corruption and the resulting political instability make for very poor investment climate. Unfortunately, without growing investment in legitimate enterprise, corruption and electoral violence will retain their appeals to the army of unemployed youths. The paper therefore examined the numerous factors impeding constitutional democracy in Nigeria. This paper took a step further to demonstrate how some of these factors exacerbate the challenge of development. In doing this, our overarching philosophical framework is that the nature of the state is dialectically related to the securitization of political contestations, monetization of the electoral process and violence. The paper also argued that the role of youth in electoral violence is an evitable consequence of structural violence in society and the nature of the Nigerian state.Keywords: Nigeria’s democracy, special problems, violation of human rights, corruption and poor investment climat

Fiscal Federalism and Agitations for Resource Control in Nigeria: A South-South Perspective

Nigeria is facing multiple and staggering problems, some of which are so fundamental as to be capable of leading to the disintegration of the country if not properly and tactfully resolved. There is a general feeling by the southern minorities who inhabit the core Niger Delta States that Nigeria is today a Federation in name. In practice, it is structurally unbalanced with a strong central government that has abandoned derivation as the basis of sharing rents and royalties that accrue to states in the oil producing areas notwithstanding the fact that these states continue to bear the environmental and socio-economic hazards associated with oil production. Hence, the agitation for fiscal federalism and resource control. Although the two concepts are frequently used interchangeably in the ensuing debate, this paper contends that resource control unlike fiscal federalism is the control of both a fiscal and a mode of governance framework by states directly affected by the exploration of the various resources. For this paper, resource control built on an appropriate mode of governance framework is important for the resolution of the various agitations prevalent in the South-south region and many other parts of the country. Keywords: Agitation, Fiscal Federalism, Governance framework, Resource Control, South-Sout

Socio-economic implications of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria

After half of a century as a major oil producer, the Nigerian economy is yet to diversify; thus, remains dominated by primary activities. Whereas oil and gas activities directly employ a negligible number of Nigerians, the industry impacts on the overall economy of the country. However, with large resource windfalls, limited technical capacity, and weak check and balances, the scope for inefficiency, corruption, and elite capture of Nigeria‘s oil-driven economy is substantial. Consequently, the arrival of COVID-19 further exposed the fragility of the economy. As a theoretical paper, the researcher relied on data from secondary sources which yielded quantitative and qualitative information. The secondary data were derived mainly from journals, books and empirical case studies on the impact of pandemics on global production of petroleum, the Nigerian economy, and the overall social sector. News media analysis, government bulletins, and relevant data from civil society organizations, State Security Forces, and Corporate organizations on the debilitating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic were also reviewed. The paper revealed that the socio-economic implications of the pandemic derived from fall in global oil price, policy interventions by the government such as bans on certain types of activities, closure of borders, state lockdowns, school closure and social distancing policies, all of which resulted in disruptions felt in all the sectors of the economy and society. Thus, it is suggested here that efforts must be made to address poverty just as there is an urgent need to improve on the healthcare sector. Unemployment should be tackled positively while government should place greater emphasis on technology and other modern methods of imparting knowledge

Managing Local Impacts of Oil and Gas Business: Local Content, Environment, Transparency and Accountability Issues

This paper presents a critical analysis of the place of Nigeria in global oil production, the history of oil exploration in Nigeria, its correlation with federal government’s revenue and how oil is fuelling crisis in the Niger Delta. A brief profile of the role of Niger Delta in the oil and gas business and the benefits of oil to the inhabitants of the area was also presented with the aim of analysing the local impacts of the petro-economy, the extent of implementation of local content, community participation in management of oil related revenues and the issue of transparency and accountability in this very important sector. Attempts were also made to identify significant areas in the oil and gas business requiring urgent attention. The paper concludes by looking at future prospects of the oil economy for the local communities and recommended crucial ways of ensuring sustainable oil production in Nigeria and attaining sustainable development in the Niger Delta. Keywords: Environment, Local content, Global oil production, Federal government revenue, Managing local impacts of oil and gas production, Oil Transparency and Accountability

Knowledge used for teaching counting: A case study of the treatment of counting by two Grade 3 teachers situated in schools serving working class communities in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

Knowing how to correctly count, is fundamental to the future mathematics success of young children. Earlier studies show that many South African primary school students underperform in mathematics even when evaluated with task below grade level. Reports suggest that this is a problem stemming from the poor pedagogic, and or content knowledge of classroom mathematics teachers. Shulman (1986; 1987) refers to this area of knowledge as Pedagogic Content Knowledge (PCK). In the field of mathematics teaching and learning, Ball, Thames and Phelps (2008) refer to it as Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching (MKfT). Teachers' mathematics PCK, comprises of three core knowledge domain: (i) Teacher's Knowledge of Content and Teaching (KCT); (ii) Teacher's Knowledge of Content and Student (KCS); and (iii) teacher's Knowledge of Content and Curriculum (KCC). Teachers' KCS was considered in this study as it concerns what teachers know about what learners know and how they learn. The general interest of this project was to study the construction of experience of mathematics (non-core domain knowledge) by genetic endowment on the basis of contextual data. More specifically, the particular interest of the study is on the construction of the experience of counting in the pedagogic situations of Grade 3 schooling. For that purpose, video records of mathematics teaching in two schools situated in working-class communities were analysed. The study adopted an Integrated Causal Model approach which drew on resources from different disciplines such as mathematics education, cognitive science, evolutionary psychology and mathematics. The study was partly framed by Bernstein's pedagogic device, particularly with respect to his notion of evaluation, as well as the inter-related constructs of PCK, MKfT and KCS. The theoretical resources used to describe computations were drawn largely from Davis (2001, 2010b, 2011a, 2012, 2013a, 2015, 2018) and related work on the use of morphisms as elaborated in Baker et al. (1971), Gallistel & King, (2010), Krause (1969) and Open University (1970). These resources were used to produce the analytic framework for the production of and analysis of data. The analysis describes the computational activities of teachers and learners during the recorded lessons, specifically the computational domains made available pedagogically. In so doing, I was able to provide more illumination on what is described as teacher's KCS for teaching counting at the Grade 3 level. From the generated data, the study finds that counting proper was restricted to the constitution and identification of very small ordered discrete aggregates which can be handled by human core domain object tracking system and approximate number system, and that an implicit reliance on numerical order derived from computations on aggregates was central to the teaching and learning of counting

Effect of Al2O3 nanoparticle, Silica Powder microparticle, and Fibers on the newly formulated geopolymer: Experimental and Modelling Studies.

When the productivity of a reservoir becomes uneconomical, the final fate of the well is to be plugged and abandoned. NORSOK D-10 defines the well integrity criteria and sets criteria for cement properties to reduce the risk level of undesired leakage from the reservoir to the surface. However, well integrity survey data from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) shows that out of the seventy-five production and injection wells, cement recorded about an 11% integrity issue rate. Surveys from different countries around the world show that cement failure is one of the major reasons for well integrity failure. This shows that cement does not satisfy the NORSOK D-10 standard’s requirement. Currently, the oil and gas industry is searching for new alternative materials that can be used for plug and abandonment operations. Among others, geopolymer is one of the alternative candidate materials. Several studies have shown that the addition of nanoparticles and fibers improved the strength and quality of geopolymers. In this thesis work, a total of four experimental test designs have been formulated to investigate the effect of Silica powder, Al2O3 nanoparticle solution, carbon fiber, and human hair on the properties of 12M NaOH and 14M NaOH-based neat geopolymer. In addition, the properties of the newly formulated neat geopolymer were compared with Portland G class cement. The geopolymer plugs were cured for 3 and 10 days at 62oC and atmospheric pressure. Results showed that silica powder increased the strength of the geopolymer with an increase in concentration. The optimum concentrations of Al2O3 nanoparticles and fibers have also shown positive impacts on the neat geopolymer. Furthermore, an empirical UCS wave velocity model was developed for the measured data, which showed a good prediction of the test dataset

Nigeria’s Contemporary Security Challenges: Herders – Farmers Conflict and Banditry

Banditry and the violent conflicts between herders and farmers in Nigeria have become potentially dangerous in recent time resulting in humanitarian emergencies as thousands have been killed and many more uprooted from their homes while both the Federal and State government appears clueless on how best to contain the conflicts. The spread of the conflict to southern states of the country is aggravating the fragile relations among ethnic nationalities and religious groups. President Buhari, a Muslim and Fulani, has been accused of allowing the attacks to continue, and his Vice President, Professor Osibanjo, a Christian, has been faulted for failing to speak out. At the heart of the conflicts are dispute over grazing on farmlands and cattle rustlings; expansion of agriculturist population and cultivated land at the expense, deteriorating environmental condition such as desertification; breakdown in traditional conflict resolution mechanisms of land and water disputes, drug abuse, proliferation of small arms and outright criminality, all of which points to a national security failure. The loss of faith in the national security architecture which assumes the form of creation of Special Security Forces, resort to self-help by state governments and citizens’ groups, anti-grazing laws against ECOWAS protocol that allows unrestricted movement of animals for grazing across the countries in the sub-region and the culture of impunity. This paper examines the fundamental issues surrounding banditry and the Herders – Farmers conflict in Nigeria with a view to highlight its implications for national security in contemporary times. It is argued here that considering the seeming intractability of these conflicts and violence, it appears that the security architecture of the country has been hijacked and the Nigerian state has ceased to be in full control and command of the national security situation especially as the safety of life and property can no longer be guaranteed. The security regime has been hijacked, undermined, and compromised by non-state actors who operate confidently with reckless abandon and little decency and respect for human life. Keywords: Herders-Farmers conflict, Banditry, Ethic nationalities, Small arms, Security challenges, and Criminality. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-17-04 Publication date:October 31st 202

Spatio-Temporal Variations in Urban Vehicular Emission in Port Harcourt City, Nigeria

vThe increasing high volume of road traffic and congestion is a fundamental issue in Port Harcourt metropolis. The degradation of air quality arising from these is another serious dimension of the problem. This study estimated the emissions of pollutants from vehicles during traffic peak periods within parts of the city of Port Harcourt in Nigeria. It estimated air pollutants, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Sulphur Oxides and Hydrocarbons in four sampling points. The level of variation in concentration of emissions between peak and off peak periods of traffic, and between locations was determined. Only traces of SOx were detected at all times and locations, while the concentration of CO detected was higher than the Federal Environmental Protection Agency limits and the recommended municipal (local) standard. This was predominantly in location A. Levels of Hydrocarbon (CxHy) detected varied in space and time, while. NOx was generally above the local and international standards in all the locations during peak traffic period. Though this study did not cover the whole city of Port Harcourt, findings from the four sampling points suggest that the city is under the threat of traffic related pollution and is possibly more susceptible given increasing population influx and vehicular traffic. Improved road network and construction of modern roundabouts could help reduce peak period traffic in the nearest future.Key Words: Air pollution, Road intersection, Peak and off peak, traffic congestion, Vehicular emissio

Hepatitis B Vaccination Rate Among Medical Students At The University Of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Nigeria

Background Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide.  Occupational exposure of health care workers and medical students increases their risk of acquiring HBV infection, and many authorities recommend vaccination. However, significant proportions of health care workers do not receive HBV immunization, and remain at increased risk to HBV infection. The objective of this study was to determine the hepatitis B vaccination rate among Medical students at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and to determine their knowledge of HBV infection.Methods Three hundred and sixteen medical students at UPTH completed Selfadministered  questionnaires which included questions about demographic characteristics, HBV vaccination status, knowledge of hepatitis B vaccine and reasons for not receiving the vaccine.Results All (100%) of the respondents had heard of hepatitis B vaccine. 7Wo hundred and twenty two  (70.2%) of them thought they were at risk of acquiring hepatitis. 7Wo hundred and seventy (85.4%) had received at least one dose of hepatitis B vaccine while 46 (14.6%) had never received the vaccine. One hundred and ten of the respondents had received 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine, giving a vaccination rate of 34.8%. One hundred and sixteen (36. 7%) had received 2 doses, while 44 (13.9%) had received one  dose. There was a statistical significant relationship between marital status( p=0.01), clinical level  (p=0.02) and hepatitis B vaccine uptake.Conclusion The hepatitis B vaccination rate among medical students at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital is low. National and institutional legislation for adult vaccination against Hepatitis B should be promulgated for those at higher risk.Keywords Hepatitis B, vaccination rate, Medical students; Nigeria