THE ROLE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS IN FINANCING SMALL & MEDIUM SIZE ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF SELECTED BANKS AND FIRMS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the role of commercial banks in financing small and medium size businesses in Nigeria. The main objective of the study is to examine the role of commercial banks in financing SMEs in Nigeria. Structured questionnaire were distributed to the respondents which includes the commercial banks staff and selected SMEs staff in Anambra State Nigeria. Three research hypotheses were tested using the chi-square. However, the 109 questionnaire administered to the bankers and SMEs were analyzed and presented in tables with the use of percentage and chi-square method. Therefore, the study found that small and medium size businesses encounter problem in the procurement of loans from commercial banks; also, commercial banks have contributed immensely to the development of SMEs through their loans and advances. The research therefore recommended that for small & medium enterprises to survive, there have to be collective effort between them and banks. Also the government should engage more in the development of small & medium size enterprises by creating and embarking on various incentives to encourage both small scale enterprises and commercial banks. JEL: G21, G17, E24  Article visualizations

Locus of control and technostress in Nigeria commercial banks: The nexus

Purpose: This study aimed to ascertain the connection between LOC and Technostress in selected commercial banks in Nigeria. Research methodology: Survey research design was employed in this study. The study population was 400 while the sample size was 191 employees of the selected banks, arrived at through the usage of Taro Yamane formula. The instrument for data collection was a Likert Structured Questionnaire that was put through validity and reliability test. The data were analyzed with Pearson's correlation analysis, while the hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. Result: There is a significant nexus between external LOC and techno-invasion in the Banks selected (r = .942, p-value < 0.05). The increase in technological deployment and the seeming lack of control by employees lead to techno-invasion and, by extension, technostress.  Limitations: The generalizability of the study was limited by not collecting data from a cross-section of respondents from the entire country. Contribution: This is a novel study in the area of LOC and technostress in Nigeria

Locus of control: an employee job embeddedness implication for bankers in Nigeria

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between Locus of Control (LOC) and Employee Embeddedness (EE) in Nigeria's selected commercial banks. Research Methodology: The study adopted a survey research design with a population of 400 employees. The sample size was 190 was determined using Krejcie and Morgan formula. A questionnaire was the instrument for data collection, while the analysis was carried out using descriptive and inferential statistics. The hypothesis was tested at a 5% level of significance, Results: Internal LOC has a statistically significant effect on sacrifice (R = .976; R-Square = .952; p-value < 0.05). Internal LOC makes it possible for employees to be more entangled in the organization, thereby making exiting the firms more difficult. Limitations: Data was not collected from different regions in Nigeria, hence limiting the study's generalizability. Contribution: This study represents the most recent LOC work, and it is novel in relating LOC to EE in Nigeria. Keywords: Locus of Control, Internal LOC, Employee job embeddedness, Sacrific

EFFECT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN ANAMBRA (A STUDY OF SELECTED SMES IN ANAMBRA STATE NIGERIA)

This study examined the effect of entrepreneurial skills on SME’s productivity in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State Nigeria. Three research questions were raised in line with the objectives of the study. Also, three research hypotheses wee formulated. The instrument for data collection is a structured questionnaire which is used in analyzing the research questions, data collected were analysed using statistical mean (x) and standard deviation. The population of the study is 100. Based on the findings, the study revealed that, management skills, marketing skills, accounting skills and discussed risk management skills are needed for effective productivity of SMEs. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends that every potential graduate should be entrepreneurial in character, and also the government can do more by emphasizing entrepreneurial skill acquisition in all levels of education.   Article visualizations

Microbial Biofilm Community Variation in Flowing Habitats: Potential Utility as Bioindicators of Postmortem Submersion Intervals

Biofilms are a ubiquitous formation of microbial communities found on surfaces in aqueous environments. These structures have been investigated as biomonitoring indicators for stream heath, and here were used for the potential use in forensic sciences. Biofilm successional development has been proposed as a method to determine the postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) of remains because there are no standard methods for estimating the PMSI and biofilms are ubiquitous in aquatic habitats. We sought to compare the development of epinecrotic (biofilms on Sus scrofa domesticus carcasses) and epilithic (biofilms on unglazed ceramic tiles) communities in two small streams using bacterial automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis. Epinecrotic communities were significantly different from epilithic communities even though environmental factors associated with each stream location also had a significant influence on biofilm structure. All communities at both locations exhibited significant succession suggesting that changing communities throughout time is a general characteristic of stream biofilm communities. The implications resulting from this work are that epinecrotic communities have distinctive shifts at the first and second weeks, and therefore the potential to be used in forensic applications by associating successional changes with submersion time to estimate a PMSI. The influence of environmental factors, however, indicates the lack of a successional pattern with the same organisms and a focus on functional diversity may be more applicable in a forensic context

Demanding Power: Struggles over Fuel Access in Nigeria

Why do some fuel protests in Nigeria lead to a response from government, but others are barely noticed? What are the politics behind government response and who are the winners and losers? Using a multi-method approach, this study focuses on the period between 2007 and 2017 to investigate the dynamics of fuel protest in Nigeria to ask how, and under which conditions, struggles over energy access in Nigeria produce accountability and empowerment. The findings suggest that accountability and empowerment outcomes of the struggles over fuel access in Nigeria are severely limited by the very conditions that define the state as fragile: weak institutions, elite capture, widespread corruption, and a citizenry that is protest-fatigued and disempowered. This could be true of other fragile and conflict-affected settings. Therefore, frameworks that open up the civic space for dialogues between the government and citizens may produce better outcomes than protests.Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Offic

Evaluation and Multivariate Analysis of Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] Germplasm for Selected Nutrients—Mining for Nutri-Dense Accessions

A total of 120 highly diverse cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] genotypes, including indigenous and exotic lines, were evaluated for different biochemical traits using AOAC official methods of analysis and other standard methods. The results exhibited wide variability in the content of proteins (ranging from 19.4 to 27.9%), starch (from 27.5 to 42.7 g 100 g−1), amylose (from 9.65 to 21.7 g 100 g−1), TDF (from 13.7 to 21.1 g 100 g−1), and TSS (from 1.30 to 8.73 g 100 g−1). The concentration of anti-nutritional compounds like phenols and phytic acid ranged from 0.026 to 0.832 g 100 g−1 and 0.690 to 1.88 g 100 g−1, respectively. The correlation coefficient between the traits was calculated to understand the inter-trait relationship. Multivariate analysis (PCA and HCA) was performed to identify the major traits contributing to variability and group accessions with a similar profile. The first three principal components, i.e., PC1, PC2, and PC3, contributed to 62.7% of the variation, where maximum loadings were from starch, followed by protein, phytic acid, and dietary fiber. HCA formed six distinct clusters at a squared Euclidean distance of 5. Accessions in cluster I had high TDF and low TSS content, while cluster II was characterized by low amylose content. Accessions in cluster III had high starch, low protein, and phytic acid, whereas accessions in cluster IV contained high TSS, phenol, and low phytic acid. Cluster V was characterized by high protein, phytic acid, TSS, and phenol content and low starch content, and cluster VI had a high amount of amylose and low phenol content. Some nutri-dense accessions were identified from the above-mentioned clusters, such as EC169879 and IC201086 with high protein (>27%), TSS, amylose, and TDF content. These compositions are promising to provide practical support for developing high-value food and feed varieties using effective breeding strategies with a higher economic value

Development and optimization of NIRS prediction models for simultaneous multi-trait assessment in diverse cowpea germplasm

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is one such legume that can facilitate achieving sustainable nutrition and climate change goals. Assessing nutritional traits conventionally can be laborious and time-consuming. NIRS is a technique used to rapidly determine biochemical parameters for large germplasm. NIRS prediction models were developed to assess protein, starch, TDF, phenols, and phytic acid based on MPLS regression. Higher RSQexternal values such as 0.903, 0.997, 0.901, 0.706, and 0.955 were obtained for protein, starch, TDF, phenols, and phytic acid respectively. Models for all the traits displayed RPD values of >2.5 except phenols and low SEP indicating the excellent prediction of models. For all the traits worked, p-value ≥ 0.05 implied the accuracy and reliability score >0.8 (except phenol) ensured the applicability of the models. These prediction models will facilitate high throughput screening of large cowpea germplasm in a non-destructive way and the selection of desirable chemotypes in any genetic background with huge application in cowpea crop improvement programs across the world

Socio-environmental determinants of parasitic intestinal infections among children: a cross-sectional study in Nigeria

Background: Intestinal parasitic infections are a major public health problem among school-aged children, especially those residing in rural areas. These infections predispose the children to several other health problems. This study assesses intestinal parasitic infections among school children in a rural area in Nigeria and their socioenvironmental determinants. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 250 primary school-age children from three randomly selected schools in Elemere, a poor rural area in Kwara State, Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to record the socio-demographic data, and stool samples were microscopically examined for intestinal parasites. Results: The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 23.6% (59/250). Of the infected children, the most common parasite was Ascaris lumbricoides 50.8% (30/59), followed by Giardia lamblia 28.8% (17/59), Entamoeba spp.16.9% (10/59) and Dipylidium caninum in 3.4% (2/59). Rural domicile was associated with parasitic infections (P= 0.036) compared to a semi-urban or urban residence. Compared to younger age groups, children in the higher age groups had 64% (95% confidence interval,0.15–0.90;P= 0.03) lesser parasitic infections. Conclusion: Intestinal parasitic infections are common in school children in the studied area, and may be associated with unclean water sources, poor hygiene, and economic conditions. General health education should emphasize cleanliness, personal hygiene and sanitation to prevent and control parasitic intestinal infections among schoolchildren in these communities