Treaty-Making Power of the President and the Requirement of Domestication under the Nigerian Constitution

The President has the power to negotiate and ratify treaties on behalf of his country.  However in Nigeria and most other countries that operate the dualist system, no treaty between the federation and any other country shall become enforceable unless it is domesticated through a legislative enactment.  Therefore treaty-making is purely an executive act which requires subsequent legislative intervention for implementation of the treaty in national courts.  This article examines the treaty-making power of the Nigerian President and the justification for the requirement of domestication of treaties.  The difficulties posed by the requirement of domestication are also examined.  Notwithstanding that Nigeria has ratified several international treaties, the domestication of these instruments is lamentably slow.  Though this may prevent the implementation or enforcement of these treaties within the national courts, they non- the less remain binding on the country at the international level with some negative consequences.  The article also examines the impact of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Third Alteration Act) 2010 on treaty implementation in Nigeria and proffers suggestions on how the desired synergy between the executive and the legislature with regard to treaty-making and implementation could be achieved. Keywords: Treaty, Domestication, Constitution, President, National Assembly

The Power of Judicial Review in the Promotion of Constitutionalism in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects

The judiciary, as the guardian of constitutionalism, ensures that the organs of government do not stray into the sphere of each other, and that powers and authority are exercised within prescribed constitutional boundaries.  Accordingly, the judiciary acts as a watchdog over the other organs of government and ensures their fidelity to the doctrine of separation of powers and respect for the supremacy of the Constitution.  This Article assesses the exercise of the power of judicial review of executive and legislative actions by the Nigerian courts.   Lessons are also drawn from other jurisdictions, such as the United States of America, Ghana and South Africa.  While the performance of the judiciary in Nigeria has so far been commendable, several factors continue to impede its attainment of optimal performance.  These include lack of judicial independence, impact of corruption and judicial philosophy of supporting the executive, amongst others.    These problems must be addressed through proper selection and appointment of people of integrity as judicial officers, training and re-training of judicial officers, improved conditions of service and effective control of the performance of judicial officers, amongst others; in order to enhance the utilisation of the power of judicial review in the promotion of constitutionalism in Nigeria

The Status and Role of Liquidators in the Winding-Up of Companies in Nigeria: A Critical Evaluation

Winding-up or liquidation is the process by which the company’s life is terminated and its property administered, for the benefit of its creditors, members and other interested parties.  The liquidator is the principal officer involved in the winding-up proceedings and it is obvious that he has to perform his functions and exercise his powers effectively and without abuse, in order to address the claims of all the parties satisfactorily.  This paper therefore evaluates the status and role of the liquidator in the winding-up of companies in Nigeria.  It also proffers suggestions on the measures to be adopted to achieve effectiveness in the exercise of his powers and performance of his functions for the overall benefit of all the interested parties in the winding-up proceedings. Keywords:  Legal status, Powers and functions, Liquidators, Winding-up of Companies

Customer value theory and cryptocurrency regulation

Cryptocurrencies are the product of disruptive technologies which have the potential to unsettle the global banking sector and, as a result, state-controlled economies across the world. Similarly, their inherent volatility and the relatively unregulated markets within which they are currently traded present a multiplicity of risks from which consumers will increasingly require protection as their popularity continues to rise. In seeking to inform any regulatory intervention, lawmakers are likely to refer to – amongst others – a range of economic, legal, political, sociological, and technological theories to understand the nature and extent of the relevant risks. Customer value theory from the marketing discipline offers an important perspective, which to the authors’ knowledge has not yet been considered. This paper presents the findings of an interdisciplinary, theoretical study, which explored the application of customer value theory to cryptocurrency and its regulation. It is argued that customer value theory offers explanatory insight into the nature of cryptocurrency itself as well as the risks that it poses to consumer traders, and that it thereby constitutes a useful lens for lawmakers as they seek to regulate in this emergent area

Automatic Identification of the Scapular Border to Increase the Efficiency of Data Processing for the Freehand Three-Dimensional Ultrasound System

The ability to visualize the scapula in three dimensions (3D) is necessary for the evaluation of scapular movement. The scapula plays an important role in upper extremity function as it provides a stable base for shoulder movement and enables optimal shoulder complex function. We previously developed a custom freehand ultrasound (FUS) system for purposes of evaluating bone movement, which is a relatively unexplored application as it pertains to shoulder biomechanics. Our system was developed to create a reconstructed scapular border in 3D space, from points of interest in two-dimensional (2D) ultrasound images, and determine scapular rotations. We found high reliability in evaluating scapular kinematics in static postures with our 3D FUS system. However, we are currently limited to manual detection of the scapular border in the ultrasound images, which is very time consuming. Steps are needed to enhance the FUS system to include automatic detection and increase efficiency. For this study, we have developed a program, capable of automatically identifying and tracking the scapula in 2D ultrasound images, to be integrated into our 3D FUS system. Selected coordinates identified as the scapular border by our automated program were compared to previous manual selections to validate its accuracy and reliability. Using intraclass correlation coefficients, we found substantial to excellent inter-rater reliability (agreement between the automated and manual point selections). The semi-automated point selection program reduces the data processing time required for identification of the spine and medial border of the scapula in our ultrasound images by over 50%. Our results suggest that this proposed program is a viable method for automatically identifying and tracking the scapular border in 2D ultrasound images. Further study on image pre-processing prior to future application of this automated program should be conducted to further improve the accuracy of our algorithm. In conclusion, point selection is necessary for 3D reconstruction of the scapular border and this automation ultimately enhances our FUS system by increasing the efficiency of our point selection process. Access to 3D scapular models plays several roles ranging from detection of shoulder pathologies to assessing the effectiveness of interventions or preventative measures for shoulder injuries

The Nexus between Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Financial Performance of Firms: Empirical Evidence from the Nigerian Insurance Industry

This study looked at the impact of gross domestic products (GDP) on the Financial performance of insurance firms in Nigeria using gross written premium (GWP), profit before tax (PBT), total assets (TA), capital employed (CE) and shareholders fund (SHF) as proxies for financial performance. The study adopted the theories of shareholder primacy theory also known as the shareholder value theory and signalling theory. shareholder primacy theory sees organisation as entities with the primary objective of maximising the wealth of the shareholder while signalling theory looks at the propensity to change of financial performance to changes in GDP figures. Using secondary data sources, findings from the results of our regression analysis show that Nigeria’s GDP has an impact on Total assets, total capital employed, profit before tax and shareholders fund but has negligible impact on the gross written premiums of insurance firms in Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that government should seek to contribute positively to GDP growth through the instrumentality of fiscal and monetary policies, enterprises should contribute to GDP growth through taxes and employee benefits and firms should adopt a bullish approach to consumption for better GDP outcomes. Keywords: impact, gross domestic products, financial performance DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/12-6-07 Publication date:March 31st 202

GROUND REACTION FORCES DURING COMPETITIVE TRACK EVENTS: A MOTION BASED ASSESSMENT METHOD

A motion based approach to generating vertical ground reaction forces (VGRF) from the motion of sprint running could be a useful analytical tool. The spring-mass model has been used for this purpose; however, the invariant pattern predicted by the model is not fully consistent with the force-time waveforms of competitive sprint athletes. The recently introduced two-mass model provides an alternative method that might generate better representations of sprinter’s force-time waveforms. Here we used both models to generate kinematic-averaged force-time waveforms from 4 sprint athletes in an IAAF 100-meter race from 360 Hz video data. We found substantial differences in the waveform patterns predicted by the two models. The two-mass model predicted waveform had greater peak forces (4.75 Wb) that occurred earlier in contact (28 ms) vs that of the spring mass model

Running impact forces: from half a leg to holistic understanding – comment on Nigg et al.

Running impact forces have immediate relevance for the muscle tuning paradigm proposed here and broader relevance for overuse injuries, shoe design and running performance. Here, we consider their mechanical basis. Several studies demonstrate that the vertical ground reaction force-time (vGRFT) impulse, from touchdown to toe-off, corresponds to the instantaneous accelerations of the body’s entire mass (Mb) divided into two or more portions. The simplest, a two-mass partitioning of the body (lower-limb, M1=0.08•Mb; remaining mass, M2=0.92•Mb) can account for the full vGRFT waveform under virtually all constant-speed, level-running conditions. Model validation data indicate that: 1) the non-contacting mass, M2, often accounts for one-third or more of the early “impact” portion of the vGRFT, and 2) extracting a valid impact impulse from measured force waveforms requires only lower-limb motion data and the fixed body mass fraction of 0.08 for M1

Evaluation of the antibacterial properties of the extracts and fractions of Ipomoea triloba l. (Convolvulaceae) on selected enteric diarrheagenic bacteria

Diarrhoea is a leading killer of young children accounting for approximately 8% of all deaths among children ˂ 5 years worldwide and causes neonatal mortality and hospitalization in geriatrics. Ipomoea triloba L. has been claimed to have antidiarrheal properties. This study evaluated antibacterial properties of the ethanol / aqueous extracts and fractions of I. triloba on diarrheagenic bacteria to validate its use in trado-medical treatment of diarrhoea. Aqueous and ethanol extracts of pulverized I. triloba were prepared by cold maceration and phytochemical screening was performed using standard procedures. Diarrheagenic bacteria were isolated from twenty (20) composite diarrhoeal stool samples by community bioprospecting using appropriate selective and differential media. In vitro antibacterial activity of extracts and fractions of I. triloba was determined by the modified agar-well diffusion technique, while minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was determined by reference standard agar-dilution technique (ADT) after re-incubation of MIC samples at 37o C for 24 h. A total of 74 isolates, belonging to six genera, were identified with their numbers and percentages of occurrence as follows: Escherichia coli, 26 (35.1%), Staphylococcus aureus, 4 (5.4 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 9 (12.2%), Shigella dysenteriae, 18 (24.3%), Salmonella typhi, 8 (10.8%) and Vibrio cholera, 9 (12.2%). Flavonoids, saponins, terpenes, carbohydrates and steroids were detected in both extracts. Ethanol extracts (≥30 mm) showed more potent broad-spectrum antibacterial activity than aqueous extract (≥18 mm). The MIC and MBC values ranged from 250 to 500 mg/mL and 500 to 1000 mg/mL respectively, thus establishing a time-dependent bactericidal mode of antibacterial activity. The best antibacterial activity was elicited by dichloromethane fraction. From the study, I. triloba possesses antibacterial potentials and may be exploited in the chemotherapy of bacterial diarrhoea