Rising Insecurity in Nigeria: Causes and Solution

Nigeria is currently inflated in security crisis which has turn into an unending challenge, not only by defying security procedures but making scorn of the efforts of the law enforcement agents and the millions of naira annually budgeted by the government as security votes. This study, therefore, examines the rising insecurity in Nigeria with causes and solutions to it. The finding revealed that the causes of insecurity are the menace of unemployment and poverty, elite exploitation of ethnicity and religious differences, corruption, weak security apparatus, porous border, marginalization and inequality in the country, and bad governance and poor leadership. The solution range from opposing the aforementioned causes of insecurity in this paper

An Analysis of Public Perception on the Menace of Corruption among Judicial Workers in Dutse Metropolis, Jigawa State-Nigeria

The most important issues facing the judiciary today predominantly the court emanate from the court s primary mission to secure justice for all Justice is an empty promise if it denies an individual or group achievable equal access to the courts Economic political social and cultural and ethnic barriers to the justice system unfortunately still exist as a result of corruption Misuse of judicial power by the courts for private gain is no longer an aberration or isolated behavior It is disturbingly a dominant and recurrent feature of the Nigerian system Judicial corruption often involves a vicious dynamic in which judges trade injustice for favors and personal gains However this study assesses the public perception of the menace of corruption among judicial workers in Dutse metropolis Jigawa Stat

SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS SYSTEMS

Part of the study phase two has been presented and published at Logistics Research Network Conference (LRN 2018), University of Plymouth 5-7 September 2018.Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a rapidly growing energy source, with highly competitive supply chain networks, sensitive to global macro-economic developments. To date, supply chain finance studies have failed to explore supply chain financial performance (SCFP) in the LNG sector and few have demonstrated the potential impact of supply chain practices on financial performance. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between supply chain strategies and the financial performance of Nigeria liquefied natural gas (NLNG) systems, to guide practitioners to review and adopt supply chain initiatives that drive business survival and growth, while creating value for investors. To identify key supply chain strategies that have financial influences for NLNG networks, SCFP related publications between 1999 and 2018 alongside interviews with experts and key decision-makers at NLNG were analysed using template analysis. To prioritise the relative influence of the major supply chain initiatives that drive financial performance in NLNG systems, supplementary data collected from NLNG was analysed using analytical hierarchy process (AHP). In study phase one, qualitative template analysis of literature identified sourcing strategy, information technology and automation, integration and collaboration, and sustainability as key drivers of SCFP in NLNG systems. These drivers are measured using cost, revenue, working capital and assets utilisation. In study phase two, AHP presented integration and collaboration as the most important drivers of financial performance in NLNG networks, followed by sourcing, IT and automation, and sustainability. Study phase three identified investment and capacity development in addition to the four supply chain capabilities established earlier. Effective implementation of these initiatives is essential to realise the full financial advantages of effective supply chain strategies. Theoretical and empirical taxonomies and frameworks facilitate understanding of how supply chain initiatives contribute positively to NLNG financial performance, and support practitioners in making strategic supply chain decisions. The AHP model provides a novel ranking for supply chain strategies and measures to guide decision-makers.Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Nigeri

Evaluating The Impact Of Product Diversifcation On Financial Performance Of Selected Nigerian Construction Firms

The need for the improved performance and continuous survival of construction frms has caused frms to diversify into other businesses. The purpose of this study is to determine the influence of diversifcation on the performance of some Nigerian construction frms. Financial statements from seventy construction frms were analysed. The specialisation ratio method was used to measure and categorise the frms into undiversifed, moderately diversifed and highly diversifed frms, and proftability ratios were used to measure the group-wise performance of the frms. The Student t-test was used to test the relationship between the extent of diversifcation and performance. The fndings reveal that undiversifed frms outperform the highly diversifed frms in terms of Return on Total Assets and Proft Margin. Similarly, the moderately diversifed frms were found to outperform the highly diversifed frms in terms of Return on Equity, Return on Total Assets and Proft Margin. However, no performance difference was found between the undiversifed frms and the moderately diversifed frms based on the three measures used. A nonlinear relationship was found between the extent of diversifcation and performance. It was concluded that diversifcation does not necessarily lead to an improvement in proftability. The implication is that frms are better-off remaining focused if the aim is to improve fnancial performance

Links Between Risk Source Identification and Resilience Capability Building in Agri-Food Supply Chains: A Comprehensive Analysis

Agri-food supply chain (AFSC) resilience is receiving increasing attention as AFSC stakeholders perceive its benefits in recovering from unexpected disruptions. However, which resilience capabilities are more effective in mitigating AFSC risks remains unclear. To address this gap, this article presents a novel AFSC risk and resilience analysis based on a systematic literature review (SLR). In total, 95 journal articles on AFSC risk and resilience management published between 2004 and 2020 are analyzed to identify key risks and resilience capabilities in AFSCs, the relationships, correlations and causalities between them, and research gaps and future research directions in the field. Our SLR reveals eight types of AFSC risk and seven types of AFSC resilience capability, and enables us to develop a one-to-one resilience-risk correspondence model. Suggestions for future research include: cross-country comparative analysis to gain a deeper understanding of risk and resilience management; identification of risk and resilience strengthening strategies through a multi-sectoral approach; longitudinal studies to determine the long-term effects of resilience capabilities; research to understand resilience from the perspectives of supply-chain collaboration, traceability, redundancy, knowledge management, innovation, leadership, and flexibility; investigations of the positive effects of AFSC risks in triggering resilience capabilities; and cross-disciplinary research to understand the relationships between resilience and other disciplines

Resilient supply chain network design without lagging sustainability responsibilities

In the 21st century, global supply chains have experienced severe risks due to disruptions caused by crises and serious diseases, such as the great tsunami, SARS, and, more recently, COVID-19. Building a resilient supply chain is necessary for business survival and growth. Similarly, there is increasing regulatory and social pressure for managers to continuously design and implement sustainable supply chain networks, encompassing economic, social, and environmental components. Hence, a panacea approach is required to establish a compromise position between resiliency concerns and sustainability responsibilities. To address this, this work presents a hybrid integrated BWM-CoCoSo-multi-objective programming model (BC-MOPM) formulated to deliver a compromise between resilience and sustainability supply chain network design (RS-SCND). First, a thorough literature review analysis is conducted to explore the relationship and correlation between resilience and sustainability to develop a framework for the resiliency and sustainability criteria, in a supply chain context. Second, four objectives were formulated, including the minimisation of total cost and environmental impact and the maximisation of social and resilience paradigms. A real two-tier supply chain network is deployed to evaluate the applicability of the developed BC-MOPM. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis is conducted to establish the relative importance of the identified criteria to prove the model’s robustness. Results demonstrate the capability of the BC-MOPM in revealing trade-offs between the resiliency and sustainability aspects

Multi-tier supply chain network design:A key towards sustainability and resilience

The inescapable need for sustainable supply chains has fascinated controversial attention, in the last two decades, due to increasing governmental regulations and societal awareness. But, facilities and their linkages, within the supply chain network, are subject to perturbations due to natural or human-made events (e.g., strikes and floods). Therefore, managers are concerned about re-engineering a supply chain network that is simultaneously sustainable and resilient. Hence, there is an inevitable need to embrace sustainability and resilience at a strategic level for the supply chain management. Motivated by this necessity, this paper presents a new panacea methodology towards a sustainable and resilient (susilient, henceforth) two-tier supply chain network design (S-2TSCND). To this end, an extended exploration regarding the relationship and completeness between sustainability and resilience, in the supply chain context, was explored and discussed. It presents a new term for “susilient” supply chain due to the strong correlation found between these two paradigms. Then, a holistic framework was developed to identify dimensions, enablers, and criteria towards susilient development. Next, a fuzzy four-objective optimization model (FFOOM) was developed to (1) solve the susilient facility location problem; (2) assign the optimal order quantities among the selected facilities considering the susilience aspect; and (3) derive a trade-off between sustainability and resilience. The susilience values of nominated facilities were quantified via a hybrid AHP-OCRA method. These values were then merged into the FFOOM to consolidate susilience performance into the strategic and tactical decisions. A set of trade-offs was then derived via the ε-constraints method. Finally, each trade-off was examined via the global criterion approach to measure its distance from the ideal solution aiming to select the final supply chain network design. The validity of the developed methodology was proved on a re-configuration of an existing real 2TSCND

Modeling enablers for building agri-food supply chain resilience: insights from a comparative analysis of Argentina and France

Smooth, efficient agri-food supply chain (AFSC) operations are becoming ever more difficult due to more intense and frequent natural disasters and man-made disruptions. Helping AFSCs to survive disturbances requires re-consideration of how to build their resilience. This study addresses this issue through a cross-country comparative analysis involving interviews with AFSC practitioners, thematic analysis to generate agri-food supply chain resilience (AFSCRes) capability factors, total interpretive structural modelling (TISM) to establish interrelationships among the factors, cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis to categorise the factors, and comparative analysis. The results reveal that contractual restraints regulating farmers’ opportunistic behaviour and regular interactions are key factors for building AFSCRes in France and Argentina, respectively. This study also confirms the critical role of farmers’ associations and coordinated activities amongst all AFSC stakeholders to build AFSCRes. For triggering AFSCRes, farmers’ resilience must be particularly prioritised, as they are the least resilient point in AFSCs

Evaluation of Heavy Metals Concentrations in Borehole Water from Talata Mafara Metropolis, Zamfara State, Nigeria

The levels of heavy metal concentrations and some physico-chemical parameters in two samples of borehole water from Talata Mafara metropolis in Talata Mafara Local Government of Zamfara State, Nigeria were determined. The physico-chemical parameters were evaluated using standard procedures while elemental analysis was conducted using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The samples have a relatively neutral pH (6.54, 6.83) while electrical conductivity (3.30±0.03 and 3.23±0.03 µS/cm), turbidity (9.99±0.34 and 9.22±0.31 NTU), phosphorus (0.11, 0.12), DO (8.52±0.32 and 8.06±0.18mg/L), COD (1.99±0.02 and 1.58±0.01 mg/L) and BOD (2.25±1.21 and1.85±0.81mg/L) were all below the maximum allowable limits approved by the World Health Organization resulting in a high quality index for the studied samples. However, lead (0.345±0.04 and 0.332±0.04 mg/L for AGP and LCH respectively) was found to be higher than the levels recommended by WHO. On the other hand, iron, nickel and zinc were not detected in both samples whereas cadmium (0.039±0.023 and 0.435±0.075 mg/L), chromium (0.027±0.030 and 0.177±0.003 mg/L) and copper (0.047±0.007 and 0.031±0.021 mg/L) were all below the WHO permissible limit. Manganese is, however, higher (0.032±0.002 mg/L) than the recommended levels in LCH. This led to the conclusion that while the community is not in any immediate danger, prolonged usage could result in exposure