A COMPARATIVE EXAMINATION OF ISSUES OF RELIGION AND CULTURE IN AFRICA

This paper examined the contentious issues in the relationship between religion and culture. This relationship appeared to have been cordial and crucial for the corporate existence and development of the society. Although religion and culture are closely knit, there are issues of contention between them. However, these are two concepts or phenomena that exist together for the good of the society. In discovering the issues, the researcher adopted the literary method of study and examined the subject from that perspective. This paper revealed that there is culture in religion as there is religion in culture. These two elements of society (religion and culture) play different roles to keep the society functional. Notably too, religion give meaning to culture. However, the major findings suggest the checking of the excesses of culture over religion to help develop a peaceful and socially conducive atmosphere for the people. This paper further recommended that religion should be given opportunity to shape and reform culture for the benefit of man

The Religious Response to Migration and Refugee Crises in Cross River State, Nigeria

The movement of people from one country to another in search of greener pasture, peaceful settlement and so on, has become very rampant in the world today. These same reasons have triggered internal migrations as well. Lives have been lost in the bid to circumvent immigration laws of countries by immigrants. The current spate of wars, political crises, natural disasters and hunger has led to increase in illegal migration in the world. Nigeria is not left out. We hear of boundary clashes and insurgencies, which have resulted in illegal emigration to other countries basically in search of job opportunities and better living conditions. Nigerians have severally been repatriated from foreign lands. Recently, over five thousand Nigerians were repatriated from Libya. Nigeria has also played host to migrants from neighbouring countries, and has experienced internal migration in several parts of the country. The frequently asked questions are: “what role can religion play in curbing the spate of illegal migration and refugee crises in Cross River State, Nigeria? The research discovered that religion can be a veritable partner to government in resolving this ever-increasing menace that has become an embarrassment to the state and nation. This work adopted qualitative or explorative research method. It employed the content analysis approach in examining available printed materials on the subject matter. In view of its peculiarity, oral interviews were conducted on specific groups and individuals. This work proposes the involvement of religious organisations in preaching and teaching on the dangers of illegal migration, the provision of vocational training for our teaming youth population to reduce emigration, and the provision of counselling and resettlement programmes for the repatriated and those in refugee camps across the country. The work also encourages the government to evolve modalities to curb the spate of violence and bloodshed that has fuelled refugee crises in Cross River State and Nigeria in general

Insecurity in Nigeria: Political, Religious and Cultural Implications

Insecurity apart from being the fear of every Nigerian has become the word on the lips of every Nigerian and a discussion topic where two or three Nigerians gather.  This phenomenon is a state of being subject to danger or injury.  It is the anxiety one experience when one feels vulnerable and insecure.  Several illegal armed groups, ethnic militia groups, religious fundamentalist and fanatics, are evidence of insecurity in Nigeria.  These have given birth to series of bombings, murder, arson, armed robbery, corruption, injustices that we hear everyday.  It is clear that these happenings are negatively affecting Nigeria politically, religiously and culturally.    Religious organizations and other humanitarian agencies are losing confidence on the law enforcement agencies.  This issue has been critically examined in this paper, through library research and views from the media.  These work, therefore, examines, shows the causes, the effects of the political, religious and cultural implications of insecurity in Nigeria.  Arising from this research is the threat of political, economic, civil destabilization if the trend of insecurity persists.  This research paper recommends stiffer penalty for perpetrators of violence.  It is hoped that the result of this research will provide a viable solution to the current insecurity challenge in Nigeria.

The Problem Of Evil: A Case Against The Omnipotence And The Goodness Of God.

Evil is the opposite of good. This phenomenon has unleashed serious threat to human existence. The problem is that it is difficult to understand and even to deal with. Evil is a subject that hasdefied solution politically, socially or religiously. This paper examined the issue of the origin,effect and ways of dealing with evil for a better society. The research adopted the historical andliterary methods of research. Various views are examined. Findings affirmed that God createdevil as well as good. However, this view challenged the omnipotence and the goodness of God. The research identified bloodshed, corruption, demonic activities, human trafficking, child abuseand child dumping/abuse and many others as social vices associated with evil. This researchrecommends that man should learn to live with it, overcome it with good, while religious groupsshould lead in the campaign to end evil and/or reduce its effect on society

The Issues Of Contention Between Religion And Culture In Africa: A Comparative Analysis

This paper examines the contentious issues in the relationship between religion and culture. This relationship appears to have been cordial and crucial for the corporate existence and development of the society. Although religion and culture are closely knit, there are issues of contention between them. However, these are two concepts or phenomena that exist together for the good of the society. In discovering the issues, the researcher adopts the literary method of study and examines the subject from that perspective. This paper revealed that there is culture in religion as there is religion in culture. These two elements of society (religion and culture) play different roles to keep the society functional. Notably too, religion give meaning to culture. However, our findings suggest the checking of the excesses of culture over religion to help develop a peaceful and socially conducive atmosphere for the people. This paper further recommends that religion should be given opportunity to shape and reform culture for the benefit of man

Theism In Christianity, Islam And Sikhism: A Comparative Analysis

God is usually taken to be a necessarily existing being who is unsurpassably powerful, knowledgeable and good. Theism is conceptualized in a single being that is monotheism in some religions and polytheism that is more than one being in some others. Yet some others see theism in everything of human concern that is pantheism. The doctrine of God is strong-minded by means of the religious experiences of men and evident in the conduct of such religious persons. This work intends to show here, the points of similarities and dissimilarities between the concept of theism in Christianity, Islam and Sikhism. This work exposed among others that their major point of way out is that in Christianity, there is a distinctive and central teaching concerning Jesus Christ as unique incarnations, the word of God, pre-eminently manifested in a historic person, on the ground that his moral character perfectly represents the character and purpose of the invisible holy God. While Islam, and Sikhism, have no such doctrine, or theory of incarnation

Analysis of Traffic Flow at Signalized Junctions in Uyo Metropolis

Traffic flows at three signalized junctions in Uyo metropolis were considered and the data used for the analysis were collected during peak periods (morning and evening) for three consecutive days. The performance measures of congestion such as the average queue length, arrival and saturation flow rates as well as the average waiting time of vehicle per cycle have been calculated for a better understanding of the traffic situation in the city by motorists and proper vehicular logistics. With the random nature in which vehicles arrive and depart, we assumed a Poisson arrival process and deterministic (constant) service time with the service rate $\mu=1/s$ which incorporate both the stochastic and deterministic components of delay estimation. Using the concept of the Canadian delay model in Hellinga and Liping (2001), we obtained the overall delay given an observation interval. An estimate of the mean overall delay which is the average time a vehicle could be delayed at any signalized junction in Uyo metropolis is approximately 63s

THE ROLE OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES IN CURBING THE DECAY IN READING HABITS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

The study explored the role of school libraries in curbing the decay in reading habits among secondary school students in Nigeria. It adopted the conceptual research approach by relying on existing literature. The study discovered that reading makes a knowledgeable student, and facilitates self-discovery, vocabulary expansion, development of effective communication skills and students’ overall academic success. It also revealed that effective reading habits is a crucial skill that students should possess as it adds value to life; frees the mind from the shackles of information poverty and enriches their problem-solving skills. The study showed that the causes of decay in reading habits among secondary school students include: laziness, inadequate/poorly equipped library systems, poor educational system, poor reading upbringing, social media influence, lack of reading role models, learning disability, dwindling societal value, peer pressure, etc. It identified the consequences or effects of the decay in reading habits among secondary school students to include: poor academic performance, high rate of examination malpractice, high rate of failure in examinations, anti-social behaviours, fear and anxiety towards examinations and tests, lack of knowledge on current issues, low vocabulary, lack of new ideas, etc. The study revealed that the roles of school libraries in curbing the decay in reading habits are: organizing reading competition and giving prize awards to best readers, excursion to libraries such as university libraries, national public libraries, publishing houses, etc.; display and exhibition of attractive titles; organizing reading seminars for students, etc. The study also revealed the implications of new technologies and social media on reading habits of the students as being both positive and negative. The positive impacts include: easy sharing of information, socio-political and environmental awareness, etc., while negative impacts are: addictive social media use behaviour, distraction in the classrooms, loss of interest in reading, misuse of personal information, breach of privacy, abuse and misuse of time, etc. Finally, based on the findings, the study recommended that school libraries should re-establish reading, writing, speaking and debating clubs to reawaken reading habits while governments and all stakeholders in the educational system should provide adequate support in terms of facilities and finance to the school libraries to enable them provide services that will reignite reading habits among secondary school students

Customer Relationship Management Model; A Business Strategy in a Competitive Business Climate

Resourceful and effective customer relationship management (CRM) drives the success rate of modern organisations. The global and competitive business climate in Nigeria after the economic crisis spur the need by companies to develop and fortify their model relationship with shareholders especially customers and competitors to remained competitive and retained their customers. The mutual, beneficial and Long-term resourceful relationship established between organisations and their customers offers a business’s competitive advantage in a highly competitive business climate. Lower business cost, increase shareholders’ values and satisfy customers change in taste and fashion. This study examines CRM implementation, benefits, and performance in Nigeria. Findings based on an appropriate questionnaire show companies applying CRM benefits and witness improve performance. Survey results indicate that CRM is a vital strategy and business competitive advantage against competitors. The study recommends the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) model affiliating CRM implementation and performance to spur organizational success in Nigeria.Keywords: Balanced Scorecard, customer relationship management (CRM), competitive business climate, Nigeria, business crisi

Enterocutaneous fistula and internal hernia: unusual complications of peritoneal catheter migration into the ileum in a patient with ventriculoperitoneal shunt

The aim of the present study was to report the treatment of an unusual association of ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS). Although a commonly performed paediatric neurosurgical procedure, a VPS is associated with several complications. There are reports on gut perforation by the peritoneal catheter, but an enterocutaneous fistula is very rare. Only two have been previously reported in literature. We report, here, the first case seen in Nigeria involving a 3-year old boy, at our teaching hospital setting, with a history of a fall 18 months after VPS; this was followed by purulent, and, later, faeculent discharge from the right subcoastal region and abdominal wound. He underwent detailed neurological examination. Preoperative evaluation with a fistulogram (as a barium meal and follow-through because the superficial opening was not clearly visible to allow direct injection of contrast) showed a connection between the intestine and the skin over the shunt tunnel. He underwent a laparotomy with thorough antiseptic irrigation and repositioning of the VPS in peritoneal cavity. Postoperatively, the faeculent discharge from the upper anterior abdominal wall ceased.  He was discharged home in 2 weeks. There was complete resolution after 6 months. We conclude that there should be a high index of suspicion of an enterocutaneous fistula, although very rare, when faecal discharge is noticed following a VPS and should necessitate a fistulogram. Effective surgical treatment of the intraluminal migration and other possible complications, should involve a multidisciplinary team.Keywords: complications, enterocutaneous fistula, internal hernia, intraluminal migration, multispecialty treatment, ventriculoperitoneal shun