Emergent state practice on the creation and practice of standards on corporate social responsibility

This article examines the emerging State practice on the evolving corporate social responsibility (CSR) standard. It examines its public international law instruments and particularly analyses the role of States in the development of CSR norms and the potential of these norms to impact the recognition, promotion and protection of human rights. The article also assesses the UN effort to consolidate the standards that have emerged from soft law instruments in public international law, focusing on the Ruggie’s process and its potential impact on the future development of the law and practice in this area. The article shows an emerging convergence of standards and practices and coherence on certain themes that could ultimately lead to the establishment of stronger international norms on CSR. A key example is human rights standards for corporations regarding their activities in host States

Corporate social responsibility, multinational corporations and the law in Nigeria: controlling multinationals in host states

Copyright @ School of Oriental and African Studies.There is a general perception that home jurisdictions in vulnerable areas are powerless when it comes to the control of multinational corporations. While this assertion is largely correct, this article argues that there cannot be effective control of multinational corporations (“MNCs”) at international, regional or private level without the corresponding development of an effective minimum institutional framework at the domestic level. This article examines the Nigerian legal framework for the regulation of MNCs with a view to underlining the weaknesses in the domestic forum, and also examines the prospects for enhancing the capacity of a domestic framework for the effective control of MNCs. The article argues that, while corporate social responsibility practice by MNCs is becoming well entrenched, this development cannot replace the need for effective host state regulation. The article focuses on company law and human rights law and suggests viable possibilities within the local context that may enhance the control of MNCs

Galvanising shareholder activism: a prerequisite for effective corporate governance and accountability in Nigeria

Shareholder activism has been largely neglected in the few available studies on corporate governance in sub Saharan Africa. Following the recent challenges posed by the Cadbury Nigeria Plc, this paper examines shareholder activism in an evolving corporate governance institutional context and identifies strategic opportunities associated with shareholders‟ empowerment through changes in code of corporate governance and recent developments in information and communications technologies in Nigeria; especially in relation to corporate social responsibility in Nigeria. It is expected that the paper would contribute to the scarce literature on corporate governance and accountability in Africa

Problems with Literacy in Nigerian Languages: Implication for National Language Policy and Development

This work examines problems associated with literacy in Nigerian languages with the aim of identifying the implication for national language policy on the one hand, and national development in Nigeria on the other. The paper relies on relevant literature, empirical data and findings from earlier research works in isolating some of the issues (with reading and writing, and with prospective pedagogy) in native Nigerian languages. This is against the backdrop of theunrelenting calls for prioritization of (even if only the leading) native languages in Nigeria, with regard to the nation’s language policy in order to better propel socio-economic growth and national development. The present study therefore contributes to the on-going debates on Nigeria’s language policy, and on the role, prospect as well as problems attributive to (such largely unwritten) native languages, in the country’s policy-making and national development

Inequalities of Time Allocation among Male and Female Headed Household in Ibarapa East Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria: The Welfare Implications

This study examines how male and female headed household in rural Area of Oyo state, Nigeria allocate their time to various activities in each day and the welfare implication. A time use survey was carried out among 240 headed households-174 male headed household and 66 female headed household using multistage random sampling from 10 villages. The objectives include the socio-economic characteristics of the respondent; the different activities people engage in during the day and the number of hours allocated; factors determining the number of hours allocated to each activity and gender disparity in time use. Analytical tools are descriptive statistics and regression model.Based on the findings for male headed household, the level of education and the number of hours allocated to paid work are statistically significant at 1%, for female headed household, level of education (1%) and secondary occupation (5%) are statistically significant. The more educated are able to manage their time more judiciously vis-à-vis a person with lower education. Male allocated more time to paid work and earn more while female headed household allocated more time to secondary occupation to make ends meet has the major economic supporter of their household and more time to unpaid work that has no financial compensation. Female headed operates smaller land holdings due to the challenge of social norms and values. Men enjoy leisure more than women because unpaid work (housework) has occupied their time. Based on the findings, unpaid work should not be gender biased, and FHH should be treated with passion under social norms and values. In addition, unpaid work should be monetized in System of National Account. Keywords: time use, male headed household, female headed household and welfare

Histological Changes in Liver and Kidney of Rabbit Buck Fed Diet Containing Cottonseed Cake Supplemented with Vitamin E.

Sixty-four (64) weanling rabbit bucks, aged 5-6 weeks with an average weight of 511.98g, were randomly allocated to eight treatment combinations comprising four levels (0, 5, 10 and 15%) of cottonseed cake (CSC) and two levels (0, 30mg / kg diet) of vitamin E supplementation with eight replicates in a 2x4 factorial experiment. Animals were fed the treatment diets for 20 weeks. At the end of the feeding trial, 3 rabbits per treatment were sacrificed and their internal organs including liver and kidneys were carefully dissected out. Samples of organs were fixed in 10% formaldehyde solution and later processed for histological assessment. It was observed that CSC induced various degrees of damage to the architecture of the liver and kidney of the rabbit bucks. Histological examination revealed a dose-dependent degeneration, cellular infiltration and necrosis of liver hepatocytes. At all levels of the CSC, vitamin E (30mg/kg diet) corrected the damages done to the liver. Mild degenerative changes were observed for the kidney structure at 5% and 10% CSC levels. The renal degenerative changes became severe at 15% CSC inclusion level. Vitamin E supplementation ameliorated these adverse effects. Thus, vitamin E conferred some protection on the liver and kidney against the adverse effects of the CSC. It was concluded that if cottonseed cake is included in diets of rabbits at any level, it should be adequately supplemented with vitamin E. Keywords: Rabbit buck, Liver, Kidney, Histology, Cottonseed cake, Vitamin E

Urban Horticulture in Sub-Saharan Africa

Horticultural crops refer to fruits, vegetables, spices, and ornamental and medicinal plants which are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Rapid urbanization and migration of rural populace to the more industrialized city center has led to poverty, malnutrition, low and insecure incomes, ill-health and other livelihood problems. These problems are mostly seen among the people residing in urban areas who have migrated from rural areas. Urban horticulture ensures food and nutrition security, healthy environment and sustainable livelihoods, employment generation, among others. As such, this chapter carried out an empirical review of the state of urban horticulture in cities across sub-Sahara Africa. This is to enumerate ways whereby the benefits of urban horticulture can be specified in the region. It concluded that governments in the different countries need the political will to actualize identified benefits of urban horticulture. The chapter then recommends sensitization of the pertinent stakeholders in countries across sub-Saharan Africa on the benefits of urban horticulture. Such stakeholders include politicians, policy makers and urban households. This is in order to integrate the concept into urban land use planning while carefully considering sustainability of the environment