Economic Integration: The Nigerian experience since Independence

In realisation of the very strategic role of international trade to her economy, Nigeria has since in- dependence in 1960 adopted various policy measures to boost her foreign trade and to expand her external market. The country has adopted certain regulatory measures to change the directional pattern of her foreign trade. Such measures which are also often aimed at other policy objectives (like balance of payments., protection and revenue) include tariff changes, exchange control and quantitative control in form of import quota or complete ban

The physical basis of the method of differential thermal analysis

In the present study, it is intended to concentrate on Stefan Problems exclusively, and to attempt a partial solution making use of experimental data relating to (a) the temperature distribution in a finite medium of given shape before, during, and after a thermal reaction, and (b) the rate of propagation of such a reaction through the medium. For this type of problem a number of analytical solutions have appeared(27 - 36), but so far only the solution for semi -infinite media has been carried to a stage suitable for numerical calculation. The essential feature of the problem is the existence of a moving boundary at which heat is generated or removed, and one obstacle to complete solution is that the history of this interface as it moves is unknown. To determine the history (a space - time curve) of the interface, it is necessary to solve the heat equation, which is a linear homogenous parabolic equation, with the appropriate boundary conditions and with a suitable discontinuity in the first -order space derivatives across the unknown interface(37). Such a solution, in most cases, is either very difficult or impossible

Generalized and Subset Integrated Autoregressive Moving Average Bilinear Time Series Models

Generalized integrated autoregressive moving average bilinear model which is capable of achieving stationary for all non linear series is proposed and compared with subset generalized integrated autoregressive moving average bilinear model using the residual variance to see which perform better. The parameters of the proposed models are estimated using Newton-Raphson iterative method and Marquardt algorithm and the statistical properties of the derived estimates were investigated. An algorithm was proposed to eliminate redundant parameters from the full order generalized integrated autoregressive moving average bilinear models. To determine the order of the models, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) were adopted. Generalized integrated autoregressive moving average bilinear models are fitted to Wolfer sunspot numbers and stationary conditions are satisfied. Generalized integrated autoregressive moving average bilinear model performed better than subset generalized integrated autoregressive bilinear model. Keywords: Stationary, Newton-Raphson, Residual Variance, Marquardt Algorithm and Parameters

E-GOVERNANCE, REVENUE GENERATION AND PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE E- TAXATION SYSTEM IN LAGOS STATE

In the early 90s, e-governance became a global pursuit towards improving public service delivery. Nigeria joined the bandwagon of the e-governance drive in year 2000, when the government realized the need to adopt e-governance to improve public service delivery. This paper attempts to look at the implementation of e-governance in Nigeria, in relation to e-taxation in Lagos state. It examines the capacity of the Lagos state government to utilize Information, communication and technology (ICT) devices to generate revenue and block revenue leakages. The study is empirical in nature, making use the survey method (questionnaires) to gather data. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze responses from the respondents, and the Chi-Square statistical method of analysis was used to test the hypotheses formulated. The study revealed that despite the huge investment of state government on ICT to realize these objectives little progress has been achieved. This can be attributed to infrastructural gap, power failure, digital divide, low ICT literacy level, theft and vandalizations of ICT equipment, poor enlightenment among others. The study concludes that the emerging growth and adoption of e-taxation in Lagos state has not significantly improved its revenue generation. Hence, among the suggestions proffered by the paper is that the state government should partner with software providers to provide smart phones for tax payers at minimum cost to ease tax payments via ICT with Tax Identification Numbers (TIN). Key words: E-governance, Public service, Economic growth, E-taxation, Tax management, Tax avoidance, Tax evasion

Inflationary Trend in Basic Amenities in Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria using Price Indices

Trend of inflation was studied using price indices gotten from market survey conducted on the prices of food, clothes and building materials collected from major  markets in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria in 2004 and 2014, 2004 being the base year. The price indices used were Laspeyres’, Paache’s, Fisher’s Ideal (FI) and Dorbey’s and Bowley’s (DB) with emphasis on Fisher’s and DB because of their advantages over others. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect data on prices of food, clothes and building materials in these markets in 2004 and 2014. The results showed an increase between 40.27 and 460.26% increase in the prices of food items; an increase between 13.93 and 84.04% in the price of food items (provisions) except custard with a reduction of 15%; an increase between 11.2 and 100% in prices of cloths except ankara with less than 8% reduction in price and an increase between 5.9 and 69.7% in the price of building materials. Since price change affects planning, especially when citizen are face with stable income, efforts must be made by relevant authorities to control and stabilize the prices of these commodities. Keywords: Inflation, Basic amenities, Market survey, Price indices, Ibada

The Limits of State Sovereignty: Darfur Crisis and the United Nations

The genocide in Darfur, Sudan has left over 300,000 dead, thus bringing the death toll in the entire Sudanese conflicts from 1956 to almost 2 million people and the number of displaced persons to over 2 million. The exacerbation of the crisis is traceable to government’s complicity exemplified by its standing order to the United Nations to stay off and evacuate its monitors in what it considered an entirely Sudanese affair that could be resolved without external interference. However, considering the limits of state sovereignty in a modern international system, where membership of the UN, the existence of the Geneva Convention on the Laws of War, Humanitarian Law and other subsisting legal frameworks on war crimes erode absolute sovereignty, the Sudanese government cannot hide under the non-interference in the internal affairs of states clause to prevent the international community from intervention in Darfur. This probably explains the recent approval by the Government of Sudan to finally allow a joint UN-AU troops to restore security, bowing to intense international pressure to do so

Living without the State: A Rear View Mirror of Nigeria\u27s 50 Years of Independence

The purpose of this analysis is twofold. First, it undertakes a critical review of Nigeria’s performance within the five decades of its nationhood. Second, it compares its performance vis-à-vis a number of new states which started almost at the same time in both Africa and Asia using basic economic and political indicators. The article, however, infers that Nigerian political-economic performance is appalling, which has subjected citizens to living almost without the state in all ramifications. For a balanced view, the analysis argues that although there are few giant strides in terms of educational development and reduction in infant mortality as a result of improved health facilities, the gap between intent and actual practices is still very wide. The analysis recommends that the policymakers should visualize the next five decades and formulate appropriate reforms so that Nigeria may not eventually become a failed state

Performance Evaluation of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in Nigerian Banking Institution: A Case Study of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. Ibadan

This paper evaluates the performance of ATM machine in Nigeria banking sector using queue theory model. A few simple queues-models were analysed in terms of steady-state derivation. Theoretical formulations and results (with real-life dataset) were established for queue models with Poisson arrivals and exponential service durations. Derivation and calculation of some performance measure including the average queue length, average waiting time in the queue and in the system, and the probability of encountering the system in certain states such as empty, full having an available server or having to wait a certain time to be served were explored under single and multi-server. FIFO (first in, first out) queue discipline was adopted. Keywords: Steady state, waiting-time, queue-discipline, multi-severs, FIFO (first in, first out)

Governance and the challenge of socio-economic development in Nigeria.

Various factors are said to be responsible for Nigeria’s current status as an underdeveloped country. These range from historical colonial experience, political instability, the monoculture nature of the national economy, and the persistent lack of commitment to focused development strategies on the part of the political elites. The most popular among the prescriptions for tackling the phenomenon of underdevelopment emphasized macroeconomic policies, economic diversification, transparency and accountability in governance and even direct distribution of resource proceeds to the general population. These solutions have not been able to adequately address Nigeria’s development challenges. However, the crucial role of the regulatory institutions, especially their oversight functions, has arguably been the missing link in establishing the complimentary relationship between governance and development in Nigeria. This paper discusses the importance of governance institutions as a fundamental determinant of robust and sustainable social and economic development in Nigeria.Keywords: Democracy, Corruption, Governance, Socio-economic developmen

Socio-economic analysis of artisanal fish production in Lower Ogun River basin areas of Lagos State, Nigeria

The study was conducted in lower Ogun river basin areas of Lagos State to evaluate the socioeconomic status of artisanal fisher folks using primary data collected with the aid of a well structured questionnaire from 120 fisher folks randomly selected in four fishing communities. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and budgetary analysis. The results revealed that fishing in the study area was dominated by the males with a mean age of 39 years. The results further revealed that an average total cost of ₦115,406.26 was incurred per annum by fisher folks while total revenue of ₦185, 990.51 was realized with a gross margin of ₦96,227.84 and a profit of ₦70,584.25. The rate of return on investment of 0.61 implies that for every one naira invested in fish production by the fisher folks, a return of ₦1.61 and a profit of ₦0.61 was made. The study concluded that fish production was profitable in the study area