Journal of Humanities, Education and Law
A Contemporary Image of the African Woman in Allah is not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma
Women have been, from time immemorial, considered to be inferior to their male counterparts. Debates of the feminist literary writers have always been centred on the sufferings of women under the patriarchalAfrican societies and male writers have most of the times been presenting a negative image of women. This paper, therefore, set to correct the existing misconception which affect women and bring to the fore the impressive images ofAfrican women in Allah is not obliged(2000) by the Ivorian, Ahmadou Kourouma. The suppression of women's oppression by men and the defence of their interest have been and have remained the bedrock of Feminist writers. However, much needs to be done in depicting the exceptional qualities and positive contributions of African women in the modem society in order to sustain and recognise the unflinching support of women's roles to build a virile African project. If, by and large, male writers have most of the time been presenting a negative image of women, Ahmadou Kourouma is all out to fill the missing link in his novels where he demonstrates with dexterity the inspiring and daring images of his female characters by eclipsing the erstwhile negative image of the African woman.
Copyright (c) 2020 Journal of Humanities, Education and Law https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Impact of Translation on Universal Values and Cultural Nexus in Yoruba, English and French Proverbs and Idioms
Fixed expressions or expressionsfigees in French (idioms and proverbs) incarnate sayings, real life situations and universal moral values; therefore bequeathing words of wisdom and morality to generations. These expressions or sayings represent autochthonous cultural emblem attributable to a particular distinct linguistic community. However, there exist some natural and universal cultural affinities which are globally shared with the aid of written and oral literature. The translation constraints of these fixed expressions are associated with establishing equivalent cultural euphoria of wisdom or morality in these proverbs or idioms, putting into account different languages. This article attempts to highlight the universality of fixed expressions in (Yoruba-English-French) languages, their overt/covert translations and the commentaries/analysis of cultural nuances that may play out during the translation process. Eugene Nida's Approach of Formal Equivalence and Dynamic Equivalence have been adopted to analyse cultural/contextual nuances and literal translations identified in the article.
A Comparative Analysis of Knowledge, Sources of Information and Hand Hygiene Practice among Students in Public and Private Secondary Schools in Lagos State, Nigeria
Early childhood and teenage years of a human existence represent the most opportune period to inculcate most enduring life skills, including hand washing skills. For most individuals in this age, the school represents the dominant social system where beneficiaries spend a huge proportion of their time in school. This study therefore investigated how hand washing facilities available in schools and knowledge of this facilities influence actual practices of hand hygiene (HH) among secondary school students in Lagos State, Nigeria. Researchers were interested in drawing responses that would lead to providing answers to four key objectives of the study: availability of WASH facilities in schools, knowledge of participants, participants' sources of information, and actual practices of hand washing. The qualitative research design was adopted with a total of 10 participants each drawn from one government and one privately owned secondary school in Lagos State cutting across junior and senior classes for focus group sessions. The Protection motivation theory was adopted to understand the role of exposure to message as well as knowledge in imbibing this healthful practice. Findings show that most students generally feel that inadequacy of facilities makes it almost impossible for them to practice hand hygiene. They however admitted that the limited facilities provided are damaged or put to disuse by pupils. In spite of the fact most of the participants during the focus group discussion (FGD) sessions demonstrated a good knowledge of hand hygiene; they admitted that they do not practice it properly. Researchers therefore recommend that media campaign should be stepped up especially with emphasis on the value of hand hygiene over the cost.
Perceived Impact of Regulated Physical Exercises on the Reduction of Prolonged Labor among Pregnant Women during Delivery in Lagos State Metropolis
The study examined the perceived impacts of regulated exercise on the reduction of labor among pregnant women during delivery in Lagos state metropolis. The core objectives of the study looked at how exercise can have an impact on the reduction of labor among pregnant women in Lagos state, the significant difference between pregnant women who exercise and those who do not exercise. The study adopted a descriptive survey research method, Pilot study was conducted and analyzed to prove the validity of the instrument used for data collection. Section A tried to find out the demographic information of the respondents while section B attempted to get the respondent views to the questions using 4-points Liker scale. A sample size of 25 pregnant women in each of the five major districts in Lagos state metropolis were randomly selected to participate in the study. A standardized questionnaire known as Exercise during Pregnancy Questionnaire (EDPQ) was used for data collection for the study. Findings from the study revealed that exercise can help in the reduction of prolonged labor among pregnant women during delivery. It was also revealed that there is a significant difference between pregnant women who exercise and those who do not exercise. Based on the findings of this study it was recommended that: Women who live a sedentary lifestyle should be encouraged to adopt moderate exercises. That the importance of regular exercise on the female body cannot be overemphasized , that various community health facility and hospitals must always make provisions for pregnant women to dance and exercise their bodies on each clinic days . Health institution should provide exercise sessions and schemes for pregnant women in their various communities.
Developing Objective Ranking System for Tertiary Institutions in Developing Nations
University ranking has become increasingly important in recent years because it creates a platform for competition amongst universities and also serves as a marketing tool in communicating performances of universities which could help them to build international reputation. Also, ranking could serve as a guide for prospective students seeking admission into tertiary institutions. There are many ranking systems used by developed nations but some of the parameters employed by these internationally accepted ranking systems, such as economy activity and employers rating of universities, are not easily available in the developing world, and some parameters that are important in developing nations such as number of programmes with full accreditation, proportion of academic staff at professorial cadre and students' completion rate are not included in the global rating. Hence, an objective ranking system that will capture the parameters relevant to the universities in developing nation is desirable. Here, we propose an objective ranking system that will capture the peculiarities of the universities in developing nations. Ten existing ranking systems were considered in this study and seventeen criteria were identified from them and used to propose a new ranking system. Some of the criteria used are number of full professors in the university, h-index of the university and the total number of students in the university. Weights were objectively assigned for each criterion based on their degree of importance and the number of ranking systems using the criteria that were used in developing the proposed system. The proposed system was implemented using Nigerian Universities and web crawling techniques were developed and employed to extract the values of the criteria for each of the universities used as a case study. A total score based on the weight of criteria was calculated for each university and used for ranking. System implementation was carried out using PHP and Python. The best five universities from the proposed ranking system were University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Lagos, University of Benin and University of Ilorin. The proposed ranking system will give a better result in ranking of universities in developing nation than the existing systems because it contains more objective and useful criteria that will capture the peculiarities of universities in developing nation.
Nigerian Video Films' Portrayal of Corrupt Practices in the Society
Corruption is one of the major problems confronting Nigeria's developmental goal. Overtime, it has grown wide and is deeply entrenched in the socio-political and economic life of the nation. This study examined the extent of portrayal and the treatment given to corrupt practices in selected Nigerian home videos in order to evaluate the contributions of the Nigerian movie industry towards the eradication of the scourge. The researchers used content analysis method and combined two hypotheses with a research question to analyze 76 English and Yoruba home videos. Chi-square, symmetric measure and frequency distribution were used as tools of analysis while agenda-setting theory, social cognitive theory and modeling theory were used as theoretical framework. Results showed that corrupt practices were generally under-represented in Nigeria home videos as all cases of corrupt practices found (38) constitute less than 3% of the total film duration. It was found that corrupt practices were more represented in Nigerian English movies (63.2%) than those produced in Yoruba movies (36.8%). Therefore, the first null hypothesis that assumed that corrupt practices would not be represented in Yoruba home videos more than English home videos was found valid and accepted. On the other hand, the second null hypothesis that assumed that there would be no significant representation of educational contents in the portrayal of corrupt practices in Nigerian home videos was found invalid and therefore rejected as educational contents were significantly (63.2%) represented. Overall, most cases of corrupt practices found in the study (n20 = 52.6%) were portrayed in negative and unfavorable light, as no case of corruption was glorified, encouraged or rewarded. However, most of the perpetrators of corrupt practices (60.5%) were not arrested while majority of those prosecuted and convicted (47.4%) were not actually punished. Findings of the study did not agree with the basic assumption of agenda setting and social cognitive theories but partly agree with modeling theory. The main implication of the findings is that the Nigerian home video industry has the potentials of educating viewers on the evils of corruption. Yet, some of the inappropriate elements, like failure to arrest, prosecute and punish offenders according to the law need to be corrected. Given the findings of this study, it was recommended that the National Orientation Agency in Nigeria should organize periodic seminars and conferences for stakeholders in the Nigerian movie industry, especially for movie producers, directors and marketers on how to effectively use entertainment-education strategies to enlighten viewers on the need to shun corrupt practices
Entrepreneurial Orientation and Survival of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Lagos State, Nigeria
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are known for their contribution to economic development but evidence abound in the literature to show that their life span is relatively low. The reason for this seems to be linked to the poor engagement of entrepreneurial skills and competencies by owners/managers of SMEs. Hence, this study is aimed at investigating the contribution of Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) to the survival of SMEs in Lagos State. In conformity with the cross-sectional survey technique, sample respondents of 400 were selected among SMEs across Lagos State. Primary data for the study were gathered through structured questionnaires and data were analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Results indicate that the explanatory variable, EO significantly influence the survival of SMEs in Lagos State. Specifically, it was found that risk-taking, proactivity and innovativeness have significant and positive relationship with survival of SMEs while competitive aggressiveness and autonomy did not significantly contributes to survival of SMEs. Based on the findings, it was recommended that SMEs in Lagos State should intensify their involvement in the practice of the various dimensions of EO with focus on risk-taking, proactivity and innovativeness.
COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges and the Nigerian Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises
COVID-19 pandemic posed great threat and challenges to the business world most especially the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lagos State. Many of these enterprises suffered great downturn in business activities and reduction in profit volume. Many of them were forced to close down while others survived on the margin. Government and other stakeholders in the MSMEs have provided solution to their problems but most of them have not really yielded desired result. This paper examines various solutions that were proffered and considered their effectiveness in facing these challenges. Descriptive research design was adopted and primary data were collected with the aid of questionnaire. Population of study was 3,224,324 registered MSMEs in Lagos State (SMEDAN/NBS, 2013) while sample size of 400 was determined with Yamane (1967) formulae. A multistage cluster sampling techniques have been employed which is a combination of stratified, cluster and simple random sampling technique. A total of 400 copies of questionnaire were administered out of which 297 were properly filled and returned. Two hypotheses were tested at 5% confidence level using multiple regression and correlation statistical packages, to determine whether there is a significant relationship between COVID-19 pandemic survival options by MSMEs and crisis management response; between COVID-19 pandemic and MSMEs business survival. The study revealed that decline in productivity, business closure, supply-chain breakdown, reduction in profit volume, self-isolation, low customer demand; reduced opportunities to meet new clients had significant effects on performance of MSMEs. Consequently, it was recommended that MSMEs should embark on crisis management response, finance and liquidity, operation and supply chain, determine and activate the business continuity plan and monitor the implementation to enhance their survival.
Asymmetric Warfare and Implications for selected Conflicts under International Humanitarian Law
Asymmetric warfare depicts a situation of irregular or irrational practice of an act of armed conflict hitherto known to mankind but has become perverted in the course of time and this perversion continues even till today at the expense of mankind. The many States in our modern time are struggling hard to see to it that asymmetric warfare is stopped or somehow regulated even within the global systems such as United Nations Organization and/or regional institutions such as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), The African Union (AU), Organisation of American States (OAS), European Union (EU), The League of Arab States (Arab League), Asian South East Organization (ASEAN) and a host of others. Asymmetric warfare is an expression describing an act of armed conflict which has gone out of proportion of normal regulation. It has become a situation comparable to a monster. Thus a new armed conflict situation is created with its attendant consequences on modem States such as Iraq, Libya,Yemen, Israel-Palestinian conflict. The nature, development, restructure and regulation of asymmetric warfare are the focus of this paper. The paper concludes that adherence to the original principles of International law as established in the United Nations Charter will enhance regulation and compliance with new rules by all States in the area of asymmetric warfare.
Exploring Career EDGE of Employment Theory as a Model for Developing Arabic Curriculum in Tertiary Institutions in Yoruba -Land, Nigeria.
There is a prevalence of unemployment challenges among majority of Arabic language graduates in Yoruba land. It is in view of this, the study utilized Career Edge Employment Theory to develop employability skills into the content of Arabic Language Curriculum. The Theory has five elements that equip individuals with cognitive experience, entrepreneurial and employability skills such as career development learning; practical life experience; subject knowledge, understanding and skills: generic skills and Emotional Intelligence. These five elements transform into self-efficacy, self-esteem and self-confidence which are prospects of employability and they are germane in the development of Arabic Language Curriculum in preparing students for the world of work and enhance their potentials and chances in getting lucrative jobs. Twelve stakeholders from selected universities, Colleges of education and graduates of Arabic engaged in different sectors of work within Yoruba land, Nigeria were interviewed on the current content of Arabic curriculum in use. The interview revealed that the present Arabic Language Curriculum needs to be reviewed as it does not fully equip graduates with employability skills necessary to function effectively in the global workplace. The study, therefore, called for a new dimension in the teaching and learning of Arabic language by exploring employment theory of Career Edge by Dacre Pool and Sewell (2007). It is therefore recommended that educational stakeholders and government agencies should work to ensure uniformity in the Arabic curriculum across all universities offering Arabic language.
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Humanities, Education and Law https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Banker-Customer Relationship under E-banking Regime: Nigeria in Context
Bank in traditional parlance is an institution that accepts money from its customers in the form of deposits and then collects cheques on their behalf, placing those cheques to the customer's credit. The bank is obliged to honour the cheques that are drawn on it or orders drawn on it to pay a third party. Thus, in banking business current accounts for customers and record debits and credits to the account are to be maintained. These services are provided at the bank branch where the customer maintains an account. Despite this broad description, a company might still constitute a bank, even though it did not undertake these activities if it was accepted and recognized as a bank by other bankers. The modem electronic banking otherwise known as e-banking, on the other hand, is that system of banking that provides the financial service for the individual customer by means of Internet2. Here bank customer with personal computer and a browser can get connected to his banker's website to carry out any of the virtual banking functions. E-banking has been a radical challenge to both developed and developing economies for a number of reasons. Thus, Nigeria as a developing economy is faced with challenges of how to cope with the e-banking system in terms of provisions of adequate basic infrastructure, social disposition and attitudinal changes. To what extent this globalization trend of development in the banking industry has impacted the traditional banker-customer relations in a developing economy like Nigeria, forms the focus of analysis in this study.
Education Reward System as Imperative forTeachers’Productivity
Success and failure of any educational system depends largely on the input exerted by its teachers'. Hence, this is where the importance of reward systems as a tool to increase productivity in education comes to play a significant role. However, reward system plays important role in determining how teachers significantly perform their job and it also serve as stimulant which motivates teachers. The purpose of this study therefore is to look into the importance of reward as the best motivating factor for teachers' productivity in the education system. This paper also delve into the meaning of the concept of reward system in education, reward and teachers' productivity and the classification of reward system (intrinsic and extrinsic reward), qualities of a good reward system was also discussed in details in this article. This paper was anchored on the expectancy theory of motivation. Forms of reward system in education and teachers' productivity were also discussed in this paper. It was recommended that the reward system should be reviewed at regular intervals and made important so as to boost and enhance teachers' productivity optimally.
Local Governance and Politics of Inclusiveness in a Democracy
Contemporary models of democracy are at best representative in nature as a result of the size of the modern state. This has the unfortunate side effect of ostracising the people, whose opportunity to actively participate in governance is reduced to the period of elections, thereby minimising harnessing the regular contributions of the people to democratic consolidation. Thus, there is the need to fashion out ways through which the contributions of the people can be garnered towards strengthening the developmental outcomes of democracy. The argument pursued in this paper is that the local government should be restructured in such a way that it will put governance in the hands of the people, thus returning to the original intention of democracy, as was obtained in its cradle Athens. This is possible at the local government level because the population therein is limited when compared to that of the state. Thus, this paper uses Nigeria as a case study to argue for the need to have smaller political institutions able to better accommodate the participation of the people. It is pointed out that the local government as we have it in Nigeria presently is dysfunctional as a result of the interference of the state and federal governments in the affairs of the local government. This has to be addressed leading to the devolution of more powers to the local government in Nigeria.
The Constitutionality of Ouster Clauses in AMCON ACT: A Critical Appraisal
It is no gainsaying that ouster clauses/provisions in any statute or regulation tend to rob the court of competent jurisdiction of its constitutional given role to adjudicate on any matter brought before it as it relates to such ouster clause or provision. The emergence of ouster clauses/provisions in some of Nigerian statutes did not only run foul and contrary to the sterling principles of rule of law, separation of power and/or the doctrine of checks and balances among the three arms of government, but also deprives an aggrieved citizen who might have been wronged, injured or whose rights might have been trampled upon without any justification to seek redress in court as a result of ouster clauses/provisions contained therein. Among these statutes which house ouster clauses/provisions is the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Act, 2010 (as amended). Hence, it is against this background that this research examines the ouster clauses/provisions in AMCON Act, 2010 (as amended) with a view to x-ray their legality or otherwise and their ripple effects on the rights of the Nigerian citizens to unhinderedaccess to court
Rethinking Security Operations at the Nigerian Borders: The Role of the Nigerian Immigration and Customs Services.
“A border is not a war zone; it is a place where law enforcement agents must respect the human rights of migrants and victims of trafficking: A safe border is a safe nation” (Babandede, 2019). This comment by the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, must have been informed by the increasing relevance of the NIS and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to managing and securing the Nigerian borders. Border security management has been threatened globally due to the increasing importance of transnational actors, as well as advancement in technology that has enabled the increased influx of goods, peoples, and ideas across international boundaries. This is not without implications for the developing countries, especially Africa, that is characterized by poorly demarcated and porous borders. A nation's border security agencies must, therefore, be prepared and well equipped; to address many salient issues in the border security management. This study employs both primary and secondary sources of data collection for critical analysis of the subject matter before arriving at conclusions. Recommendations were also made to mitigate the challenges observed in the study.
Hybridity and Post Colonial Poetic Realities in Okot p’Bitek's Song of Lawino
This essay focuses on p’Bitek's embrace of forms of African oral traditions in Song of Lawino through a blend of African and non-African linguistic expressions underscoring his hybridity as a postcolonial subject. The efforts of p'Bitek in locating the critical interface between orality and literacy in the poetic DNA composition of postcolonial African poetry is recognised and foregrounded. A postcolonial interpretative approach is favoured in this essay because of the theory's anti-imperialism position especially with regards to its advocacy for a return to indigenous literary traditions, and also on the strength of its concerns with the overall socio-cultural and psychological effects of imperialism on postcolonial being/identity. Content analysis method is employed in the examination of p’Bitek's inconspicuous portrayal of poetic expressions rich in African lore, oral forms and phraseology in Song of Lawino. The essay concludes that by promoting orality through literacy in his poetry, p'Bitek succeeds in showing a clear understanding that despite the overbearing influence of western imperialism which manifests in linguistic domination, African cultural expressions would only survive when African writers make conscious efforts to preserve them regardless of the linguistic vehicle of conveyance. In this this regard, p'Bitek holds a special place in African literature for his insistence that African cultural identities and poetic expressions must not be swept away by the vagaries of imperialism which manifest in formalised foreign poetic forms and linguistic expressions.
When and how will advertising curricula ever catch up with industry practice?
This theoretical paper discusses influences of digitalisation and digital media on advertising curricula, pedagogy and industry practice. It argues that the advertising theory and practice are shaped by globalisation, economic fluidity, political environment and media technological convolutions. Using documentary evidences from curricula of select universities and related tertiary institutions, the paper maintains that advertising curricula often remains a step behind industry practices because of the breath-taking disruptions brought about by changing media technologies. It appreciates the recent efforts of the National Universities' Commission (NUC), Nigeria leading to the unbundling of the Mass Communication curricula across universities in Nigeria. This effort has led to adoption of Adverting as a distinct degree programme, in addition to other seven new distinct degree programmes in the sub-areas of Communication and Media Studies. The paper submits that, in view of current and future cataclysm of technological disruption in advertising practice, no amount of far sightedness on the part of designers of advertising curricula can respond adequately well ahead of future technological changes. Hence, the paper recommends that the advertising curricula need to keep taps of industry development by exposing the student not only to current theories, trends and technological innovations in advertising, the industry, simultaneously needs to partner with academic institutions to provide industry-relevant manpower.
Digital Exposure and its Implication for Online Child SexualAbuse in Nigeria - Legal and Policy Responses
In recent times, there has been an incremental trajectory in the digital exposure of children consequently resulting in unprecedented incidents of online sexual abuse. In Nigeria, internet penetration has exponentially improved particularly due to improved affordability of portable communication devices with android technology, reduced cost of data access plans, thus making internet connectivity and use a near constant. The COVID 19 pandemic, subsequent lockdown, and government mandate to continue teaching and learning online further cemented an insatiable baseline permissibly justifying children's frequent activity online. This paper establishes that although the issue of child online sexual abuse is rampant in Nigeria. This paper argues that Nigeria lags in effective safeguards and enforcement of laws and policies that significantly shield children from becoming victims of myriad forms of online sexual abuse that is visibly prevalent. It evaluates strategies that can be implemented to narrow the existing dearth in safe digital access whilst effectively protecting children from online sexual abuse.
Undergraduate Students' Attitudes towards Communication Research and ICT Integration in Lagos, Nigeria
This study investigated undergraduates' attitudes towards communication research and ICT integration in Lagos. Descriptive research design was adopted while cross-sectional survey method was used, with a sample of 438 respondents purposively selected from Lagos State University and University of Lagos. The instrument used for the study, Attitude of Students Questionnaire (ASQ), which was made up of 31 items rated on seven point Likert scale with a content validity proportion of agreeing to essential value of 0.874 from a total of 8 panel who rated the items on three anchors: essential, important but not essential, and not necessary. Anchored on diffusion of innovations theory, the outcome of the study shows that attitude is a major predictor of students' performance in research related courses. Students with positive attitudes performed better than students with negative attitudes. Negative attitudes of students stem from their lack of attendance, poor self-esteem, lack of interest and non-practicality of the research course as most of the classroom teaching were considered abstract. It found that majority of students partially perceived communication research in negative terms but they positively perceived ICT integration into communication research and demonstrated strong willingness to learn the subject using ICTs. This shows that ICT integration is a major determinant of students' willingness to learn communication research. Also, the findings revealed that there existed no significant difference between male and female students' attitudes towards communication research and students' attitudes towards communication research did not vary with their academic levels. Therefore, we recommend that communication schools or departments should integrate student-friendly ICTs into the teaching and learning of communication research. Contents on such ICTs should be specially designed to ease learning among the students.
Research, ICT integration, Students, Attitude, Perception.
Nigerian Christian Video-Films as Propaganda: A Critical Analysis of Mike Bamiloye’s Abejoye
This paper examines the efficacy of Nigerian Christian video-films in propagating salient Christian ethos. Though a number of studies have been carried out on Nigerian Christian films, particularly those examining the subversion and accommodation of indigenous beliefs and practices in Christian video narratives, there is paucity of scholarly research on Mike Bamiloye’s Abejoye, especially as a propagandist Christian video-film. This paper, therefore, examines Abejoye as a quintessential Nigerian Christian film with a view to identifying various Christian ethos it showcases as evident in the diverse themes it explores and their possible expediency in advancing Christian ethos. Hinged on functionalism, and adopting a content analysis approach, the study shows that Abejoye is suffused with iconic nuances that characterise the Christian faith, thereby underscoring the typical nature of Nigerian Christian video-films in the advancement of the Christian religion .
Film, Christianity, proselytization, ethos