http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/128 Sat, 18 Apr 2026 16:43:40 GMT 2026-04-18T16:43:40Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2258 THE POLITICS OF FERTILISER PROCUREMENT AND DISTRIBUTION IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA, 1999-2020 UGANDEN, Iveren Adoo Fertiliser procurement and distribution in Benue State has become synonymous with politics due to the prolonged involvement of government in the sector. While previous studies acknowledge the political elements of fertiliser policies, the effects of official intervention on fertiliser procurement and distribution in Benue State have not been sufficiently examined. This study was, therefore, designed to examine the effects of official intervention, the determinants of the choice of fertiliser policies and the social relations between the political elite and smallholder farmers on fertiliser procurement and distribution in Benue State, Nigeria. The political economy theories of Structural Violence and Primitive Accumulation provided the framework while the descriptive survey design was employed. Purposive sampling technique was used to select nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) with the largest farming populations. A sample size of 400 participants comprising farmers, traders, artisans, farm labourers and wage/salary earners was determined from the nine LGAs using the Taro Yamane formula. This sample was proportionally drawn from each LGA and administered with structured questionnaire: Katsina-ala (64), Ukum (63), Vandeikya (51), Gboko (68), Gwer-East (44), Gwer-West (30), Agatu (18), Oju (32) and Otukpo (30). Structured questionnaire was also administered to 34 staff of the Agricultural Department of the state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. In-depth interviews were conducted with two past commissioners of agriculture and one fertiliser dealer. The quantitative data were analysed with descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson Correlation Coefficient and ANOVA at 0.05 level of probability while content analysis was utilized for qualitative data. From the data, 243 respondents (64.5%) were farmers, 197 (56%) earned below ₦200, 000 yearly, 257 (68.2) were aged 40 and below, 372 (98.7%) cultivated between 1-4 hectares, and 375 (99.47) used simple tools in cultivation. Official intervention in the form of universal subsidy (1999-2011) was characterised by direct participation of government in procurement and distribution. Under the targeted subsidy (2012-2015), government withdrew from procurement and distribution of fertilisers but retained subsidies. For the zero-subsidy method (2016 to 2020), government participation and subsidies were eliminated and private fertiliser markets were expanded. There was no significant difference in the effectiveness of forms of intervention (t-0.398), a positive correlation was found between quantity of fertilisers distributed and quantity obtained by farmers (r-0.834), a significant difference in the quantity of subsidized fertiliser desired and quantity obtained by farmers (t-12.59). ANOVA showed a significant difference in access to fertilisers between associated and non-associated farmers. The objective determinants of fertiliser policies such as market failures and the need to increase fertiliser consumption produced policies with inherent potentials for efficient distribution of the product. However, subjective factors such as political and pecuniary aims of securing and legitimising elective office, rent-seeking and arbitrage circumscribed the efficiency of fertiliser distribution. The involvement of government in the fertiliser sector created networks for rent-seeking and arbitrage which led to uneven distribution of fertilisers. Efficiency in the distribution of fertiliser could increase with the government keeping to its policy defined role of regulation and a further expansion of private fertiliser markets. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2258 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2189 E-GOVERNMENT IN THE FEDERAL ROAD SAFETY COMMISSION IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA OLUWALOGBON, Leke Abraham E-Government, the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into public sector operations, has been adopted in many countries, as a response to inefficiency and poor service delivery in public organisations. Its introduction by Nigeria's Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in 2007 was expected to improve efficiency, but the extent of success, the inhibiting factors and/or the success-facilitating strategies are yet to be clearly established. Previous studies that have examined e-Government adoption in Nigeria's public sector have focused mainly on government ministries, with little attention paid to agencies such as the FRSC. This study, therefore, examined the implementation of eGovernment in the Southwest operations of the FRSC, with a view to ascertaining the determining factors, strategies and extent of success of its adoption. The study was anchored to the Innovation Theory, while survey design was adopted. Primary data were collected through key informant interviews and in-depth interviews, as well as a questionnaire administered electronically. Key informant interviews were conducted with 18 officials of the FRSC in Lagos (3), Oyo (5), Osun (4) and the agency's National Headquarters, Abuja (6). In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 end-users in Lagos (4), Oyo (5) and Osun (3). The electronic questionnaire was administered to 265 respondents who had used the electronic services of the FRSC in Lagos (118), Oyo (87) and Osun (60) states. The minimum sample size was determined using power analysis. Secondary data on e-Government implementation were obtained from the FRSC Annual Reports (2010,2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018). Descriptive statistics and Chi-square were used in analysing the quantitative data, while the Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used for the qualitative data. The participants' age was 37.9±3.03, while 70.9% were male. The need to mitigate road traffic accidents, engender efficient service delivery, improve communications with endusers, and enhance financial transparency and accountability were the determinants of the adoption of e-Government in the FRSC. The strategies employed in the implementation of e-Government in the FRSC included the deployment of electronic services such as the agency's website, the National Vehicle Identification Scheme, the Driver's Licence Electronic Application platform, the Electronic Payment Platform, and the Emergency Call Centre. There was no significant association between e-Government adoption and service delivery in the agency (2=8.25, p>0.05). The majority (69.8%) of the participants rated the success of e-Government adoption in FRSC's service delivery as medium, 12.8 % rated the performance as low, 12.8% rated as high, while 4.6% of the participants did not report. Delay in service delivery, fraudulent practices, technical and infrastructural deficits, low user awareness and poor quality of service characterised operations at the FRSC, and affected the level of success. The adoption of e-Government in the Federal Road Safety Commission in Southwest Nigeria has not translated into efficiency in service delivery. The agency should ensure increased funding and adequate provision of electronic infrastructure, public enlightenment and digital literacy for the citizenry, to make the implementation of e-Government by the agency successful. Sat, 01 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2189 2023-07-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2187 PRINT MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF THE ROLES OF WOMEN IN IFE-MODAKEKE AND AGULERI-UMULERI COMMUNAL CONFLICTS IN NIGERIA OGBONNA, Ifeyinwa Maureen Print media representation of the roles of actors in conflict is a global phenomenon. In Nigeria, the print media reportage of community conflicts, including Ife-Modakeke and Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts, revolves around the causes and nature of conflict and the roles of men as principal actors, with scant attention paid to the roles of women. This study was designed to examine print media representation of the roles of women in the Ife-Modakeke (1997-2000) and Aguleri-Umuleri (1995-1999) conflicts and explore their unreported roles in both conflicts. John Galtung’s War/Violence and Peace/Conflict Journalism Theory guided the study, while the case study design was utilised. The heterogeneous sampling technique was employed to generate data from five newspapers (Nigerian Tribune, Daily hampion, The Guardian, Punch, and Daily Times), two magazines (TELL and The NEWS) between 1997 and 2000 for the IfeModakeke conflict, and the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict 1995 and 1999. The first two newspapers were selected because of their proximity to the conflicting communities and others for national spread. Fifteen Key Informant Interviews (KII) conducted with traditional leaders (one traditional ruler and five chiefs), two ex-fighters, two elders, three union leaders, one teacher and one researcher and four Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were purposively selected for their roles in each conflict. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data from print media, and a sixteen-item coding sheet comprising eight analytical categories for each journalism frame was used to content analyse information from news articles. Feminist curiosity was utilised to examine the camouflaged (unequal) gendering of power in the unreported roles played by women from KII and FGDs. The percentage-point difference in the categories of reportage between Ife-Modakeke and Aguleri-Umuleri conflicts consists of straight news (76%; 70.19%), editorials (4.47%; 7.69%), Features (14.78%; 16.35 %) and letters to the editor (4.81%; 5.77%) respectively. In both conflicts, women were represented as victims of destitution and displacement. Conversely, their representation in the Ife-Modakeke conflict were as victims of rape, divorce, riot and arson, while in the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict, they were portrayed as victims of maternal mortality, forced marriages and subjects of traditional oaths to forestall divulgence of security information to relatives. Unlike being represented as victims, women in the Ife-Modakeke conflict were reported to be financers of peace-making initiatives, peace petition writers and pellet removers. Likewise, in the Aguleri-Umuleri conflict, they were reported as peace brokers and participants in traditional oath-taking to resolve the conflict. The unreported roles of women in the four communities include similar roles as petition writers, protesters, information sources, medical providers, and advisers. In Modakeke and Ife communities, virgin girls and elderly women relied on juju to protect and enable the male fighters at the battlefronts, while in Aguleri and Umuleri communities, women served as disguised fighters and weapon-carrying aides. Although the media largely portrayed women as victims in Ife-Modakeke and AguleriUmuleri conflicts, the women described themselves as advisers, enablers, protectors and fighters. Therefore, journalists should interact directly with people in conflict settings to understand and accurately report the roles of different actors. Fri, 01 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2187 2023-09-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1655 REGIME TYPES AND ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN NIGERIA, 1966-2015 ANABIRI, Emmanuel Chijindu The impact of regime types (democracy and dictatorship) on economic performance has continued to be a major controversy in political economy. Previous studies on regime types and economic performance were cross national and did not include contemporary economic performance indicators. Although the question of how political regimes have impacted economic performance was discussed, they have not been exhaustively empirically investigated in Nigeria. This study was therefore designed to empirically investigate the impact of political regimes on economic performance and the factors that account for the differential impact in Nigeria from 1966-2015. The study was guided by Growth and Structural Factor Theory and it adopted comparative research design. Economic performance was assessed for the distinct regime types- dictatorship (military) and democratic. Military regime occurred 1966-1979 and 1983-1999, although interrupted by an interim national government for about three months, while the democratic regimes spanned 1979-1983 and 2000-2015. The economic performance indicators explored included economic growth rate, capital formation, inflation rate, interest rate, exchange rate (N/US$), unemployment rate, life expectancy and trade balances. Data were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and National Bureau of Statistics Annual Abstract of Statistics for the periods covered. Performances by the two regimes types were averaged for each indicator and compared. Data were analysed using t-test at p≤0.05. The average of the indicators under military regime were: economic growth rate ((x ) ̅ = 4.4% ±7.092297), inflation rate ((x ) ̅= 27.3% ±21.13912), capital formation ((x ) ̅ = 52314.68Nb ± 61977.80), exchange rate ((x ) ̅ =9.5 ±9.303599) N/USD, interest rate ((x ) ̅ = 15.7% ±7.409205), unemployment rate ((x ) ̅ = 3.3% ±1.947), trade balance ((x ) ̅ =72.3Nm ± 127.6335) and life expectancy ((x ) ̅ = 46.6yrs ±1.288293). For democratic regime, they were: economic growth rate ((x ) ̅ = 5.0% ±6.071766), inflation rate ((x ) ̅=12.3% ±4.719680), capital formation ((x ) ̅ =26841.70Nb ±2.772914), exchange rate ((x ) ̅ = 106.6 N/USD ±64.02058), interest rate ((x ) ̅ = 16.2% ±4.802802) unemployment rate ((x ) ̅ = 13.6% ±7.6336), trade balance ((x ) ̅ = 3780.857Nm ± 4175.521) and life expectancy ((x ) ̅= 49.4yrs ± 2.556885). The t-test results were: exchange rate (t = 7.748), trade balance (t = 4.313), inflation rate (t = 2.701), life expectancy (t = 8.263) and unemployment rate (t = 6.698). The military regime performed better in terms of the economic indicators with high statistical difference in exchange rate, trade balance, inflation and unemployment rate, while the democratic regime performed better in life expectancy. Thus, the results were mixed across indicators. However, the military regime did better than the democratic regime in overall economic performance. Economic performance is not a function of regime type, but of the political will of the leaders to engage in strategies that improve the economy and livelihood of the populace. Responsible leaders with commitment to democratic values and ethos are required to accelerate effective performance in those indicators that the military regime outperformed democratic ones in Nigeria. Sat, 01 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1655 2021-05-01T00:00:00Z