Search results for: coastal Nigeria

Authors: Nancy Awuor Oduor, Nils Moosdorf

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Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a threat to coastal water quality, marine biodiversity, and human health. The attention on HABs and associated phycotoxins is still very low in tropical coastal developing countries despite the high dependence of local communities on coastal and marine resources for food and livelihoods and the growing evidence of the global increase in HABs frequency, toxicity, and geographical expansion. Lack of HABs monitoring thus creates a high risk of exposure due to uncertainty. This study assessed the spatial and temporal variability and effects of potential HAB-forming species in Kenya’s coastal waters. The preliminary results from 463 sampled collected over a series of 10 coastal surveys conducted over 267 Km of Kenya’s coastline between August 2021 and July 2022 revealed the presence of 87 potential algal blooming species belonging to 47 genera dominated by species capable of producing toxins, causing physical harm and high biomass at 41, 31 and 21 % respectively. The taxonomic composition was also dominated by dinoflagellates at 47%, followed by diatoms, cyanobacteria, and silicoflagellates at 39, 12, and 2%, respectively. About 92 % of the toxin-producing species were established in the creek waters. However, there were no significant variations established in species richness between the dry and wet seasons. Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxin-producing dinoflagellates Alexandrium spp., Aphanizomenon spp., Gonyaulax spp., Gymnodinium spp., and Brachydinium capitatum, and Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) Toxin producing diatoms Amphora spp., Nitzschia spp. and Pseudo-nitzschia spp. Frequented the area in low cell densities ranging between 5 and 1500 cells/L. However, no domoic acid (DA) and saxitoxins (SXTs) were detected during the July surveys. This does not mean that the toxins are absent in the area, and longer studies are recommended.

Keywords: harmful algal blooms, phycotoxins, saxitoxin, domoic acid, Kenya

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Authors: Sami Michael Ayodele

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Cordyceps are members of the fungi family Cordycepitaceae which are formally in Clavicipitaceae. They parasitize the larvae and adults of different susceptible arthropods. They are highly priced and have been reported to be highly medicinal. Cordyceps have been used for centuries in traditional medicine in China and other Asian countries. Survey studies were carried out to determine the presence of Cordyceps and another entomopathogenic fungal floral in North Central Nigeria for two consecutive years. Thirty samples were collected, twenty-eight were identified, and two were unidentified. Most identified species belong to Ophiocordyceps species (20samples), Cordyceps species (4samples) and Isaria species (4samples). The species identified were: Cordyceps pseudomilitaris, Cordyceps tuberculata, Cordyceps cylindrical, Ophiocordyceps nutans, O. criminals, O. oxycephala, O. kniphofioides and Isaria sinclairii. The morphological and microscopic features of the collected and identified species were similar to those reported in other countries. This is the first official report on the presence of Cordyceps species in Nigeria. Further collections from different ecological regions of Nigeria will show the richness of the floral diversity of these entomopathogenic and medicinal mushrooms in Nigeria.

Keywords: cordyceps, entomopathogenic, medicinal, North Central, Nigeria

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Authors: Mustapha Shitu Suleiman, Francis Neshamba, Nestor Valero-Silva

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Small businesses are considered as engine of economic growth, contributing to employment generation, wealth creation, and poverty alleviation and food security in both developed and developing countries. Nigeria is facing many socio-economic problems and it is believed that by supporting small business development, as propellers of new ideas and more effective users of resources, often driven by individual creativity and innovation, Nigeria would be able to address some of its economic and social challenges, such as unemployment and economic diversification. Using secondary literature, this paper examines the role small businesses can play in the creation of jobs in North-West Nigeria to overcome issues of unemployment, which is the most devastating economic challenge facing the region. Most studies in this area have focused on Nigeria as a whole and only a few studies provide a regional focus, hence, this study will contribute to knowledge by filling this gap by concentrating on North-West Nigeria. It is hoped that with the present administration’s determination to improve the economy, small businesses would be used as vehicles for diversification of the economy away from crude oil to create jobs that would lead to a reduction in the country’s high unemployment level.

Keywords: job creation, north-west, Nigeria, small business, unemployment

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Authors: Paul C. Njoku, Archana Swati Njoku

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The study deals with the development of a mathematical model to characterize the oil production in Nigeria. This is calculated by initiating the dynamics of oil production in million barrels revenue plan cost of oil production in million nairas and unit cost of production from 1974-1982 in the contest of the federal Republic of Nigeria. This country export oil to other countries as well as importing specialized crude. The transport network from origin/destination tij to pairs is taking into account simulation runs, optimization have been considered in this study.

Keywords: mathematical oil model development dynamics, Nigeria, characterization barrels, dynamics of oil production

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Authors: M. Reza Hashemi, Chris Small, Scott Hayward

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The Northeast Coast of the US faces damaging effects of coastal flooding and winds due to Atlantic tropical and extratropical storms each year. Historically, several large storm events have produced substantial levels of damage to the region; most notably of which were the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1938, Hurricane Carol, Hurricane Bob, and recently Hurricane Sandy (2012). The objective of this study was to develop an integrated modeling system that could be used as a forecasting/hindcasting tool to evaluate and communicate the risk coastal communities face from these coastal storms. This modeling system utilizes the ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) model for storm surge predictions and the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model for the wave environment. These models were coupled, passing information to each other and computing over the same unstructured domain, allowing for the most accurate representation of the physical storm processes. The coupled SWAN-ADCIRC model was validated and has been set up to perform real-time forecast simulations (as well as hindcast). Modeled storm parameters were then passed to a coastal risk assessment tool. This tool, which is generic and universally applicable, generates spatial structural damage estimate maps on an individual structure basis for an area of interest. The required inputs for the coastal risk model included a detailed information about the individual structures, inundation levels, and wave heights for the selected region. Additionally, calculation of wind damage to structures was incorporated. The integrated coastal risk assessment system was then tested and applied to Charlestown, a small vulnerable coastal town along the southern shore of Rhode Island. The modeling system was applied to Hurricane Sandy and a synthetic storm. In both storm cases, effect of natural dunes on coastal risk was investigated. The resulting damage maps for the area (Charlestown) clearly showed that the dune eroded scenarios affected more structures, and increased the estimated damage. The system was also tested in forecast mode for a large Nor’Easters: Stella (March 2017). The results showed a good performance of the coupled model in forecast mode when compared to observations. Finally, a nearshore model XBeach was then nested within this regional grid (ADCIRC-SWAN) to simulate nearshore sediment transport processes and coastal erosion. Hurricane Irene (2011) was used to validate XBeach, on the basis of a unique beach profile dataset at the region. XBeach showed a relatively good performance, being able to estimate eroded volumes along the beach transects with a mean error of 16%. The validated model was then used to analyze the effectiveness of several erosion mitigation methods that were recommended in a recent study of coastal erosion in New England: beach nourishment, coastal bank (engineered core), and submerged breakwater as well as artificial surfing reef. It was shown that beach nourishment and coastal banks perform better to mitigate shoreline retreat and coastal erosion.

Keywords: ADCIRC, coastal flooding, storm surge, coastal risk assessment, living shorelines

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Authors: Anne Joseph, Yinusa Asiwaju-Bello, Oluwaseun Olabode

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Sustainable administration of groundwater resources tapped in Coastal Plain Sands aquifer in Abesan area, Eastern Dahomey Basin, Southwestern Nigeria necessitates the knowledge of the pattern of groundwater flow in meeting a suitable environmental need for habitation. Thirty hand-dug wells were identified and evaluated to study the groundwater flow dynamics and anionic species distribution in the study area. Topography and water table levels method with the aid of Surfer were adopted in the identification of recharge and discharge zones where six recharge and discharge zones were delineated correspondingly. Dissolved anionic species of HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-and NO3- were determined using titrimetric and spectrophotometric method. The trend of significant anionic concentrations of groundwater samples are in the order Cl- > HCO3-> SO42- > NO3-. The prominent anions in the discharge and recharge area are Cl- and HCO3- ranging from 0.22ppm to 3.67ppm and 2.59ppm to 0.72ppm respectively. Analysis of groundwater head distribution and the groundwater flow vector in Abesan area confirmed that Cl- concentration is higher than HCO3- concentration in recharge zones. Conversely, there is a high concentration of HCO3- than Cl- inland towards the continent; therefore, HCO3-concentration in the discharge zones is higher than the Cl- concentration. The anions were to be closely related to the recharge and discharge areas which were confirmed by comparison of activities such as rainfall regime and anthropogenic activities in Abesan area. A large percentage of the samples showed that HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-and NO3- falls within the permissible limit of the W.H.O standard. Most of the samples revealed Cl- / (CO3- + HCO3-) ratio higher than 0.5 indicating that there is saltwater intrusion imprints in the groundwater of the study area. Gibbs plot shown that most of the samples is from rock dominance, some from evaporation dominance and few from precipitation dominance. Potential salinity and SO42/ Cl- ratios signifies that most of the groundwater in Abesan is saline and falls in a water class found to be insuitable for irrigation. Continuous dissolution of these anionic species may pose a significant threat to the inhabitants of Abesan area in the nearest future.

Keywords: Abessan, Anionic species, Discharge, Groundwater flow, Recharge

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Authors: Aslı Şalcıoğlu, Grigorous Krey, Raşit Bilgin

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In this study, the effect of the Turkish Straits System (TSS), comprising a biogeographical boundary that forms the connection between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, on the evolutionary history, phylogeography and intraspecific gene flow of the whiting (Merlangius merlangus) a demersal fish species, was investigated. For these purposes, the mitochondrial DNA (CO1, cyt-b) genes were used. In addition, genetic comparisons samples from other regions (Greece, France, Atlantic) obtained from GenBank and Barcode of Life Database were made to better understand the phylogeographic history of the species at a larger geographic scale. Within this study, high level of genetic differentiation was observed along the Turkish coastal waters based on cyt-b gene, suggesting that TSS is a barrier to dispersal. Two different sub-species were also observed based on mitochondrial DNA, one found in Turkish coastal waters and Greece (M.m euxinus) and other (M.m. merlangus) in Atlantic, France.

Keywords: genetic, phylogeography, TSS, whiting

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Authors: Sergey V. Vinogradov

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Coastal communities are presently facing increased vulnerabilities due to rising sea levels and shifts in global climate patterns, a trend expected to escalate in the long run. To address the needs of government entities, the public sector, and private enterprises, there is an urgent need to thoroughly investigate, assess, and manage the present and projected risks associated with coastal flooding, including storm surges, sea level rise, and nuisance flooding. In response to these challenges, a practical approach to evaluating storm surge inundation risks has been developed. This methodology offers an integrated assessment of potential flood risk in targeted coastal areas. The physical modeling framework involves simulating synthetic storms and utilizing hydrodynamic models that align with projected future climate and ocean conditions. Both publicly available and site-specific data form the basis for a risk assessment methodology designed to translate inundation model outputs into statistically significant projections of expected financial and operational consequences. This integrated approach produces measurable indicators of impacts stemming from floods, encompassing economic and other dimensions. By establishing connections between the frequency of modeled flood events and their consequences across a spectrum of potential future climate conditions, our methodology generates probabilistic risk assessments. These assessments not only account for future uncertainty but also yield comparable metrics, such as expected annual losses for each inundation event. These metrics furnish stakeholders with a dependable dataset to guide strategic planning and inform investments in mitigation. Importantly, the model's adaptability ensures its relevance across diverse coastal environments, even in instances where site-specific data for analysis may be limited.

Keywords: climate, coastal, surge, risk

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Authors: Okorowo Cyril Agochi

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The main challenge of present world is to harness the energy source which is environment friendly and ecologically balanced. This need has forced to search for other alternate source of energy. But unfortunately the new alternative energy sources like the solar, hydro, wind etc. require huge economical value and technical power to operate, which seem to be very difficult for the developing countries like Nigeria. In the present moment biogas energy can be one and only reliable, easily available and economically feasible source of alternative and renewable source which can be managed by locally available sources and simple technology for secondary schools, tertiary institution and rural villages. This paper is aimed at boosting the energy generation for developing of rural Nigeria, through Biogas.

Keywords: bio-gas, energy, environment, nigeria, technology

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Authors: Salisu Abdu Bagga

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This paper attempts to discuss contemporary issues in teacher education and address challenges therein within the context of the Nigeria society. Teacher education is an educational programme aimed at producing the right crop of people (teachers) who will teach at various levels of schooling i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary. The programme targets to inculcate desirable knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and competencies in teachers with the prime motive of keeping them fully abreast with contemporary challenges such as overcrowded classrooms, inadequate instructional materials, ineffective teaching methodology in the teaching industry in Nigeria. Nigeria needs competent, skilful, knowledgeable and innovative classroom teachers for better teaching and learning.

Keywords: teacher education, contemporary issues, competencies, higher education

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Authors: Jame O. Ezema, Odenigbo Veronica

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The study covers the topic Information Communication and Technology (ICTs) knowledge as a way of enhancing Literacy and Lifelong learning in Nigeria. This work delved into defining of ICTs. Types of ICTs and media technologies were also mentioned. It further explained how ICTs can be strengthened and the uses of ICTs in education was duly emphasized. The paper also enumerated some side effects of ICTs on learners while the role of ICTs in enhancing literacy was explained. The study carried out strategies to use ICTs meaningfully in Literacy Programs and also emphasized the word lifelong learning in Nigeria. Some recommendations were made towards acquiring ICTs knowledge, so as to enhance Literacy and Lifelong learning in Nigeria.

Keywords: literacy, distance-learning, life-long learning for sustainable development, e-learning

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Authors: Uche Lucy Onyekwelu, Uche B. Ugwuanyi

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Suffice to say that socio-economic disruptions of any form is likely to affect the wellbeing of the citizenry. The upsurge of social disequilibrium caused by the incessant disruptive tendencies exhibited by youths and some others in Nigeria are not helping matters. In Nigeria the social unrest has caused different forms of draw backs in Socio Economic Development. This study has empirically evaluated the impact of insecurity and insurgency on the Economic Development of Nigeria. The paper noted that the different forms of insecurity in Nigeria are namely: Insurgency and Banditry as witnessed in Northern Nigeria; Militancy: Niger Delta area and self-determination groups pursuing various forms of agenda such as Sit –at- Home Syndrome in the South Eastern Nigeria and other secessionist movements. All these have in one way or the other hampered Economic development in Nigeria. Data for this study were collected through primary and secondary sources using questionnaire and some existing documentations. Cost of investment in different aspects of security outfits in Nigeria represents the independent variable while the differentials in the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) and Human Development Index(HDI) are the measures of the dependent variable. Descriptive statistics and Simple Linear Regression analytical tool were employed in the data analysis. The result revealed that Insurgency/Insecurity negatively affect the economic development of the different parts of Nigeria. Following the findings, a model to analyse the effect of insecurity and insurgency was developed, named INSECUREDEVNIG. It implies that the economic development of Nigeria will continue to deteriorate if insurgency and insecurity continue. The study therefore recommends that the government should do all it could to nurture its human capital, adequately fund the state security apparatus and employ individuals of high integrity to manage the various security outfits in Nigeria. The government should also as a matter of urgency train the security personnel in intelligence cum Information and Communications Technology to enable them ensure the effectiveness of implementation of security policies needed to sustain Gross Domestic Product and Human Capital Index of Nigeria.

Keywords: insecurity, insurgency, gross domestic product, human development index, Nigeria

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Authors: Temidayo O. Omotehinwa, David O. Oyewola, Friday J. Agbo

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This study aims to gather a proper perspective of the development landscape of Computer Science research in Nigeria. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis of 4,333 bibliographic records of Computer Science research in Nigeria in the last 31 years (1991-2021) was carried out. The bibliographic data were extracted from the Scopus database and analyzed using VOSviewer and the bibliometrix R package through the biblioshiny web interface. The findings of this study revealed that Computer Science research in Nigeria has a growth rate of 24.19%. The most developed and well-studied research areas in the Computer Science field in Nigeria are machine learning, data mining, and deep learning. The social structure analysis result revealed that there is a need for improved international collaborations. Sparsely established collaborations are largely influenced by geographic proximity. The funding analysis result showed that Computer Science research in Nigeria is under-funded. The findings of this study will be useful for researchers conducting Computer Science related research. Experts can gain insights into how to develop a strategic framework that will advance the field in a more impactful manner. Government agencies and policymakers can also utilize the outcome of this research to develop strategies for improved funding for Computer Science research.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, biblioshiny, computer science, Nigeria, science mapping

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Authors: Hassan Alhaji Hassan, Inuwa Abdu Ibrahim

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The research looks at the decaying socioeconomic values in northern Nigeria, which is directly affecting the administration of service at different levels. The aim is to establish the consequence of a valueless society on individual and public life at different levels. The result of governments’ continued neglect of education, societal values, which have negatively affected societal development and indeed development in general. Therefore, focus is on governments’ poor performance in Nigeria, using secondary sources of data. In conclusion, the research asserts the need for the application of the values of some traditional values as personal principles and good governance as the way out of the present deteriorating conditions.

Keywords: socioeconomic, values, education, Northern Nigeria, good governance

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Authors: Samuel A. Muyiwa

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Religious chauvinism has attained an alarming status in Contemporary Nigerian society. Arguably, Nigeria is the largest economy and most populous nation in Africa with over 182 million people, the advantages offer by vibrant economy and high population have been sacrificed on the altar of religion. Tolerance, sacrifice, humility, compassion, love, justice, trustworthiness, dedication to the well-being of others, and unity are the universal spiritual principles that lie at the heart of any religion either Christianity or Islam even traditional. Whereas traditional religious practices foreground the beliefs, norms and ritual that are related to the sacred being God because of its quick and immediate consequence of its effect, the new-found religious sentiments have deviated from the norms, thus undermining cosmic harmony in Nigeria because of its long-time consequence of its effect. Religion, which is expected to accelerate growth and motivate people to develop spiritual nuances for the betterment of their communities, has, however occasioned conflict and violence in Nigeria socio-political cosmo. Therefore, this study examines the content of religion in the promotion of peace and unity and its contextual missing link in the promotion of conflict and violence in Nigeria.

Keywords: religion chauvinism, Nigeria, conflict, conflict resolution

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Authors: Ayoola Adediran Amos

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Nigeria as a secular state that is characterized with various religions namely: Christianity, Islam and African Religion. Each of the religion adherents often claim that their religion is the only means of gaining eternity while others who do not belong to their sect may not be opportuned. Religious doctrine within those religious sects is another source of insurgency which serves as a threat to the unity of Nigeria. Similarly, Boko Haram Religious group has become a threat to the unity of the country in which its root has both political and religious undertones. Primary and secondary sources of collecting data were used. Historical method allowed enquiry into the past events and improvement to the current experience. Both published and unpublished theses were used. Interview was also conducted as part of the secondary sources. It was observed that all aspects of the system in Nigeria were affected with this scourge of religious unrest. i.e. education, political, economic and a host of others. Finally, it was recommended that religious leaders should be given adequate orientation on the needs not to preach against other religious groups. Government of Nigeria should not give priority to one religion at the expense of others.

Keywords: insurgency, national unity, religious, threat

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Authors: Kassem Natouf, Ihab Jnad

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In coastal aquifers, the interface between fresh groundwater and salty seawater may shift inland, reaching coastal wells and causing an increase in the salinity of the water they pump, putting them out of service. Many Arab coastal sites suffer from this phenomenon due to the increased pumping of coastal groundwater. This research aims to prepare a comprehensive study describing the common characteristics of the phenomenon of seawater intrusion with coastal freshwater aquifers in the Arab region, its general and specific causes and negative effects, in a way that contributes to overcoming this phenomenon, and to exchanging expertise between Arab countries in studying and analyzing it, leading to overcoming it. This research also aims to build geographical and relational databases for data, information and studies available in Arab countries about seawater intrusion with freshwater so as to provide the data and information necessary for managing groundwater resources on Arab coasts, including studying the effects of climate change on these resources and helping decision-makers in developing executive programs to overcome the seawater intrusion with groundwater. The research relied on the methodology of analysis and comparison, where the available information and data about the phenomenon in the Arab region were collected. After that, the information and data collected were studied and analyzed, and the causes of the phenomenon in each case, its results, and solutions for prevention were stated. Finally, the different cases were compared, and the common causes, results, and methods of treatment between them were deduced, and a technical report summarizing that was prepared. To overcome the phenomenon of seawater intrusion with fresh groundwater: (1) It is necessary to develop efforts to monitor the quantity and quality of groundwater on the coasts and to develop mathematical models to predict the impact of climate change, sea level rise, and human activities on coastal groundwater. (2) Over-pumping of coastal aquifers is an important cause of seawater intrusion. To mitigate this problem, Arab countries should reduce groundwater pumping and promote rainwater harvesting, surface irrigation, and water recycling practices. (3) Artificial recharge of coastal groundwater with various forms of water, whether fresh or treated, is a promising technology to mitigate the effects of seawater intrusion.

Keywords: coastal aquifers, seawater intrusion, fresh groundwater, salinity increase, Arab region, groundwater management, climate change effects, sustainable water practices, over-pumping, artificial recharge, monitoring and modeling, data databases, groundwater resources, negative effects, comparative analysis, technical report, water scarcity, groundwater quality, decision-making, environmental impact, agricultural practices

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Authors: Eldah Ephraim Buba

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This paper evaluated the quality of tourism education in Nigeria higher education. The problem of poor quality of tourism education in Nigeria’s higher institutions prompted the study. Archival research was used with evaluation reports as secondary data, twenty evaluation reports for different polytechnics from the National board for technical education (NBTE) from 1995-2012 were assessed. The evidence from the documents shows that the quality of teaching and evaluation is fair. The programmes resources are fairly good, and most of the teachers do not have a postgraduate qualification in tourism related courses. It is therefore recommended that the institutions running tourism programmes in Nigeria need to introduce self -assessment of programmes and not rely on the NBTE accreditation which comes up in three years. Also there is need for a staff development policy that will encourage Tourism educators to further their education; The Tertiary Educational Trust Fund (TETFUND) should focus on developing staff of tourism education because it is an area of study in Nigeria that lacks qualified personnel. With the way higher institution in Nigeria are finding interest in tourism programmes, having good quality programmes will not only produce better professionals but it will help in offering better services in the industry and maximizing the impacts of the business.

Keywords: education, evaluation, tourism quality, self-assessment

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Authors: Seyedeh Belin Tavakoly Sany, H. Rosli, R. Majid, S. Aishah

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In this study, water monitoring was performed from Nov. 2012 to Oct. 2013 to assess water quality and evaluate the spatial and temporal distribution of physicochemical and biological variables in water. Water samples were collected from 10 coastal water stations of West Port. In the case of water-quality assessment, multi-metric indices and operational indicators have been proposed to classify the trophic status at different stations. The trophic level of West Port coastal water ranges from eutrophic to hypertrophic. Chl-a concentration was used to estimate the biological response of phytoplankton biomass and indicated eutrophic conditions in West Port and mesotrophic conditions at the control site. During the study period, no eutrophication events or secondary symptoms occurred, which may be related to hydrodynamic turbulence and water exchange, which prevent the development of eutrophic conditions in the West Port.

Keywords: water quality, multi-metric indices, operational indicator, Malaysia, West Port

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Authors: Yasser O. Abualnaja1, Alexandra Pavlidou2, Taha Boksmati3, Ahmad Alharbi3, Hammad Alsulmi3, Saleh Omar Maghrabi3, Hassan Mowalad3, Rayan Mutwalli3, James H. Churchill4, Afroditi Androni2, Dionysios Ballas2, Ioannis Hatzianestis2, Harilaos Kontoyiannis2, Angeliki Konstantinopoulou2, Georgios Krokkos1, 5, Georgios Pappas2, Vassilis P. Papadopoulos2, Konstantinos Parinos2, Elvira Plakidi2, Eleni Rousselaki2, Dimitris Velaoras2, Panagiota Zachioti2, Theodore Zoulias2, Ibrahim Hoteit5.

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The coastal areas along the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on both the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf have been witnessing in the past decades an unprecedented economic growth and a rapid increase in anthropogenic activities. Therefore, the Saudi Arabian government has decided to frame a strategy for sustainable development of the coastal and marine environments, which comes in the context of the Vision 2030, aimed at providing the first comprehensive ‘Status Quo Assessment’ of the Kingdom’s coastal and marine environments. This strategy will serve as a baseline assessment for future monitoring activities; this baseline is relied on scientific evidence of the drivers, pressures, and their impact on the environments of the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf. A key element of the assessment was the cumulative pressures of the hotspots analysis, which was developed following the principles of the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework and using the cumulative pressure and impact assessment methodology. Ten hotspot sites were identified, eight in the Red Sea and two in the Arabian Gulf. Thus, multidisciplinary research cruises were conducted throughout the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf coastal and marine environments in June/July 2021 and September 2021, respectively, in order to understand the relative impact of hydrography and the various pressures on the quality of seawater and sediments. The main objective was to record the physical and biogeochemical parameters along the coastal waters of the Kingdom, tracing the dispersion of contaminants related to specific pressures. The assessment revealed the effect of hydrography on the trophic status of the southern marine coastal areas of the Red Sea. Jeddah Lagoon system seems to face significant eutrophication and pollution challenges, whereas sediments are enriched in some heavy metals in many areas of the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. This multidisciplinary research in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf coastal waters will pave the way for future detailed environmental monitoring strategies for the Saudi Arabian marine environment.

Keywords: arabian gulf, contaminants, hotspot, red sea

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Authors: Patricia Chinyere Oranefo

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This study examined the effect of sustainability accounting disclosure on financial performance of listed Brewery firms in Nigeria. The dearth of empirical evidence and literature on “governance disclosure” as one of the explanatory variables of sustainability accounting reporting were the major motivation for this study. The main objective was to ascertain the effect of sustainability accounting disclosure on financial performance of listed Brewery firms in Nigeria. An ex–post facto research design approach was adopted for the study. The population of this study comprises of five (5) Brewery firms quoted on the floor of the Nigeria exchange group (NSX) and the sample size of four (4) listed firms was drawn using purposive sampling method. Secondary data were carefully sourced from the financial statement/annual reports and sustainability reports from 2012 to 2021 of the Brewery firms quoted on the Nigeria exchange group (NSX). Panel regression analysis by aid of E-views 10.0 software was used to test for statistical significance of the effect of sustainability accounting disclosure on financial performance of listed Brewery firms in Nigeria. The results showed that economic sustainability disclosure indexes do not significantly affect return on asset of listed Brewery firms in Nigeria. The findings further revealed that environmental sustainability disclosure indexes do not significantly affect return on equity of listed Brewery firms in Nigeria. More so, results showed that Social Sustainability disclosure indexes significantly affect Net Profit Margin of listed Brewery firms in Nigeria. Finally, the result established also that governance sustainability disclosure indexes do not significantly affect Earnings per share of listed Brewery firms in Nigeria. Consequent upon the findings, this study recommended among others; that managers of Brewers in Nigeria should improve and sustain full disclosure practices on economic, environmental, social and governance disclosures following the guidelines of the Global Reporting Index (GRI) as they are capable of exerting significant effect on financial performance of firms in Nigeria.

Keywords: sustainability, accounting, disclosure, financial performance

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Authors: Oluwabiyi Adeola Ayodele

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This study analysed the Policy and general issues that have arisen over time in Nigeria’ Cashless banking environment as a result of the lack of a Legal framework on Electronic banking in Nigeria. It undertook an in-depth study of the cashless banking system. It discussed the evolution, growth and development of cashless banking in Nigeria; It revealed the expected benefits of the cashless banking system; It appraised regulatory issues and other prevalent problems on cashless banking in Nigeria; and made appropriate recommendations where necessary. The study relied on primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources included the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Statutes, Conventions and Judicial decisions, while the secondary sources included Books, Journals Articles, Newspapers and Internet Materials. The study revealed that cashless banking has been adopted in Nigeria but still at the developing stage. It revealed that there is no law for the regulation of cashless banking in Nigeria, what Nigeria relies on for regulation is the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Policy, 2014. The Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act Chapter B3, LFN, 2004 of Nigeria lack provision to accommodate issues on Internet banking. However, under the general principles of legality in criminal law, and by the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, a person can only be punished for conducts that have been defined to be criminal by written laws with the penalties specifically stated in the law. Although Nigeria has potent laws for the regulation of paper banking, these laws cannot be substituted for paperless transactions. This is because the issues involved in both transactions vary. The study also revealed that the absence of law in the cashless banking environment in Nigeria will subject consumers to endless risks. This study revealed that the creation of banking markets via the Internet relies on both available technologies and appropriate laws and regulations. It revealed however that Law of some of the countries considered on cashless banking has taken care of most of the legal issues and other problems prevalent in the cashless banking environment. The study also revealed some other problems prevalent in the Nigerian cashless banking environment. The study concluded that for Nigeria to find solutions to the legal issues raised in its cashless banking environment and other problems of cashless banking, it should have a viable legal Frame work for internet banking. The study concluded that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Policy on Cashless banking is not potent enough to tackle the challenges posed to cashless banking in Nigeria because policies only have a persuasive effect and not a binding effect. There is, therefore, a need for appropriate Laws for the regulation of cashless Banking in Nigeria. The study also concluded that there is a need to create more awareness of the system among Nigerians and solve infrastructural problems like prevalent power outage which often have been creating internet network problem.

Keywords: cashless-banking, Nigeria, policies, laws

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Authors: Udeh Anastasia Ifeoma

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The need to develop the rural areas in developing countries where there have been decades of neglect are on the increase. It is against this background that this paper examined the impact of micro finance contribution to Nigeria’s gross domestic product. Time series data for 12-years period 1999-2010 were collated from Central Bank of Nigeria published annual reports. The least squares (LS) regression was used to analyze the data. The result revealed that microfinance activities have negative and non-significant contribution to gross domestic product in Nigeria. The paper recommends that rural poverty is often a product of poor infrastructural facilities; therefore government should make a conscious effort towards industrializing the rural areas thereby motivating the micro finance institutions to locate their offices and extend credit facilities to rural areas thereby improving rural economic growth.

Keywords: microfinance, rural economic growth, Nigeria, developing countries

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Authors: Okolo Chimaobi Valentine, Obidigbo Chizoba

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As a basic physiology need, the threat to sufficient food production is the threat to human survival. Food security has been an issue that has gained global concern. This paper looks at the food security in Nigeria by assessing the availability of food and accessibility of the available food. The paper employed multiple linear regression technique and graphic trends of growth rates of relevant variables to show the situation of food security in Nigeria. Results of the tests revealed that population growth rate was higher than the growth rate of food availability in Nigeria for the earlier period of the study. Commercial bank credit to the agricultural sector, foreign exchange utilization for food and the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) contributed significantly to food availability in Nigeria. Food prices grew at a faster rate than the average income level, making it difficult to access sufficient food. It implies that prior to the year 2012; there was insufficient food to feed the Nigerian populace. However, continued credit to the food and agricultural sector will ensure sustained and sufficient production of food in Nigeria. Microfinance banks should make sufficient credit available to the smallholder farmer. The government should further control and subsidize the rising price of food to make it more accessible by the people.

Keywords: food, accessibility, availability, security

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Authors: Mir Ahmad Lashteh Neshaei, Hamed Afsoos Biria, Ata Ghabraei, Mir Abdolhamid Mehrdad

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Awareness of effective land using issues in coastal area including protection of natural ecosystems and coastal environment due to the increasing of human life along the coast is of great importance. There are numerous valuable structures and heritages which are located in defence sites and waterfront area. Marine structures such as groins, sea walls and detached breakwaters are constructed in coast to improve the coast stability against bed erosion due to changing wave and climate pattern. Marine mechanisms and interaction with the shore protection structures need to be intensively studied. Groins are one of the most prominent structures that are used in shore protection to create a safe environment for coastal area by maintaining the land against progressive coastal erosion. The main structural function of a groin is to control the long shore current and littoral sediment transport. This structure can be submerged and provide the necessary beach protection without negative environmental impact. However, for submerged structures adopted for beach protection, the shoreline response to these structures is not well understood at present. Nowadays, modelling and computer simulation are used to assess beach morphology in the vicinity of marine structures to reduce their environmental impact. The objective of this study is to predict the beach morphology in the vicinity of submerged groins and comparison with non-submerged groins with focus on a part of the coast located in Dahane sar Sefidrood, Guilan province, Iran where serious coast erosion has occurred recently. The simulations were obtained using a one-line model which can be used as a first approximation of shoreline prediction in the vicinity of groins. The results of the proposed model are compared with field measurements to determine the shape of the coast. Finally, the results of the present study show that using submerged groins can have a good efficiency to control the beach erosion without causing severe environmental impact to the coast. The important outcome from this study can be employed in optimum designing of defence sites in the coastal cities to improve their efficiency in terms of re-using the heritage lands.

Keywords: submerged structures, groin, shore protective structures, coastal cities

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Authors: Fei Chen, Wei Lu, Jun Cai

Abstract:

During the Twelve Five period, China promulgated industrial policies promoting the relocation of energy-intensive industries to coastal areas in order to utilize marine shipping resources. Consequently, some major state-owned steel and gas enterprises have relocated and resulted in a large-scale coastal area development. However, some land may have been over-exploited with seamless coastline projects. To balance between employment and housing, new industrial coastal towns were constructed to support the industrial-led development. In this paper, we adopt a case-study approach to closely examine the development of several new industrial coastal towns of Liaoning Province situated in the Bohai Bay area, which is currently under rapid economic growth. Our investigations reflect the common phenomenon of long distance commuting and a massive amount of vacant residences. More specifically, large plant relocation caused hundreds of kilometers of daily commute and enterprises had to provide housing subsidies and education incentives to motivate employees to relocate to coastal areas. Nonetheless, many employees still refuse to relocate due to job stability, diverse needs of family members and access to convenient services. These employees averaged 4 hours of commute daily and some who lived further had to reside in temporary industrial housing units and subject to long-term family separation. As a result, only a small portion of employees purchase new coastal residences but mostly for investment and retirement purposes, leading to massive vacancy and ghost-town phenomenon. In contrast to the low demand, coastal areas tend to develop large amount of residences prior to industrial relocation, which may be directly related to local government finances. Some local governments have sold residential land to developers to general revenue to support the subsequent industrial development. Subject to the strong preference of ocean-view, residential housing developers tend to select coast-line land to construct new residential towns, which further reduces the access of marine resources for major industrial enterprises. This violates the original intent of developing industrial coastal towns and drastically limits the availability of marine resources. Lastly, we analyze the co-existence of over-exploiting residential areas and massive vacancies in reference to the demand and supply of land, as well as the demand of residential housing units with the choice criteria of enterprise employees.

Keywords: coastal industry town, commuter traffic, employment-housing space, outer suburb industrial area

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Authors: Olajumoke Tolulope Esan, Odunayo Stephen Faluse

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Nigeria’s electoral politics from independence has been tumultuous. Violence has continued to damage the conduct of almost all general elections in Nigeria, Thereby making free and fair elections an event that seems to be unachievable in the history of the nation’s politics. Apparently, electoral violence has subjected the Nation into stereotyped electoral procedures that are always dictated through powerful political Godfathers. However, the shameful act of riotous and tumultuous election processes has led to a political, national instability festering irregularities that manifest at different stages of the election, thus subjecting almost all elections carried out in Nigeria below the minimum democracy standard. Hence the fact that an average Nigerian is being deprived of his or her individual electoral rights should be enough to attract Global political interventions from the western world as Nigeria is part of the commonwealth countries and every Nigerians have the right to demand for posterity to be ensured by protecting individual rightful votes. Basically for elections to be termed democratic, it must be free and fair. In view of this, A deep understanding of this paper is a reflection on the tides of electoral violence and the alarming precipitating factors that make free and fair election almost unreachable in Nigeria.

Keywords: democracy, election, electoral violence, political violence

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Authors: Motlatso Rampedi

Abstract:

Nigeria has the fifth highest Total Fertility Rate in Sub-Saharan Africa at 5.5 children born to a woman. Some demographic research has found that there is an association between region of residence and fertility in Nigeria, with the Northern regions pertaining to high fertility and the Southern regions pertaining to low fertility levels. Even so, little attention has been given to understanding the effect of region of residence on fertility. Instead, a significant amount of research has been conducted on exploring the proximate determinants of fertility in Nigeria. The objective of this study was to test whether there is an association between region of residence and fertility in Nigeria. Using a sample size of 38 948 women aged 15-49 derived from the 2013 NDHS and the Poisson regression model for analysis, the study has found that region of residence has a significant effect on fertility. Moreover, the ANOVA test has shown that there is a socioeconomic disparity by region of residence in Nigeria. The Northern regions of Nigeria have shown to have higher levels of fertility as compared to the Southern regions. Therefore, while proximate determinants of fertility and socio-demographic characteristics of women are important, region of residence remains one of the fundamental determinants of fertility. Given these findings, it is recommended that government should not exhaust its resources or focus its fertility reduction policies and programmes at entire populations but target specific regions where fertility is most prevalent.

Keywords: high fertility, region, socioeconomic disparity, socio-demographic characteristics

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Authors: Kayode Julius Oni

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Without mincing words, democracy is by far the most popular form of government in the world today. No matter how we look at it, and regardless of the variant, most leaders in the world today wish to be seen or labeled as Democrats. Perhaps, its attractions in terms of freedom of allocation, accountability, smooth successions of leadership and a lot more, account for its appeal to the ordinary people. The governance style in Nigeria since 1999 cannot be said to be different from the military. Elections are manipulated, judicial processes abused, and the ordinary people do not have access to the dividends of democracy. The paper seeks to address the existing failures experienced under democratic rule in Nigeria which have to transcend into violation of human rights in the conduct of government business. The paper employs the primary and secondary sources of data collection, and it is highly descriptive and critical.

Keywords: democracy, human rights, Nigeria, politics, republic

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Authors: Inuwa Abdu Ibrahim

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The research assessed representative democracy as an administrative system in Nigeria, by highlighting the failure of the state. It also looked at some components of direct democracy in Switzerland. Therefore, the paper focused on direct democracy, using secondary sources of data. In conclusion, the research offers direct democracy as a solution to the failure of the Nigerian administrative system especially as it affects participation, developmental programmes and institutionalized corruption.

Keywords: corruption, direct democracy, national development, Nigeria, participation

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