Assessment of Farmers-Herders Conflict and Food Security in Benue State (Published)
Over the past decade, the intensity of the farmers-herders conflict has notably increased in Nigeria’s middle belt and southern zones, posing a significant threat to the nation’s food security and overall stability. The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) report in 2016 identified it as the single most widely spread peace and security threat in Nigeria. Benue State has an economy that is driven by agriculture and it produces large quantities of farm produce. Sadly, sustained crisis in the State continue to impact its agricultural sector, making it difficult to achieve food security. Consequently, this paper examined the impact of farmers-herders conflict on food security in Benue State. The paper was guided by two research questions. These include: How has the loss of lives due to the farmers-herders conflict undermined crop production in Benue State? How has the forced displacement of farmers and herders undermined food availability in Benue State? To analyze the issues raised, the paper was anchored on the eco-security theory. The estimated population of the study area is 446,000 persons. The paper adopted a mixed-methods approach combining both qualitative and quantitative methods. From the population of the study, a sample size of 600 respondents was drawn using a purposive sampling technique based on the expertise, knowledge and familiarity of the relevant stakeholders with the subject matter and study area. Semi-structured interview and questionnaire instruments were used to generate primary data while secondary data was sourced from relevant literature. Based on the findings of the paper, we recommend that the government should strengthen security in farming areas by deploying more security personnel and establishing community-based early warning systems to prevent attacks.
Keywords: Assessment, Benue State, Conflict, Food Security, farmers-herders
Assessment of the Constraints to Women Education and Its Implications on Their Participation in Politics in North Western Nigeria (Published)
Women constitute a larger percentage of the illiterate group in n Nigeria. This could be attributed to the fact that in most families, parents prefer to send their sons to school, instead of their Daughters whom they feel would eventually get married and thus get incorporated into another family and by implication a larger percentage of the girls remain uneducated and unexposed. Girl-child access to basic education, especially in northern states, has remained low. The importance of women education in enhancing the education of their children is succinctly put in the old adage which states that ’’to educate a man is to educate a person, but to educate a woman is to educate a nation’’ The participation of women in politics may influence equalization of educational opportunities, quotas for female participation in governing bodies, legislative reform to increase focus on issues concerning women and children, financing gender-responsive budgets to equally take into account the needs of men and women,. Therefore there is need to analyses constraints affecting women participation in politics and their consequences in retarding development of women education.This paper therefore is to appraise some constraints to women education and implications to their political power play in North West Nigeria. In doing this, the paper discusses how women had fared in the traditional societies for educational struggle and how that had helped in the definition of their political status. The paper also attempts a historical overview of the participation of women in the political arrangement in North West Nigeria. It tries to probe into the political future of women in the country to determine whether there are opportunities for improvement or not. The paper finds a great deal of role stereotype against women by tradition and absence of practical steps taken by both political parties and government towards political achievements. It opines that more women should be given opportunities for education for participation in the politics of the country. This can be achieved through laws that are deliberately aimed at removing the barriers against women and genuine practical approaches.
Keywords: Assessment, Constraints, Education, Political Participation, Politics, Women
Quality Assurance of Teachers in the Assessment of Social Studies Curriculum of Secondary Schools in Abeokuta Metropolis in Ogun State, Nigeria (Published)
The study was carried out to ensure the quality assurance of teachers in the assessment of the Social Studies curriculum in Secondary Schools in Abeokuta Metropolis of Ogun State, Nigeria. Two research questions were formulated and answered in this study. Survey research and evaluation designs were involved. The sample for the study was 57. A 20 cluster item questionnaires and 35 multiple choice test items were developed and used to collect data. The data collected were analyzed using percentages, means and performance gap analysis to answer the research question. Conclusively, the importance of assessment of secondary school social studies curriculum can not be over emphasized because it is a well established fact that the status and kind of assessment used in appraising phenomenon for reaching implication not only for students’ achievements, but also for the nature of school procedure in an institutions. Based on the result of the study, it was recommended among other things that, teachers should be sponsored by the government to attend seminars, workshops and conferences to update themselves in order to improve the quality of their teaching skills
Keywords: Assessment, Assurance, Curriculum, Metropolis, Quality