The Nexus between Financial Development, Trade Performance and Growth in Nigeria (Published)
The study investigates the nexus between financial development, trade performance and growth in Nigeria between the period 1985 to 2020. Financial development, government expenditure, inflation rate and trade openness were used as dimensions of independent variables while real gross domestic product was used as the dependent variable. Annual time series data on our targeted variables were obtained from secondary sources including the Central Bank of Nigeria annual statistical bulletin, World Bank development indicators. The Eview9 Statistical Software was employed to analyze the data empirically. The Unit root test shows that financial development, government expenditure, trade openness and real gross domestic product are all stationary after first difference I(1) while inflation rate was stationary at level I(0). The data were analyzed using the Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL). The results of the ARDL estimates indicate that in the long run financial development and government expenditure coefficients have positive relationships with real gross domestic product and they are also statistically significant. The study recommends amongst others that Nigerian trade performance should be improved through economic diversification so as to reduce much emphasis on oil export and availability of funds from private sector at competitive interest rate in order to produce internationally competitive products should be encouraged. Also, there should be the implementation of monetary policies that would bring about stability in exchange rate, promote trade openness and ensure government purchases that enhances financial development.
Citation: Adeyemo, Oyindamola Olajumoke and Tamunowariye, Chinonso (2022) The Nexus between Financial Development, Trade Performance and Growth in Nigeria, Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol.10, No.3, pp.1-17
Keywords: Nigeria, economic growth, financial development; trade performance
Abraham the Father of Faith (Gen 12-17) – Challenge To Christians in Nigeria (Published)
Citation: Emmanuel U. Dim (2022) Abraham the Father of Faith (Gen 12-17) – Challenge To Christians in Nigeria, Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol.10, No.1, pp.54-63
In Abraham, Israel’s first Patriarch, God begins a new development in his plan of the creation and salvation of the world by specially choosing the people of Israel (Gen 12-50), after the general account of the creation and development of mankind from the beginning of the book of Genesis (Gen 1-11). Abraham stands out in his relationship with God and is thus, for those who believe in God and who acknowledge His self-revelation in the OT, the father of faith. Many Christians in Nigeria today suffer from the crisis of faith which often breeds lukewarmness and syncretism in their actual practice of it – and even outright rejection of the same faith in neo-paganism. The others who try to remain steadfast, are naturally distracted by the negative activities of these other brothers and sisters with whom they are supposed to be professing the same faith. This paper presents the steadfast legacy in the faith of Abraham, the proto-type of Jesus in the OT, as an enlivening challenge to all Christians, especially here in Nigeria. Abraham’s steadfast faith in God, in all the circumstances of his life, challenges the Nigerian Christians of today, as they face all sorts of difficulties in the practice of their faith. It also challenges the institutionalized Churches towards the provision of a sustained catechetical growth for all their members for a more active and vibrant Christian life in our dear country that is today menaced with many religious, social, economic and political problems. To arrive at its goal, this paper employs the exegetico-analytical method of enquiry. In the final analysis, apart from the pertinence of all the points raised in it, this work has the added importance of taking us to the very fertile roots of our faith in God in the person and life of Abraham, thereby helping to engender stronger conviction in the believing audience that would read it.
Keywords: Abraham, Christians, Faith, Nigeria, father
Financial Globalization and Exchange Rate uncertainty in Nigeria: A Band-Pass Filter Approach (Published)
Exchange rate uncertainty has been one of the many challenges implicated as the biggest developmental and growth obstacle facing Nigeria as a nation. This study estimates financial globalization, output growth and financial uncertainty nexus in Nigeria. The research is carried under the assumption that exchange rate uncertainties are deemed to impact on the volume of export and import trading activities. Thus, we adopted the Pairwise Granger Causality model to estimate the causality relationships among financial globalization, output growth and volatility in exchange rate using a Single Equation Englo-Granger approach. The best lag selection criteria were employed to choosing the best lag for this analysis. We provide a link between the short-run and the long-run effect of the model(s). This study found that they is a positive interaction between financial volatility (exchange rate uncertainty) and output volatility in Nigeria. It shows that as financial volatility such as exchange rate uncertainty is increasing, output volatility will also be increased in the same direction. The government and the monetary authorities should be more focused on the strengthening the exchange rate, since stable exchange rate improves the terms of trade, strengthen the local capacity and increases output growth. However, addressing the heightened risks, including financial and operational risks due to economic recession as well as due to the market reforms themselves have remained the challenges of globalization in Nigeria.
Keywords: Exchange Rate, Nigeria, band-pass filter approach, financial globalization
An Assessment of Post-Flood Disaster Risk Recovery and Reconstruction Responses of Urban Households in Makurdi Metropolis, Nigeria (Published)
Flood disaster is increasingly becoming a common occurrence around the world due to unwholesome human activities and climate change affecting urban areas including Makurdi metropolis in Benue state, Nigeria. Given its geographic location in the Benue valley and geophysical characteristics, Makurdi regularly experiences flood disaster during rainy season with the 2012 flood event been the worse with considerable impacts on the lives and properties of urban households. This study assesses the 2012 post-flood disaster risk recovery and reconstruction responses of urban households in Makurdi metropolis. Data was collected from 200 affected households of the 2012 flood disaster in flood prone areas of the town through physical observation and questionnaire administration, and was analysed using descriptive statistical techniques. The result of the study reveals different levels of damages caused by the flood in the study area with destruction of residential houses accounting for the highest (30.6%). Post-disaster recovery and reconstruction responses vary among households with low-income households being the most vulnerable and 85% have not fully recovered from the disaster. The study reveals varying nature of recovery efforts undertaking by the affected households in the study area with 38.9% of them rehabilitated their residential buildings. The highest post-flood recovery assistance accounting for 82.4% came from victims’ relatives/friends. Based on the findings, the study recommends for more sensitization of the public on proactive flood disaster risk management through preparedness; readiness, response and recovery/rehabilitation with involvement of all stakeholders in the study area.
Keywords: Flood, Makurdi metropolis, Nigeria, post-disaster risk, recovery and reconstruction, urban households
A Framework for Assessing Women’s Economic Empowerment (Published)
Global progress towards gender parity across critical areas of life is still at the disadvantage of women. Women are in a disadvantage position in such areas as the ownership and control over assets, access to affordable credit, social reproduction, to socio-political representation, cultural practices and participation in formal sector of the economy. The consequence of such disparities limits the extent women can exercise choice and make decisions economically, socially, and politically. Therefore, how to flatten the curve and reverse these disparities remains the subject of the subsisting women’s empowerment conundrum about whether others can externally determine empowerment, or if women have to be the agents of their empowerment. What then defines the empowerment framework and understandings of the form that empowerment should take remains debatable. This paper critically reviewed how the empowerment of women has been discussed and conceptualised within development studies, with particular focus on women’s economic empowerment. The paper further looked at issues around women’s empowerment measurement and indicators; identified some frameworks for measuring women’s empowerment. Lastly, the author proposed a conceptual framework within which women’s empowerment might be assessed. To this end, women’s economic empowerment was defined as the extent women exercise control over decisions relating to accessing and use of resources and the resulting household reality.
Keywords: Agency, Empowerment, Nigeria, Women’s Empowerment, economic empowerment framework, indicators
Mitigating stakeholder conflicts in Nigerian tertiary institutions: The Ignatius Ajuru University and Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic examples (Published)
Several crises in tertiary institutions in Nigeria have been traced to poor policy communication, stakeholders’ rejection of decisions or the management of conflicts. However, while some tertiary institutions in the country often encounter internal crises, the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education and Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic have remained relatively calm. This study investigated the communication flow patterns and decision-making approaches of these institutions, especially since conflicts and crises in many campuses in Nigeria have been linked to poor policy communication or disagreements arising from decisions. Among other objectives, the study investigated the structures that encourage participatory decision-making in Ignatius Ajuru University of Education and Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic. The study was anchored on the Stakeholder theory. The descriptive survey research design was used to study a population of 21, 089 from which a sample size of 375 was drawn. Findings of the study showed that the authorities of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education and Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic involve staff and students of the institutions in decision-making through designated participatory structures. It was also found out that participatory decision-making mitigated stakeholder conflicts in the institutions. The study recommended, among other things, that the authorities of tertiary institutions in Nigeria should create and sustain structures that enhance wider stakeholders’ participation in decision-making in order to mitigate the occurrence and escalation of stakeholder conflicts.
Keywords: Nigeria, Tertiary Institutions, participatory decision-making, patterns of stakeholder communication, stakeholder conflicts, stakeholders’ participation
Deployment of Ritual for Social Regeneration in Contemporary Nigerian Drama (Published)
The Nigerian society since independence has been disturbingly marked by inter-ethnic hostilities, religious intolerance, unemployment, poverty and intense corruption. The alternation of power between the military and the civilian elites has not yielded lasting solutions to these obstacles to national development. Dramatists like Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi, Femi Osofisan and a host of others, have engaged the Nigeria political imperative as they have used their arts to denounce the greed and ineptitude of politicians. They have shown interest in the project of national re-birth in a way that is different from the superfluous and grandiloquent spirit of the politicians. Sometimes these dramatists explore aspects of indigenous cultures to articulate their political and artistic concerns. One significant aspect of indigenous culture being explored in contemporary drama is the tradition of ritual cleansing. In a traditional society like Nigeria, myth, symbols and religious rituals nurture social interactions and regeneration. The practice of ritual cleansing is common to many communities as it is a significant aspect of the people’s religion and civic culture; they dedicate certain occasions to spiritual renewal by individuals and the community as a whole. Thus, this work captures the analysis of Wole Soyinka’s The Strong Breed and Femi Osofisan’s No More the Wasted Breed as they explore ritual as a weapon for social construction and regeneration for community development. Ritual in this study thus becomes the dominant instrument through which the Nigerian society is reflectedly purified. However, the societies captured in the two texts used for this study show different need and importance attached to ritual performance. Thus, Soyinka’s The Strong Breed examines ritual as a cultural ethnic cleansing annually embarked upon and making use of a carrier who takes the cleansing obligation upon himself while in Osofisan’s No More the Wasted Breed, ritual is employed as a dominant instrument of liberation. It is employed as the only way through which the society can be transformed from its ill-state.
Keywords: Nigeria, Ritual, drama rebirth, social regeneration
Demographic Structure and Dynamics of Manufacturing Output in Nigeria (Published)
The manufacturing sector is ubiquitously seen as the pathway to economic growth and development due to its driving potentials. Modern theories present population increase in an optimistic light as opposed to the doomsday assertion of Malthus. It is in light of this foregoing that this study examines the impact of population growth on the manufacturing sector output in Nigeria for the stretch of 1981 to 2018. The population growth was ventilated into male population growth, female population growth and youth population to help examine which category of population spur or inhibit the growth of the manufacturing sector output. The test for long-run association between manufacturing output ratio to GDP and population components was done using the normalized co-integration technique. In addition, the study used the error correction mechanism (ECM) to examine the short run dynamics of the variables and the speed at which past year’s disequilibrium will be corrected in the current period. The normalized co-integration showed a positive and significant relationship between male population growth and manufacturing sector contribution to GDP, while a negative and significant long run relationship was found between female population growth, youth population growth and manufacturing sector contribution to GDP respectively. The study hence recommended an aggressive entrepreneurial awareness programmes and starter packs to help draw in the active and vibrant youth population and a parity or non-dichotomy in employment, pay and other employment benefits between male and female employees.
Keywords: Nigeria, Youth, female population growth, male population growth, manufacturing output, population growth
Language and Culture as Synergy for National Integration in Nigeria (Published)
Trends in historical evolution indicate that the nation-state of Nigeria came into existence since 1914. Her territorial boundaries were fixed with prejudicial colonial interests without considering the interests and aspirations of the traditional ethnic groups involved. Since then, the nation has been governed and exploited by the feudal-bourgeosie, privileged to inherit the nation from the colonial masters. Worst still, the various machineries at different periods and republics charged with the responsibility of ruling the nation has proved anti-social, adopting in their distribution of values, formulas detrimental to the general welfare of the citizenry. Thus, we are left with a fragile nation, drifting apart and her people resorting to communal and individual self-definition. The persistent call for national conference among the various ethnic groups to resolve the national question gives credence to the deduction that the nation was founded upon vested colonial interest, without consulting the component ethnic groups. The issue of national integration has become a re-assessment of the pre-requisite for Federalism towards the continued existence of the sovereign nation state in Nigeria. Thus, the focus of this paper is how to adopt a paradigm shift from the previous abortive methods that have been employed so far, to the pragmatic resolve of using language and culture in attaining the long elusive national integration in Nigeria.
Keywords: Culture, Diversity, Integration, Language, Nigeria
Promoting peace and social stability through cultural values in Nigeria: the Social Studies perspective (Published)
Conflict, insurgency, terrorism and crime had become the prominent super war agents, waging dynamic war against Nigerian territorial integrity and economic boom. This study sought to examine how peace and social stability through cultural values in Nigeria from the social studies perspective. To achieve this, two research questions were raised to guide the study. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. Data used for the study were generated through a questionnaire titled “Promoting Peace and Social Stability through Cultural Values Questionnaire” which was administered to 70 Social Studies Educators purposively selected from the study area. Their responses to the questionnaire were coded to identify recurrent themes and patterns and were tested using the simple percentages, means and statistical frequency. The result of the analysis showed that in respect to the first research question, a mean percentage ‘Yes’ responses 74.69% and ‘No’ responses of 25.31% Where as in respect to research question two a mean percentage ‘yes’ response of 78% against the mean percentage ‘no’ response of 22% was obtained. The implication of this is that cultural values significantly influence the promotion of peace and social stability in Nigeria. , it was therefore concluded that the peace and stability of the Nigerian society can be promoted if cultural values are revived, promoted, taught and applied in the country and recommended that administrative leadership of Nigeria should be broaden to include traditional leaders and priests in the governance of the Nation.
Keywords: Cultural Values, Culture, Nigeria, Peace, Social Studies Perspective., social stability