Volume 4, Issue 2 , 2017

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    Decentralisation of Health Care Delivery in Nigeria: Issues in Governance and Citizens’ Participation in Local Health Care
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Quadri, M.O
    Issues of citizens’ participation in democracy continue to be a recurring decimal in governance discourse. This is more so as it is widely believed that promoting the main tenets of democracy and increasing people’s participation will engender development. The inference from this is that, since development is about people, when people are part of the decisions that affect their lives, then, they would be able to make meaningful contributions to issues that concern their own development. It is therefore argued that popular participation is in essence the empowerment of the people to involve themselves in creating structures and in designing policies and programmes that serve the interests of all and contribute optimally to the development process. Decentralisation emerged as a result of global trend to local autonomy and self-determination, and as a result of a trend to reduce reliance on centralised planning and be more responsive to market forces as well as local needs. In relation to the health sector, decentralisation is concerned with changing the way health systems are organised to produce effective service delivery. The point has been made that decentralisation could be useful in supporting and developing health services and bring it closer to people. This paper therefore examines the process of decentralisation and how it impacts on primary health care (PHC) service delivery in Nigeria.
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    Diversification of the Nigerian Economy: Creating a Partnership between Town and Gown
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Olusanya, O.A; Ideh, D.A
    Diversification of the Nigerian economy is non-negotiable, and partnership among stakeholders is necessary. However, there appears to be a disconnect between the academic institutions and the society they serve, one of the symptoms being the high youth unemployment in the country. This study examined how creating a partnership between town and gown can aid the diversification drive of the Nigerian economy. A qualitative research method was adopted; the paper therefore relied on existing literature to draw its conclusions. The study revealed that improving the educational and research institutions will bring about improvement in the outcome of the diversification drive by the government; and that an improved relationship between ‘town’ and ‘gown’ and the creation of effective educational policies will enhance the acceptability and the relevance of outputs from the educational system by the productive sectors of the economy. The study recommended that: educational policies should promote entrepreneurial skills transfer to strengthen the partnership between town and gown; actions should be taken to transform the educational system to be able to develop knowledge-based products and services for export and local consumption. The paper concluded that until there is an appropriate partnership between educational and research institutions and the society, the diversification of the economy may be an unreachable dream.
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    Entrepreneurial Training and Curriculum Development for Workplace Counselling as an Emerging Profession in Nigeria. Unilag Journal of Humanities, Vol.4(2), 65-78p.
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Ahimie, B.; Agbogidi, C
    Across the world, a bleak future is painted for the counselling profession in the age of technology advancement; more so for workplace counselling, which appears to be an emerging profession in Nigeria. Changes are taking place in industries and organizations. Prospective workers are expected to develop skills that will increase their desirability and success in the workplace. Workers can only be relevant and successful in the workplace if they demonstrate diverse skills that are needed in the emerging workplace. This article examines entrepreneurial training and curriculum development for workplace counselling, a profession that seems to be in its elementary stage in Nigeria. The necessary skills required for workplace counselling, entrepreneurial training and qualifications needed for workplace counselling are outlined. The paper further presents a list of organizations that can benefit from workplace counselling after highlighting what employers might expect from workplace counsellors. Suggestions were made on the need for the development of a robust curriculum for workplace counsellors for them to make an impact in the workplace.
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    Impacts of Agriculture and Biomass Energy Production on Forest conversion: The Case of Igangan Forest Reserve of Ibarapa Region, South-West Nigeria
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Soneye, A; Balogun, I; Daramola, A
    Energy and food security are vital needs for human existence. Growing global concerns on fuelwood production and subsistence agriculture are however rooted in the problem of forest degradation activities generally and massive tree felling in particular. The study assessed the relationship between farming and biomass energy activities in Ibarapa region of Oyo state against the environmental problems of deforestation and encroachment into the Igangan Forest Reserve (FR). Data from participatory rural appraisals through Focus Group Discussions, structured interviews and questionnaire administration involving thirty (30) charcoal producers and three hundred and sixty (360) household respondents, were analyzed in a Geographical Information System environment to assess the developments in and around the FR. The results indicate that subsistence agriculture is the most significant of the six major means of livelihood in the study area, while charcoal production, marketing and transportation are gaining prominence increasingly. The consequences of the threats by the land uses to the natural ecosystem and conservation, usually from slash/bush burning and tree felling in the area are established. The fate of the gazetted Igangan FR is also discussed. The study thus advocates the need for aggressive promotion of modern farming techniques while charcoal production activities are strictly monitored for environmental accountability.
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    Influence of Internal System Evaluation Practices and Environment on Student Performance in South Western Nigerian Universities
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Bakare, T.V; Alade, O.M
    Evaluation is key to system improvement in higher institutions and the nation. When the efficacy of the system is not evaluated periodically, and especially if the results of such evaluations are not ploughed back into the system, it will be difficult to establish whether or not there is progress toward the achievement of institutional goals. This study utilized the input, process and output evaluation strands of the CIPP and FAMOUS evaluation models to assess the interaction of internal evaluation practices in six South-Western States in Nigeria, consisting of 18 universities drawn from Private, State and Federal institutions. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to get a sample size of 844 respondents. Researchers-developed and validated questionnaires, interview and observation were used for data collection. 4 research questions were raised and two hypotheses tested using Standard Deviation, Chi square and ANOVA, along with frequency counts. Findings revealed an F(²/841) value of 9.58. This shows a significant difference in the responses among lecturers, students and administrators, but low level of adherence to internal evaluation by universities. This is because many rely on the external accreditation exercise by the NUC alone, and there was no uniformity of approach among those who practiced internal system evaluation. The overall use of internal evaluation was also found to affect student output in terms of graduating grades. It was suggested that internal evaluation within the university system be taken more seriously and follow some kind of format like the one developed in the study to ensure uniformity and improvement in system output as well as ensure national transformation.
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    Music and Tonal Communication: Decoding and Conserving the Agidigbo Instrument in Apala Music
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Olupemi, O.E
    The Agidigbo is a major melo-rhythmic instrument of the Apala music, used by Yoruba musicians to achieve speech surrogate due to the tonal inflection of the Yoruba language. While it is somewhat easier in Yoruba vocal music to employ the three phonemic tones - low, mid and high for word intelligibility, the musicians must however adapt these tones in playing the melo-rhythmic instruments for adequate communication. This is because among Africans, there is often a tonal communication relished between the musicians and the listeners. While literature abounds on tonal communication in Yoruba music, with overt concentration on the ‘talking drums’, there is paucity of academic research on the tonal communication of the Agidigbo. This study thus examines the communicative attributes of the Agidigbo, with musical and contextual analysis of its decoded communications. Oral interviews and bibliographical evidences were used to elicit information. Content analysis was used to process the musical and tonal data generated in the Agidigbo music. This study establishes that although Yoruba musicians are entertainers, they are also regarded as custodians of moral law and habitually encode messages in their music, with its decoding entrusted to their enlightened faithfuls. This is evident in the Agidigbo, an instrument particularly used by the Yoruba people for musical, socio-cultural and linguistic communication. Significantly, this study aids the understanding and decoding of this indigenous instrumental heritage. This paper thus argues for more musicological research on this communicative instrument towards its globalization and conservation.
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    Narratives of Dissidence: Desire and the Female Protagonist in Retold Folktales in Contemporary Ghana
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Yitah, H
    Such theories, derived as they are mainly from works in the written Western literary canon, have excluded African oral narratives. Even when narrative theorizing and criticism involve the folktale, the focus is usually on adaptations of Western tales in prose fiction. For example, Angela Carter‟s adaptations of fairytales in her writings have come to define theory and criticism of this genre to the extent that scholars now categorize the field into “fairytale studies before Angela Carter” and “fairy tale studies after Angela Carter” (Haase 2010). But as I shall demonstrate in this paper, traditional oral tales have undergone a profound transformation in the light of contemporary felt realities. Just as Western feminists such as Judith Viorst (1986) have written and published retold versions of staple folktales like Cinderella, some storytellers in Africa are transforming this genre within the oral performance context in ways that require critical attention. Modern technology is thought to have transformed the world into a global village. Yet different societies and peoples respond to its stimuli in different ways due to their different circumstances and experiences, and their narratives constitute one important area of everyday practice which reflects such changes. Therefore, in Unilag Journal of Humanities (UJH) Vol. 4 No. 2, 2017 2 folklore studies oral folktales are as important as those adapted into written literature, and both deserve attention in narrative theory and criticism if we are to uncover what new possibilities of understanding and action they reveal about human societies. The folktales I examine in this paper are from my native Kasem culture in northern Ghana. I focus on four purposely selected folktales out of seventy-two stories told in the past six years (2010-2016): two by adult females to adult female audiences and two others by teenage girls to a mixed adult audience. All the tales were told at night during indoor farm-related activities such as plucking or cracking groundnuts or sorting cobs of millet—activities that begin after dinner has been cooked and eaten and young children have gone to bed. The absence of children on both occasions meant that the performers could feel at ease to recreate narratives using more complex plots that might be difficult for children to grasp. As Goody (1992/1993: 51) has pointed out, adults may adopt more complex modes for communicating among themselves, while for communicating with children they may use simpler levels of interpretation. I shall use interchangeably the terms “recreated” and “retold” to refer to these innovative folktales and contrast them with the traditional communally owned corpus since these relatively recent retellings do not yet seem to have entered the “mainstream.” In order to narrow my focus, I have selected tales that foreground consciously created female narrative desire. Such individual strivings, in my view, have implications for narrative theory, as they tend to initiate action in the folktales—usually dissident action intended to subvert or challenge male authority. Therefore, I call these retold folktales “narratives of dissident desire.” I examine narrative intention and action through (1) open-ended plots that break the presumed “stylistic consistency” of the folktale and leave meaning fluid—a revolutionary structure that reflects the equally radical subject matter; and (2) characters who inscribe themselves and their desires into a „modern‟ world which is a far cry from the traditional fantasy world typically associated with the folktale, thus attaining subjecthood through performing their desire. If, as Peter Brooks (1984:38) has theorized, “striving creates narrative,” it would be instructive to examine how these representations of dissident desire problemat
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    The Negative Evaluation of women in Rusian and Yoruba Proverbs and Sayings
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Faloju, J.O
    Proverbs and sayings are an integral part of the spiritual treasures of the culture and language of a people. Proverbs and sayings are very important aspects of language use as a result of their metaphorical essence and widely acceptable truths; they depict the worldview and cultural beliefs of the people in any society. This article examines the image of women in Russian and Yoruba proverbs and sayings, with a focus on the negative evaluation of women. The paper employs the descriptive and comparative approach to bring to light the linguistic and national peculiarities of proverbs and sayings describing women in Russian culture and Yoruba culture.
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    Simulating the Effects of Urbanisation on Urban Flooding in Ashimowu Watershed, Lagos, Nigeria
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Odunuga, S; Oyebande, L; Omojola, A.S; Adeloye, A.J
    The paper studied the effects of urbanization on the extent of urban flooding in Lagos by using System 6c (Ashimowu Watershed) as a case study. The study utilized a scenario approach to simulate flooding processes for different land use scenarios (1965, 1975, 1987 and 2005) and 13 storm events recorded in 2005. For each scenario, the peak flow and area inundated were assessed using Precipitation Water Inundation Model (PWIM), a bespoke simple catchment water balance model with three components (Infiltration, runoff and digital surface) developed as part of the study. The results show that runoff and peak flow from precipitation increased by more than 200% between 1965 and 2005, due principally to urban impervious developments, causing the inundated area to increase by about 10% over the same period. Finally, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, (SUDS) that encourages natural groundwater recharge was recommended.
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    Table of Content
    (2017) UNILAG Journal of Humanities
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    Understanding Perceived Barriers to University-Industry Collaborations among Academics: Evidence from University of Lagos
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Shittu, A; Owodunni, S; Olugasa, O
    There is a growing consensus among politicians, scholars, and industry professionals in the country that university-industry collaboration has a significant role to play in Nigeria’s pursuit of a diversified economy. While several discussions focus on the potential gains of university-industry collaborations, little has been said about the sensitivity of the academics to extant barriers to collaboration with the industry. . This study, therefore, examines the perceived barriers to collaboration among the academics. Drawing on a cross-sectional survey administered among 38 Heads of Departments and 201 academics sampled across the faculties of Arts, Business Administration, Engineering, Law, Sciences, and Social Sciences in the University of Lagos, the study uses the Pearson Chi-Squared test of independence to test the hypothesis that there is no association between perceived barriers to university-industry collaboration and the faculty of the academics. The findings show that: (i) the academic members across the faculties surveyed pay little or no attention to commercialization, licensing of patents, and establishment of spin-off companies; (ii) perceived barriers to university-industry collaboration is independent of the faculties of each academic , whether Arts/Humanities or Sciences/Engineering; (iii) funding and pressure on academic time lead the pack of perceived barriers to university-industry collaboration among the academics in the University of Lagos. The implications of the findings for pro-university-industry policy designs are discussed.
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    Urban Housing Supply: Cooperative Societies as the Third Way
    (University of Lagos Press, Akoka, 2017) Oyalowo, B.A; Babawale, G.K
    Recent academic research from various approaches into the housing sector generally agrees that cooperative societies should have a more defined role in the provision and finance of urban housing. However, there is a dearth of empirical information on cooperatives’ housing sector activity in Lagos. This study has the objective of providing empirical information on the potentialities of cooperative societies in the Lagos State housing sector. The purpose of this paper is to advocate the integration of cooperative societies into urban housing supply. It establishes the relevance of cooperative societies in housing delivery in Lagos State through a survey of 171 cooperative members across twelve cooperatives. Copies of a questionnaire were administered to seven purposefully chosen workers’ cooperative societies, one trade-group, two farmers’ cooperatives, one women cooperative and one faith-group cooperative. The questionnaire was a semi-structured instrument and was subjected to a reliability test. A descriptive analysis was carried out with the aid of the customer satisfaction index (CSI).The survey showed key strengths to include wide acceptance across gender, income classes and economic sector. Other strengths are high member retention and attraction of new members with 48% of respondents as long-term members, as well as significant activity in rental and home completion financing, with close to 52% having taken a housing related loan recently. However, key weaknesses include weak satisfaction with loan activities across five variables of interest rate, collateral, payback period, transaction costs and promptness in funds disbursement. A Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis is presented as a framework for future policy and research efforts to formally integrate cooperative societies into the housing delivery sector in Lagos State.