SOCIAL SCIENCE & LAW JOURNAL OF POLICY REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES Vol. 3. No. 2 February, 2013

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1 SOCIAL SCIENCE & LAW JOURNAL OF POLICY REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES Vol. 3. No. 2 February, 2013 Published by International Institute for Policy Review & Development Strategies Cross River State Nigeria P. O. Box 388 Mobile: (0) Website: All right reserved under the International Copyright Law. This Journal its cover page design and content may not be used or produced in any manner without written permission from the International Institute for Policy Review & Development Strategies. International Secretariats Advanced Research Publishers Saka Saka Road, Tamale, Ghana C/o MBONGO A.N Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Buea, Cameroon C/o DODO YAKUBU AMINU Faculty of Geoinformation and Real Estate Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. International Institute for Policy Review & Development Strategies 2013 ISSN: National Library of Nigeria Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this journal is available from the Nigerian National Library and other International Index online. Printed in the Federal Republic of Nigeria

2 SOCIAL SCIENCE & LAW JOURNAL OF POLICY REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES Vol. 3. No. 2 Feb ISSN: Editors: Prof. Dele, Adekunle Prof. Hague, H. Dr. Greene, Daniel Associate Editors Igbanibo Tamunoibuomi Simeon PhD Babajide, Veronica F. T. PhD Ben Uwadiegwu PhD Famous S. Esedowu PhD Matthew D. Ogali PhD Diji, Chuks J. PhD Adediran, Adekunle Amos Chinwuko Okechukwu E. Okwoli, D. Matthew Ella John Richard

3 SOCIAL SCIENCE & LAW JOURNAL OF POLICY REVIEW & DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES, VOL. 3, NO.2, FEB., Odoemelam Chinedu Christian 2 Okeibunor Bibian Ngozi 3 Adibe Kenneth 1 Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, 2 Department of Mass Communication, Benson Idahosa University Benin City 3 Department of Mass Communication, Ebonyi State University. Newspaper Editorial Frames of Security Issues in Nigeria: Implications for Development Objectives Page No: Okwoli, D.M. 2 Oyidi, C.M. 3 Ebiloma, J.A. Department of Public Administration, Kogi State University, Anyigba Nigeria. Federal Character Principle and its Effect on Nigerian Public Administration in the 21st Century Page No: Helen N. Avong Faculty of Social and Management Sciences Bauchi State University Gadau Religion and Marital Stability in Atyap Ethnic Nationality of Kaduna State Religion and Marital Stability in AtyapEthnic Nationality of Kaduna State Page No: Joseph S. Oladimeji 2 Idris I. Isah Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria. 2 Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria. Rethinking Informal Enterprise Organisation and Development in Nigerian Cities Page No: Damasus Tuurosong 2 Stephen B. Kendie 1 Department of African and General Studies, Faculty of Integrated Development Studies University for Development Studies, Wa Campus, Ghana 2 Faculty of Social Sciences Institute for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Re-Defining the Role of the Mass Media in Rural Development Page No: 36-49

4 Abarshi Dauda Daniel Department of Sociology, Bauchi State University, Gadau Bauchi Campus. Youth Unemployment as a Major obstacle to Sustainable Development in Nigeria Page No: Musa Adamu Wunti Department of Political Science, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Nigeria Ethnic Politics, Violence and Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria: An Elitist Perspective Page No: Diqson Bishugad Yunana Department of Sociology Bauchi State University, Gadau Bauchi - Nigeria Desertification in Northern Nigeria: A Case Study of Bauchi State Page No: Famous S. Eseduwo PhD Department of Political Science Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa Nigeria Political Economy of Gas Flaring and Sustainable Development in Nigeria Page No: Gushibet Solomon Titus Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences University of Jos Jos Nigeria The Relevance of International Trade Theories to Nigeria: Lessons and implications Page No: Dr. Abdullahi Labo Department of Sociology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Assessing the Dynamics of contract Farming as a Vehicle for Agricultural development in Nigeria Page No: Sheshi, Kudirat Fati Department of Quantity Surveying, School of Environmental Studies, The Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State. Rethinking Development Strategies of Contract Project Procurement for Sustainability Page No: Dr. Love O. Arugu Iwori Political Science Department, Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State Nigeria Nigerian Ruling Class and Sustainable Development in the Niger Delta Region Page No:

5 NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL FRAMES OF SECURITY ISSUES IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES ODOEMELAM CHINEDU CHRISTIAN, OKEIBUNOR BIBIAN NGOZI & ADIBE KENNETH Department of Mass Communication, university of Nigeria, Nsukka, Department of Mass Communication, Benson Idahosa University Benin City 3 & Department of Mass Communication, Ebonyi State University. 1 2 Abstract In this study, the researchers examined the diversity of newspaper editorial frames of security issues in Nigeria and the implications they have on the nation's development objectives. Four Nigerian newspapers (the Guardian, the Sun, the Vanguard and ThisDay) were content analysed to find out frames on security issues in the years 2010 and The aim was to ascertain the predominant frames and to extrapolate on their implications for Nigeria's development objectives. The methodologies adopted include, Content analysis and the Desk Study research methods. To measure news frames regarding insecurity in Nigeria, eight categorical frames were used. They include: Conflict, Economic consequence, Moral, Human interest and the Responsibility frames, others are, Powerlessness, Paradigm change and Conspiracy frames. Researchers had developed these parameters for measuring frames in media contents in crises situations. A total of 108 editorials were analyzed. The coding was performed by two research assistants. Inter-coder reliability was tested using Cohen's kappa test which showed an overall mean coefficient of Implications and suggestions based on the results were discussed. Keywords: Newspaper Editorial, Frames, Security issues, Implications, Development objectives, Extrapolate. Introduction One of the distinguishing characteristics of nationhood is a state's ability to provide security for her citizens, defend her sovereignty and territorial integrity. Nwosu (2012) and Ringim, (2010) have argued that relative security is the minimum requirement for a nation to build a solid prosperous economy and begin the ultimate match towards social and political well being. But security, as it were, seems to have eluded Nigeria for a while now. It has been replaced by killings, fear and tension. While it will be agreed that several situations engender a state of insecurity within the country, the insecurity caused by the Boko Haram insurgence calls for academic investigation. Writing on the state of the nation vis-à-vis the Boko haram insurgence, the Economist observed: Food prices have soared in the north. Farmers are afraid to go to markets. Government salaries are paid even later than before. Funds to repair roads have disappeared. Businessmen who sell bulletproof doors for about $800 are among the few who prosper. In hospitals patients have to bring their own drugs and needles. Polio may well rise again, since immunisation has dwindled. With the police diverted, rape and robbery have shot up. Aid agencies now rarely send staff to the north. Diplomats almost never go. Southerners are also feeling the heat. In Lagos roads leading to churches, a favourite target, are often closed on Sundays. The occupancy rates of hotels in Abuja have plunged (The Economist, 29th Sept, 2012). On the other hand, analyses have shown that the role of the media in contributing to the growth and development of the society in terms of political, economic, culture, education, agriculture and social system through framing of issues is incontrovertible, etc, (Okorie and Oyedepo, 2011). One of the media genres for constructing security and development discourse, is the newspaper, which is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse Page 01

6 Social Science & Law Journal Of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., (ISSN: ) features, editorials, and advertising. Out of all these newspaper contents, this paper understudies the editorial as media's instrument for promoting development. Editorials function prominently in the expression and construction of public opinion. Scholarly studies (Clayman and Reisener, 2012; Fartousi, 2012; Golan, 2010; Ryan, 2004; Lee and Lin, 2006; Merltzer, 2007) have shown that editorials play vital role in readers' construction of opinion and thus, is a veritable tool for the direction of discourses of national prominence; however this is dependent on how such editorials are framed. The researchers therefore argue that editorial frames on security issues and the way they affect development, are issues worth investigating especially as security or lack of it, has a close relationship with determining the rate at which a country may achieve its aspirations (Emory, 2009). Statement of the problem Research shows that crises situations create dependence on the media. As such, these events allow researchers to assess the degree to which media frame news (Salwen, 1995, p. 827). Odoemelam, et al, (2012) have noted that in times of insecurity, people are apprehensive and speculative. Thus, information on what happens in and around the environment becomes a highly priced commodity. Thus, given the reliance on media during times of crisis, framing of security story can carry great influence. In the analysis of framing European issues, Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) and Golan (2010) suggest that framing may affect respondents' perceptions of risk, or political issues or institutions. On the other hand, studies have shown that insecurity compounds the problems associated with the development aspirations of developing countries of Africa (devreese and Boomgaarden's 2000; Lule, 2002; Dowling, 1986 ). A recent editorial in the Guardian newspaper captured the essence of the above assertion: There is a growing worry in international and diplomatic circles that the problem of terrorism if not conclusively attacked can cost Nigeria its promise of economic development as it may debar potential foreign investment and throw the country behind even further Applying frames to a security situation, such as the Boko Haram attacks and bombings, as this study seeks to do, may serve as a strategy with which to identify how newspaper editorials constructed the issues vis-à-vis development aspirations of the nation. The researchers argue here that, the application of framing analysis to research of opinion (Editorials) journalism is of particular salience since it allows researchers to identify the central arguments presented by the opinion writer. In view of this problem, the researchers raise the following questions: What were the patterns of frames on security issues by newspaper editorials? Which were the dominant frames? How did the editorial frames attribute responsibility for the security situations? How would these patterns of framing of security issues influence development objectives of the country? Purpose of the study Our specific purpose is to find out how newspaper editorials framed security issues and the implications they may have on development objectives of the nation. To achieve this purpose, the following objectives were outlined: 1 Ascertain the pattern of newspaper editorial frames on security issues. 2 To identify the dominant frames. 3 To find out how the frames attributed theresponsibility for security situations. 4 Examine how these frames might influence development objectives. Research questions 1 What were the patterns of frames on security issues by newspaper editorials? 2 Which were the dominant frames? 3 How did the editorial frames attribute responsibility for the security situations? 4 How would these patterns of framing of security issues influence development objectives of the country? Significance of the study This study is very important to media practice and particularly to editorials as the mouth piece of the media. Editorials capture or reflect the position of the media on important events in the polity therefore; their framing of issues in their editorial analysis is relevant to how policy actions will be taken on such issues. These results are important for mass media practitioners, crisis communication scholars, framing scholars, and organizations that are faced with a similar situation. Due to the prior literature and the results that were found in this study, there could be a link drawn within similar events of what frames are most used Page 02

7 by editorials. These results could be used for future research. Pedagogically, the teaching and learning of media and communication as a field of learning will be enriched theoretically by this study, since it will advance framing literature as well as literature in crisis communication by examining how editorials frame security crisis. Theoretical framework Framing theory This theory was propounded by Erving Goffman in in his book, framing analysis: An essay on the organization of experience. Framing theory is a key component in the study of selection and interpretation of news representation of issues. Framing affects how a story is told and influences public perception (Bullock, 2001). To grasp a better understanding of effects of frames, Cappella and Jamieson (1997) argue that frames must have identifiable conceptual and linguistic characteristics and be commonly observed in journalistic practice. Therefore, content analysis is essential to studying the effects of editorial frames of security issues on development. As Bullock (2001) observed frames are powerful, but typically unnoticed devices affecting the public's judgments of responsibility and causality. The public's lack of awareness, along with their reliance on media for information and decision-making, make them more likely to be influenced by framing (Auerbach & Bloch-Elkon, 2005; D'Angelo, 2002). Goffman assumes that the meaning of a frame has implicit cultural roots. This context dependency on media frame has been described as 'cultural resonance' (Fairhurst and Sarr,1996) or 'narrative fidelity' (Feldman, 2007). Literature Review: Conceptual and Empirical Nigeria has been plagued with various security crises recently more than any other period. Especially with the mode of Boko Haram's operations in Nigeria. The spate of bombings, sporadic shootings, killings, arson and other forms of violence has threatened security and sovereignty of the nation (Popoola, 2011:342; Obi, 2011:355). The atmosphere of insecurity currently inflicted on the nation by the Boko Haram terrorist activities, points to poor use of pre-emptive intelligence and a coherent strategy in the management of the security issues arising from it. A recent editorial in the DAILY SUN newspaper aptly captures the scenario, The recent multiple bomb attacks on three churches in Kaduna and Zaria, which killed 70 people and injured scores of others, have once again drawn attention to worsening security situation in Nigeria (Editorial SATURDAY SUN, June 23, 2012). Another editorial in the THISDAY newspaper points at the insecurity in the country and warns: While we commend the Federal government for quickly responding to the security situation in the country, we must stress that tension and incoherent maneuvers have lasted long enough and faith in the emerging new government and commitment to core national values will be permanently jeopardized by a state of insecurity (Editorial, Thisday 14th July, 2011). In times of uncertainties and emergencies, timely and transparent production and dissemination of information generates trust and credibility. Citizens, National authorities, International agencies and Humanitarian assistance organizations, the affected population will demand information in the form of data, figures, reports and situation analysis or recommendations. These stakeholders depend on this information to make decisions and to translate their interest and concern into action (Ekhareafo, 2011: ). Frame means to select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communication text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, m o r a l e v a l u a t i o n, a n d / o r t r e a t m e n t recommendation for the item described. The framing theory argues that the sender often influences the view of the receiver, the perspective from which (s)he evaluates the message. Framing effects refer to the way in which information is presented or framed in public discourse (Scheufele & Iyengar, 2010). Wettstein (2012) analysis how public attitudes and behaviors are shaped as a result of framing a subject. There are two factors that facilitate the adoption of frames (Wettstein, 2012, p 320): the accessibility of an issue, and the correlation between a subject and the audience's pre-existing opinions. In other words, framing effects are not independent. Shuck and De Vreese (2006) and Evan (2011) have established that attitudes and knowledge that exist before media exposure play an important role in determining the framing effects. Numerous empirical studies (Ryan, 2004; Fartousi, 2012; Meltzer, 2007; Brunken, 2004; Colson, 2010; Emory, 2009) have examined the framing of controversial issues in newspaper editorials concerning such topics as immigration, hate crimes, war on terror, affirmative action18 and Page 03

8 gay rights. Their research findings consistently indicated that editorial frames tend to focus on a certain set of issues and attributes while neglecting to provide readers with a balanced perspective. Several attempts by scholars have been made to define development. Common in their definitions, is the fact that, they see development as a process of social change which has as its goal the improvement of the quality of life of all or the majority of the people, without injuring he national and cultural environment in which they exist and which seeks to involve the generality (Okunna, 2004:18) Melkote and Steves, 2001:45; Ngwu, 2010; Kahn, 2012). Chike-Obi (2012:2-7) has noted that for sustainable development to be attained, there ought to be sustainability in four areas of human endeavour. They include: sustainability in Education, sustainability in personal life, sustainability in Business and sustainability in Governance. Good governance therefore means the efficient use of a nation's resources to spur growth and development. Media framing Zillman et. al (2004:1) examined news framing in American newspapers and suggested that, choosing a frame for a story would be the most consequence decision that journalists make. According to them, such conviction seems to derive from the widespread and long-standing belief that news frames give meaning to events and issues and that, when used appropriately, they instigate reader's attention and interest. Their views on the implications of framing the news, align with those of Dhavan etal (2002), who carried out a study in America titled News framing and cueing of issues regimes: Explaining Clintons public approval in spite of the sex scandal. Their study examined how president Clintons approval rating rose in spite of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and impending impeachment proceedings against the president. The researchers were interested in finding out whether Clinton's regime of high economic markers, internal security and overall job performance which several political scientist have termed Media independent variables, was responsible for the increased approval rating or if positive American media frames accounted for the rating. In testing this hypothesis, the researchers utilized the ideodynamic model which attempts to predict public approval based upon media coverage as postulated by Fan and Cook (2002). For their study, the researchers drew three types of data spanning a period of January 1993-March data source included a longitudinal content analysis of major news media, a time-trend of opinion polls on presidential job approval and monthly estimates of real disposable personal income. All three data sources were used to test their theory that, mass opinion recognizes that citizens opinions are substantially influenced by certain frames and cues contained in news coverage of key issue regime. In the final analysis, their finding showed that simple valence models of media effects do not adequately explain President Clinton's public support during the Monica Lewinsky scandal but rather, a sharp modification of extent models of media effects to account for the framing of the scandal coverage. With this done it was concluded that mass approval of Clinton was sustained and encouraged by media frames which presented the scandal in terms of attacks by conservative and critical responses by liberals. In support of their hypothesis, their study showed that citizens supports increased when they encountered coverage that framed the sex scandal in terms of the actions and accusations of conservative elites. Their findings is consistent with the theory that media frames can focus public attention on particular topics and in so doing alter the mix of cognitions that are most readily accessible when framing political judgments (Rodriquez etal, 2011; Ete, 2012' Ryan, 2004). The framing process employed by the media is regarded as key to shaping both the public's and decisions makers' knowledge, image and understanding of the world. The mass media engages in actively setting the frames of reference that audience use to understand public events. The same may also be said in insecurity situations like the Boko Haram insurgence. Scholars are particularly interested in portrayals of the insurgence and other security challenges in Nigeria. This underscores the essence of this study as it contributes to the timeliness and theoretical significance of development aspirations of Nigeria. A considerable amount of research is devoted to how media frame instability and crisis situations. For instance, Dooley and Corman (2002) studied Reuters framing of the Septembers 11 terrorist attack in America. They investigated temporal patterns of influence to determine themes and patterns in the framings. The found evidence of a stimulus response model, in which a triggering event, such as an attack, led to institutional military and or political response and Page 04

9 subsequent sense-making of the societal impact of the terrorist act. This scenario is not dissimilar with government reaction to the Boko Haram incessant bombing of churches and government buildings. Such attacks have elicited tough-talk from government and military reprisals in certain areas like Maiduguri (a capital town of Bornu State Nigeria). Scholars (Marsden, T. et al. 2007; Dijk, 1996) contend that there is a close relationship between editorials and development. Thus, the researchers argue here that the media, through editorials, could influence and direct the minds of policy makers on the right thing to do. Research methodology The researchers adopted the Content analysis and Desk Study methods of research by examining newspaper editorials to find out the pattern of editorial discourse on issues pertaining to security. As stated elsewhere in this study, editorials are very vital genre of newspaper contents that are read by literates and elites in the society and which has the potential for influencing policy decisions on development. The substantiality of communication to development goals had earlier been highlighted (Ashiekpe, 2012; Mefalopulous, 2008). For the content analysis, the universe of the study was made up of all security issues in newspapers published within the study period. Holsti, in Wimmer and Domminick (2005), defined content analysis as, any technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of messages. To study all security issues of Nigerian newspapers published during that period was too herculean. The Multi-sampling technique was used to draw the sample for this study (Wimmer and Dominick, 2012). The practical route therefore was to select a representative sample of the population based on defined criteria: the newspapers selected were daily, had wide national circulation covering all the geopolitical zones of the country (as recommended by the Bureau of Circulation Audit), Registration with the newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN). Eight newspapers (Guardian, the Sun, the Vanguard, the Punch, Tribune, New Nigerian, Champion, the Nation) met these criteria. However, the simple random sampling method was used to select four of the newspapers, which were Guardian, the Sun, the Vanguard and ThisDay newpapers. Another method for the selection would have been a cluster sampling method which would have been reflective of representation of the geopolitical zones of the nation as is done in several newspaper content analysis. But since the study is not studying the influence of origin or ownership on the frames, that aspect was overlooked. To select a sample of the editorial issues on security and to avoid systematic bias in the sampling procedure- a major factor in sampling issues in content analysis, was put into consideration (Wimmer and Dominick, 2012:157). It was observed that, editorials, even though they appear every day in the news, do not express opinion on issues except there is an incidence. Two months (January and April) in the years 2010 and 2011 were selected to be studied. The justification is that, these months witnessed high cases of crises and insecurity like post election killings and bombings (It should be recalled that it was in January 2010 that The U.S labeled Nigeria a Terrorist state, while the month of April was the period of the Jos crises in the North central geopolitical region of Nigeria. January 2011 signaled the commencement of bombings by the Boko Haram in Nigeria, while April 2011, witnessed the carnage of post presidential election killings in the Northern part of Nigeria. In all, four months were studied. The population therefore, was 488 comprising 248 issues for the month of January in 2010 and 2011, for the four newspapers and 240 issues for the month of April in 2010 and 2011 for the four newspapers. Nwana's (2005) Percentage sampling method was used to draw a sample size of issues at 22% level. Schematically: 488*22%. To achieve an even number, this was approximated to 108 issues. The proportional sampling method was further used to distribute a total of 27 issues to each newspaper, i.e 108/4 = 27. (The source of the sampled newspapers, was the Newspaper Section, Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.). Page 05

10 Table 1: showing actual issues on Security in the Newspapers studied Newspaper ThisDay Vanguard January 2010 Days 7,19,12 Sun 25,26,6,22,8 Guardian January 2011 Days April 2010 Days (Source: Researchers' content analysis, 2012) April 2011 Days ,21, ,14,12,,20 25,8,31, 11,13, 18,9,4,20,1 Framing categories and their variables The Iyengar & Kinder, 1987 and Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000 category system was adopted to meet the specific need of the study. In line with Wimmer and Dominick (2012:145), there must be an existing slot into which every unit of analysis can be placed in a content analysis, five general and three issue-specific categorical frames were used. The generic frames include, Conflict, Economic consequence, Moral, Human interest and the Responsibility frames, the issue-specific frames include Powerlessness, Paradigm change and Conspiracy frames. These categories were designed to measure the frames in crises or security discourse. Conflict frame: This frame emphasizes conflict between individuals, groups, or institutions as a means of capturing audience interest. E.g Does the editorial reflect disagreement between the army, arm of government, region? Does the editorial refer to two sides or to more than two sides of the security issue? Does the editorial reflect disagreement between religions? The editorial discusses how party-individual-group-region criticize another? Kappa's inter-coder reliability score for this frame category was 0.71 Human interest frame: This frame brings a human face or an emotional angle to the presentation of an event, issue, or problem. E.g Does the editorial provide a human example or human face on the issue? Does the editorial employ adjectives that generate feelings of outrage, empathy caring, sympathy or compassion? Does the editorial emphasize how individuals and groups are affected by the security crises? This frame had an inter-coder reliability of 0.72 Economic consequences frame: This frame reports an event, problem, or issue in terms 13, of the consequences it will have economically on an individual, group, institution, region, or country. E.g Did the editorial analyze the financial loses to regions or the country as a result of the security crises? Is there a mention of the cost/degree of expense involved? Is there a reference to economic consequences of pursuing or not pursuing a course of action? Is there a mention of how the security crises will hamper Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)? Is there a mention of how development has stagnated due to the security crises? The inter-coder reliability score was 0.71 Morality frame: This frame puts the event, problem, and issue in the context of religious tenets or moral prescriptions. E.g Does the editorial make reference to moral consequences of the killings and destructions? Does the editorial show that the security crises will result in distrust among regions and religions? Does the editorial offer specific social prescriptions about how to behave? Does the editorial mention that killing and bombing is evil in the sight of God and man? It had an inter-coder reliability score of.78 Attribution of responsibility frame: This frame presents an issue or problem in such a way as to attribute responsibility for its cause or solution to either the government or to an individual or group. E.g Does the editorials suggest that some level of government has the ability to solve the problem? Does the editorial suggest that some level of the government is responsible for the issue/problem? Does the editorial suggest solution(s) to the problem/issue? Does the editorial suggest that an individual, group, region or religion is responsible for the issue/problem? The inter-coder reliability score was 0.71 Powerlessness frame frames: This frame portrays the government as being unable to handle the security issue in the country. It points to the fact that the centre might not hold since there was chaos and pandemonium. E.g Does the editorials suggest ineptitude and will power on the part of the government to handle Nigeria's security issues? Does the editorial point out that Nigeria was falling apart? The inter-coder reliability score was.71 Paradigm change frame: Does the editorial advocate for a shift in the procedure of handling security issues in Nigeria? Does the editorial suggest a change in the previous development focus? The inter-coder reliability score was 0.72 Conspiracy frame: Does the editorial point to the security crises as conspiracy to stagnate Page 06

11 development in the country? Does the editorial highlight conspiracy to economically sabotage the country? The inter-coder reliability score was 0.70 Units of analysis are crucial to proper content analysis. Therefore, every editorial article found on the editorial page formed the unit of analysis. Also, the captions on every cartoon on the editorial page formed a unit of analysis. In coding the content of the editorials every editorial in the selected sample was read through to see if they made reference to the security issue in Nigeria. Other genres of newspaper contents were not analyzed except editorials. Two coders were used for the study (one non-researcher coder and one researcher coder). The coders were trained for a period of two days covering a total of 3 hours by the authors (i.e, 1 hour, 30 minutes for each day). The Coding Guide, also known as the Code Book (a book containing explanations of the categories and instructions on their meanings and how to code them.) was used as the resource material for the training of the coders. This was necessary to ensure that the coders had understanding of the subject matter and what they were expected to code (Wimmer and Dominick, 2011).To collect the data from the sample, a Code Sheet was prepared in line with the coding Guide with instructions to the Coders on how to fill in the extracted data. The study randomly selected 10% of the stories of this study's sample for each coder to analyze. To ensure that the level of agreement between the coders did not occur by chance, the entries coded were subjected to an inter-coder reliability test, using Cohen Kappa's formula (Etim, 2006:7). Intercoder reliability was For the desk study, an in-depth review of literature on subject matter was done based on a sample of empirical research published in Englishlanguage, peer-reviewed journals. Inagaki (2006) referred to this method as Desk Study Method of research. The following criteria were used to select articles for review: (1) articles published in peerreviewed academic journals in the last five years ( ); (2) articles dealing with, Newspaper Framing, Crises security issues like Boko Haram, Newspaper Editorials, etc. within the context of development goals and (3) articles providing substantive evidence linking editorial communication initiative to measurable impacts on development objectives. Inagaki (2006), adopted this method in his study, Communicating the Impact of Communication for Development: Recent Trends in Empirical Research. Data analysis All framing variables used in this study were determined after reading and analyzing each editorial. There were a total of Eight (8) frames and a total of 27 variables for the frames. Out of the 108 samples examined, only 28 (25.9%) of the editorials expressed opinion on the security situation in the country. This showed that the overall level of editorial comments on security issues in Nigeria were poor (25.9%). This was in the face of daunting security challenges like the Terrorist State labeling of Nigeria by the Washington, and other security issues like, the Jos killings in January 2010, the post election massacres in April 2011 and the Boko Haram Bombings that commenced in January Below is the collation of data on each of the frames and the percentage scores of each frame factor. Table 2: Showing a Summary Categories and Variables of Frequency and Percentage of Framing Framing Indices Frequency Percentage% Conflict Frame Index 14 56%*** Human Interest Frame Index 7 36% Economic Consequences Frame 8 32% Morality Frame Index 10 40% Attribution of Responsibility Frame Index 21 84%* Powerlessness Frame 16 64%** Paradigm Change 5 20% Conspiracy Frame 13 52% (Source: Researchers' content analysis, 2012) The first research question asked what the patterns of frames on security issues by newspaper editorials were. The study showed that the frames in this study reflected the patterns of previous studies like Iyengar and Kinder (1987) and Semetko & Valkenburg (2000) but did not follow their ordering. The percentage for each frame is shown above. All the frames, Conflict, Economic consequence, Moral, Human interest and the Responsibility frames, Powerlessness, Paradigm change and Conspiracy frames where present in the study. Findings show that the study modeled Iyengar and Kinder (1987) and Semetko & Valkenburg (2000) framing categories. However, while the ordering of the frames in Semetko & Valkenburg (2000) showed Human interest, Conflict, Economic etc in that order, this study ordered attribution of responsibility powerlessness, Page 07

12 Morality and conspiracy. The second research question focused on knowing which of the frames were dominant. As the study show, the attribution of responsibility frame was predominant (84%) in the editorials studied, while other frames like powerlessness (64%),Conflict (56%) and Conspiracy (52%) frames, came second third and fifth respectively. This differs from Papacharassi and Oliveira's (2008) findings which stated that most newspaper report on security crises would adopt episodic and thematic frames. However, Dooley and Corman (2002) studied the September 11 Reuters coverage and found that a stimulus response frame, was prominent. Also, while conspiracy frame had a significant percentage in this study (52%), other studies like Haes (2003) have shown that in a security situation involving terrorists' acts, newspaper opinion should champion the cause for international cooperation in addressing the crises rather than alluding to conspiracy theory. The third research question was interested in knowing how the editorial frames attributed responsibility for the security situation. It was important to investigate this aspect because, the attribution of responsibility as framed by the editorials, will deter mine how intragovernmental/intra-agency and inter-group efforts could be pooled together and thus give the impression that things were not out of hand and could be brought to control. However, the attribution of responsibility as this study show was such that could be harmful to any effort the government and groups are making to bring the situation to order. The study showed that the editorials emphasized this frame (84%) more than any other frame. While others lay the blame on the federal government, others alluded to religious bigotry and others to the imbalance in the resources of the nation. The final research question asked, How would these patterns of framing of security issues influence development objectives of the country? To respond to this research question, reference is made to the works of Kuypers (2009); Acholonu (2012) Odoemelam and Adibe (2012); Ekwueme and Akpan (2012) and Itek and Oke (2012). Kuypers offers an understanding of the fact that the manner of frame goes a long way in determining negative or positive response to the issue, "Framing encourages the facts of a given situation to be interpreted by others in a particular manner. He mentioned four ways in which frames operate: they define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgments, and suggest remedies (Kuypers, 2009) and we note here that, frames that suggest remedy, will create the stimulus required for economic, political and social advancement. We also refer to the words of Seymour Topping (Quoted in Ekwueme and Akpan, 2012) there is an agreement in our profession that the press has furnished enough facts. The question at issue is whether the press has provided the understanding of what those facts mean to enable the citizenry to cope with the problems confronting them. We argue that, since editorials are written to elicit action from citizens, investors and policy makers, etc, the manner of the framing of such issues will influence the corresponding response or action. Summary, conclusion and future research propositions The researcher focused on newspaper editorial frames of security issues in Nigeria. We operationalized security issues as events or occurrences that might disturb the peace, lead to loss of lives, cause damage to properties and prevent prospective investors from desiring to carry out their businesses in Nigeria. We also operationalized editorial comments on such issues as newspaper opinion on such disruptive occurrences. The method adopted for the study included quantitative (content analysis) and qualitative (Desk study) methods. Findings showed that the overall level of editorial comments on security issues in Nigeria were poor 25.9%. This was in the face of daunting security challenges like the Terrorist State labeling of Nigeria by the Washington, and other security issues like, the Jos killings in January 2010, the post election massacres in April 2011 and the Boko Haram Bombings that commenced in January There are always a number of ways in which this research can be extended and improved upon. Future research could reveal how news framing influence public perception of a united Nigeria. Others could examine the political-economy of editorial frames of crisis situations in Nigeria. Also, In order to provide a more complete picture of how mass media frame security issues, researchers could conduct a content analysis of either radio or television news commentaries. Page 08

13 Recommendation Drawing from the findings of this study, the study recommends that; Newspaper editorials should take into consideration the development implications of their framing of security issues in Nigeria. In this regard the major motivation should be communication for development. References Acholonu, R. (2012). Terrorism and mass media public information role. The Media, Terrorism and Political communication in Nigeria. Nigeria: ACCE. Brunken, B. (2009).Hurricane Katrina: A content analysis of media framing, attribute agendasetting, and tone of government response. Communication Theses, department of Mass communication. Louisiana State University. Clayman, E. and Reisner, A. (2012). Gatekeeping in action: Editorial conferences and assessments of newsworthiness. American Sociological Review, Vol. 63, No. 2 Colson,A. (2010). Framing Autism causes and prevalence: A Content analysis of television evening news coverage through April Communication Theses, Dept of communication, Georgia State University. De Vreese, C. (2005) 'News framing: Theory and typology', Information Design Journal + Document Design 13(1), Dowling, R.E. (1986) 'Terrorism and the media: A rhetorical genre', Journal of Communication 36(1): Ekueme, C. & Akpan, C. (2012). Mass media and Boko Haram insurrection: A call for reportorial paradigm shift. The Media, Terrorism and Political communication in Nigeria. Nigeria: ACCE. Emory, D. (2009). A game that cannot be won: Media framing of the duke lacrosse rape scandal. Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg Virginia. Etim, A. (2007). The influence of geo-political affiliations on newspapers' coverage of national issues. International Journal of Communication. Communication Studies forum. Vol. 6. May Issue. Evans, T. (2011). The crisis in the Euro area. International Journal of Labor Research, 3.1, Fairhurst, T. and Sarr, A. (1996). The art of framing: Managing the language of leadership. USA: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Fartousi, F. (2012). A rhetorical analysis of a daily editorial: 'Wishing Iraq well'. Advances in Asian Social Science, Vol. 1, No. 2, June Feldman, J. (2007). Framing the debate: Famous Presidential speeches and how progressives Page 09

14 can use them to control the conversation and win elections. Brooklyn, NY: IG Publishing. Golan J. (2010). Editorials, Op-ed columns frame medical marijuana debate. Newspaper Research Journal, Vol. 31, No. 3. Haes, J. (2003). September 11 in Germany and the United States: Reporting, reception and interpretation. Crises Communications: Lessons from September 11. MD: Rowman & Littlefield Itek, M. & Oke, R. (2012). Human rights, terrorism and the centrality of the media in a multicultural environment. The Media, Terrorism and Political communication in Nigeria. Nigeria: ACCE. Lee, F. and Lin A. (2006).Newspaper editorial discourse and the politics of selfcensorship in Hong Kong. Journal of discourse and Society, Vol 17(3): T h o u a s n d O a k s : S a g e Publications. Lule, J. (2002) 'Myth and terror in the editorial page: The New York Times responds to September 11, 2001', Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly 79(2): Merltzer, K. (2007). Newspaper editorial boards and the practice of endorsing candidates for political office in the United States. Thousand Oaks: Sage publications. Odoemelam, C. et al. (2012). Influence of the Boko Haram security threat in Nigeria on the level of interest in mainstream media news. Paper presented at the International Conference on Security and Development in Africa. Anambra State Univeristy. 4-6 June, Odoemelam C. & Adibe, N. (2012). The role of social media in political conflicts and political communication in Africa. The Media, Ter rorism and Political communication in Nigeria. Nigeria: ACCE. Okorie, N. and Oyedepo, T. (2011). Newspaper reportage and its effect towards promoting agricultural development in Nigeria. Journal of Media and Communication Studies Vol. 3(2), pp Ryan, M. (2004). Framing the war against terrorism. US newspaper editorials and military action in Afghanistan. The International Journal for Communication Studies. Vol 66(5): Schuck, T. & De Vreese, H. (2006). Between risk and opportunity: News framing and its effects on public support for EU enlargement. European Journal of Communication 21:5, Semetko, A. & Valkenburg, P. (2000) Framing European politics: A content analysis of press and television news, Journal of Communication 52(2), Townsend, P. (2007).The right to social security and national development: Lessons from OECD experience for low-income countries. London School of Economics. Wettstein, M. (2012). Frame adoption in referendum campaigns: The effect of news coverage on the public salience of issue interpretations. American Behavioral Scientist 56(3), Wimmer, R. & Dominick, J. (2011). Mass media research: An introduction. New York: Routledge. Wimmer, R. and Dominick, J. (2005). Mass media research: An introduction. 8th (ed.) Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Dooley, K. and Corman, S. (2002). The dynamics of electronic media coverage. Communication and Terrorism: Public and media Responses to 9/11. New Jersey: Hampton Press. Page 10

15 FEDERAL CHARACTER PRINCIPLE AND ITS EFFECT ON NIGERIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY OKWOLI, D.M., OYIDI, C.M. & EBILOMA, J.A. Department of Public Administration, Kogi State University, Anyigba Nigeria. Abstract The central and state governments stand to each other in a relationship of meaningful independence resting upon a balance division of powers and resources. Each must have powers and division of powers and resources. Each must have powers and resources sufficient to support the structure of a functioning government able to stand on its own against the other. In Nigeria, the issue of ethnicity in recruitment and selection into administrative positions is very central and sensitive. It is against this background that this paper seeks to examine the issue of plural balance in Nigeria. This paper is set to explain the concepts of Federal character, Principle and Public Administration, Group Theory as conceptual framework and identify the problems. The paper concludes that Federal characters principles properly done can become a motto for wide social change. KEYWORDS: Federal character, principle, public, administration and public administration Introduction Concern has for a long time been given to the need to ensure representative executive in the federal government that reflect the heterogeneity of the politics with a view to ensuring that, no section is dominated as to loosing any sense of belonging. This has its origin in American from the Calhoun's doctrine of concurrent majority as quoted by Fisher (1962:58) that there is the need for every group and interest in a federal system to be represented in the decision making machinery. In Africa, the issue of ethnicity in recruitment and selection into administrative positions is very central and sensitive. According to Kashir, (1976:49). Policies that ignore the presumed ethnic membership of officials may only exacerbate in imbalance where members of one or more ethnic units have educational and economic advantages due to differential mobilization. This however reduces stability by introducing a Civil Service or Armed Forces issues into politics. Following the same line of argument, Rothschild (1969:605) also posits that political stability is encouraged by the practice of ethnic arithmetic the appointment to public offices: without such deliberate policy, government top positions in the bureaucracy and other institutions are most likely to be Filled by the most qualified which not only give a notion of domination if the most qualified persons from only a section, group, state in the federation but also alienated others who are excluded from such positions on the ground of non-qualification. It is against this back ground that this paper seeks to examine the issue of plural balancing alternatively refers to as the federal character principles in Nigeria. For clear understanding and to put the paper in perspective, the concepts of federal character principle and public administration will be explained in the second segment of this paper. The third segment will be devoted to theoretical frame work. The next segment will cover the federal character principle in Nigeria. The fifth segment will identify the problems after which we shall consider the conclusion and recommendations. References will take the last segment. Clarification of concepts Federal character principle The term federal character principles lacks a universally acceptable definition. It is in fact mostly explained than defined. It is also used in different places with different names but the same meaning. In America, it is called affirmative action and is explained to mean that employers and other Page 11

16 institutions must take positive steps to remedy the effects of past discrimination against minorities and women (Remi, 1993:214). He further Explained the affirmative action to mean the ensuring of adequate representation of geographical, class, ethnic communal, religious and other such interest (Remi, 1993:185). In Nigeria however, this is variously referred to as ethnic balancing, quota system or federal character principles. It was clearly explained in the 1979 constitution section 14 (3). That: The composition of government at the federal as any of its agencies shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few state or from a few ethnic group or other sectional group in that government or any of its agencies. Thus, the federal character principle provision of 1979 constitution gave legal backing to the use of ethnic quota in recruitment at various levels and sectors of national life. Which ever name that is used, the aim is to ensure national unity and loyalty. Public Administration One can find a wide variety of definitions of public administration, but the following are among the most serious influential efforts to define the field. Carson and Haris (1978) define public administration as the action part of government, the means by which the purposes and goals of government are realized. Pfifner and Presthus (1978) say that public administration as a field is mainly concerned with the means for implementing political values Waldo (1978) argues that: The process of pubic administration consists of the action involved in effecting the intent or desire or a government, it is thus the continuously active, business parts of government concerned with carrying out the law as made by legislative bodies (or other authoritative agents) and interpreted by the courts through the process of organization and management. Felix and Nigro (1978) consider public administration on a wider range, in their view public administration is (a) a co-operative group efforts in a public setting; (b) covers all three brandies-executive, legislative and judicial-and their memberships; (c) has an important role in the formulation of public policy, and is thus, part of the political process; (d) is different in significant ways from private administration; and (e) is closely associated with numerous private groups and individuals. It can be seen that there are variety of definition of public administration with their myriad nuance. One can then conclude that the definitions of public administration are indeed mind paralyzing. Also that the subject public administration does not exist; rather it means different things to different people or observers and lacks a common meaning. In this paper however the conclusion is that, public administration is every where. This is because; it overlaps a number of other disciplines including political science, sociology, and economics among others. Theoretical frame work Our understanding of the nature of social sciences and concepts reveals that, they represent various ways in which scholars attempt to explain socio-political phenomena. This paper attempts the use of group and elite theories. Group theory has its intellectual roots in the doctrine of pluralism as developed in the 20 th century by English scholars like Figgis, Maitland and Cole (Varma 1982:161). These theorists established that, rather than the individual or the society, emphasis should be on groups as the basic unit in the study of political phenomenon (Olanlyi 2001:92). Central to the understanding of group theory is the concept of interest which can be explained as a share attitude concerning a claim or claim to be made by one group upon certain other group in the social system (Olanlyi 2001:92). To Truman as quoted in olanyi (2001:93) conflict do ensure among the groups as a result of ceaseless struggle to protect their interest The theory assumes that: (1) society is nothing other than the complex groups that compose it (2) the study of groups activities in the society will show the whole picture of the society (3) group exert pressure on decision makers to ensure the betterment of their members. The elite literary on the other hand has the founding father as Pareto, Mosca, Michel and Lasswell etc. varma (1982:153) defines elite as the small minorities who appear to play an exceptionally influential part in political and society Page 12

17 affairs. This is a class analysis in the selected few who are capable and therefore have the right to supreme leadership and the vast masses who are destined to be rule (Olanlyi, 2001:89). The theory assumes that: (1) All men love power (2) Men are not all endowed alike (3) inequality rather than equality in the social form is observed everywhere (4) Government in a democracy is certainly for the people but had never been and will never be by the people but by the minority of people (Varma 1982:156) Federal character principle in Nigeria To present a well assimilated view, this paper traces the issue of federal character principle from colonial time. Historically, the southern part of Nigeria had an unmitigated initial advantage in terms of exposure to modernization, especially western education which facilitated their superiority over the north in terms of access to top government positions base solely on merits (Kashfir, 1976). In the later year of colonial rule, this fact generated a lot of apprehension on the part of Northern leaders that independence would means southern domination. This concern dates back to the regionalization of public service. Following the adoption of the regionalized federal constitution in 1954 (Osaghae 1988:25). In filling the vacancies created in the federal public services by those who left to the regional services, the issue of ethno-regional representation particularly Northern representation became a high sensitive and volatile one. It was Nothernization public services that facilitate this development. According to Osaghae, (1988:25), by mid 1954, there were only nine (9) Nigerians in the administrative establishment out of 582 staff of w h i c h n o n e w a s a n o r t h e r n e r. Even though by 1952, the Philip/Adebo commission had reiterated the need for efficiency in the civil service through the employment of first class personnel who satisfied the high entry requirement, the need for a Federal Character Public Service require Northern representation. Given the educational disadvantage of the North, standards were sometimes lowered. This problem was great especially as the North comprised about 55 percent of the federation's population (Ohanbamu, 1968). Shortly before and after independence, given the northern control of the federal government which under the majority rule system, their preponderant population entitled them to, deliberate efforts began to be made to balance the northern representation in federal government institutions. 1960, the committee on Nigerianization presented its recommendation and the federal government accepted it that everything should be done to increase the number of northern representation in the federal public service (Kwanashi 2004). This was based on the premise as explained by Ohanbamu (1966:130) that: If merit and merit alone constitute the yard stick for appointment to all jobs. Including board appointments and award of scholarship, one would reach a position in which most jobs would naturally go to the most enterprising of the Nigerian tribes. So with a view to providing for these and other less dynamic groups in the federation, equity must be involved in their favor where they might have been sacrificed at the alter of meritocracy. The quota system of recruitment introduced into the Nigerian army must be followed into the government bodies so far as it is consistent with figure standard maintenance so that every tribe is reasonably and adequately represented.., Under the military regime of Ironsi, there was the unification of the public service and Northerners reacted to this because of their educational backwardness in terms of recruitment and promotions. The then military governor of Northern Nigeria as quoted by Osagbae (1988:24) has this to say: Naturally, all the Nigerians want to see that, employment is based on merit, but at the same time, we must recognize that if the merit system alone is the only criterion; certain parts of the country which are educationally backward will suffer. For this reason, the national government intends to give special consideration to the more backward areas. The result of the polarization of the military was a continuation of political relay in Nigeria and the 1966 counter coup was justified thus the main purpose of the coup was to force a return to ethnic balance within the military which was the institution that form the government (Osaghae, 1977:27). Since 1979, the principle has been enshrined in all the constitutions with the aim to ensure that Nigeria, affairs are not dominated by persons from few state. Wit this enunciation of Federal Character Principle, politicians and ethnic champions as well as ethnic entrepreneurs now watch assiduously every aspect of life to make sure that they are not denied any possible benefit arising Page 13

18 from the implementation of the concept. Hence, demand has arisen over the citing of industries by government, building roads, hospitals, schools in conformity with the principle. For instance, the iron and steel project was delayed over the demand for balancing in the location of significant national projects (Hamalai, 1994). By the time the federal character commissions was established by Decree No 34 of 1998, this powers including the powers to prosecute heads of Ministries and parastatals for failing to carry out its instruction (section4,(1)) were enormous and the scope of its operations had been extended beyond governmental bureaucracies to address the inequalities in social services and infrastructural development, along with the inequalities in the private sector. It also had to (a) work out a formula further redistribution of jobs and (b) to establish, by administrative fiat the principle of proportionality within the federal civil service (Federal Character Commission 1996:30). Though, it argued that the commission must not be used as a lever to elevate the incompetence or associated with lowering of standards (Federal Character Principle, 1996:30-31). It nevertheless, established that within the federal civil service, the indigenes of any state shall not constitute less than 2.5% or more than 3% of the total positions available including junior staff at the Head office (Federal Character Commission 1996:33). Chan (2002: xiii) however, avers that; the commission leaned heavily towards one model the quota model at the expense of others. In the end, the principles have not succeeded in rather to the imbalance among the various ethnic formations in Nigeria. The sociopolitical and economic gap has persisted and in some cases has even widened. Presently, the Federal Character Principle has taken dimension of six geo-political zoning at the federal level, this is in conformity with the view of the Constitutional Drafting Committee, 1975 as quoted in Osaghae that; the Ibo Man is an Ibo Man, the Hausa Man is a Hausa Man.many areas have their identify and they are proud of it. They will tell you one Nigeria, one country, but inwardly, they want this government in the symbolism of their own people. They will say yes, we want this government in the symbolism of their own people. They will say yes, we want to be great, we want to join others we are Nigerians but please in that Nigerians but please in that Nigerian process, let my person have it. (Osaghae, 1988). Problems of federal character principles and Nigerian Public Administration The paper tries to point out some of the strategies adopted for the implementation of the federal character principles like the ethnic quota system in JAMB, State creation, citing of industries, schools, hospitals, and roads etc which in the end do not succeed. Various reasons account for this lack of success. Some of which are as follow: Firstly, various policies of federal character principle address largely the problems of the elite, especially those seeking public office as well as the problem of their children seeking admission into public schools. In other words, they address the problem of those who have migrated into capitals activities or the so called ruling elites. They say nothing whatsoever about the need of those outside. This makes public administration in Nigeria less public. Secondly, quota system policies emphasize the political realm. The public sector becomes the arena of competition for advantages and benefits as such ethnic or regional or state faction of elite schemes to advance its own interest. Very little effort is made at the social life to encourage this competition and to extend it to the masses or their people. Hence for example as the Hausa-Fulani elites have fought and gained access to the public positions in the federal public service, their masses are watching helplessly as they are enjoying their benefit of quota system. Thirdly, is the implementation of the policies by the elite of the same groups-ethnic or regional-which stand to benefit from them. In terms of the balance of power in a federal government charged with the implementing most of these policies, the elites of these regions are the ones to interpret and implement them. Unfortunately, the North that has advantage in terms of size is the most disadvantaged. In USA for instance where affirmative action is available for disadvantaged communities, the administrators of such programmes benefit at all levels. The critical question in Nigeria is whether restraint or caution of the types shown elsewhere in the administration of affirmative action is possible. The elites mistake their class aspiration for a greater share of power and its benefits as the interest of the masses. Fourthly, the strategy for quota system is to level down rather than up. In effect, some of the groups must reduce their pace of development in order that others may catch up. In one of the least developed countries of the world where the Page 14

19 overwhelming population of the people of the various groups are extremely poor, it is absurd to adopt this attitude. It runs the risk of dampening ethno-regional attempt at innovative orientation and hard work which are tenets of good public administration. Fifthly, by switching emphasis from opportunities to privileges and benefits, the policy has become an instrument for regulating appointment, promotion, retention of tenure, covering up the malpractices and avoiding termination of services. Instead of posing challenges, they confer leisure on the beneficiaries. Under this condition, the incentive for progress through hard work is stultified. Sixthly, quota system has promoted an attitude which is disdainful of excellence as a value. Emphasis is put on having the right connections. People are not judged by what they are able to accomplish but by those they know who can speak on their behalf. This has led to the politicization of the public bureaucracy destroying in the process whatever integrity, standards, excellence and professionalism that were handed down from the past. However, excellence is the basis for development especially of the disadvantaged groups. Seventhly, federal character principle is a conduit for the waste of resources through the duplication of industries in the same line production. This makes them to function below capacity, unable to take advantage of economic of scale thus making them inefficient in their productive activities. In the end, no impact is made on the Nigerian public administration positively. Lastly, measures taken in execution of quota system in Nigerian public administration damage the prospects of creating a common citizenship for the country capable of ensuring mobility of people, capital, labour and other factors of production. Thus, the emergence of a cosmopolitan society based on the mixing of persons of different cultures which are associated with flexibility in adopting modern knowledge as well as the organic solidarity that ensure political stability and national unity is frustrated. Summary and Recommendations The paper has tried to look at the federal character principle and its place in the development of public administration in Nigeria. Key concepts were clarified, and analysis of the subject made based on the elite group theories. With this, the paper traces the issues of federal character principle from colonial to the present day Nigeria. The effects on the Nigerian public administration were discussed strictly on the theories used. The paper recommends that, with the present practice of the principle in Nigeria, the future looks bleak. This if not corrected will make public administrative environment a steaming jungle of daft brains that lacks any attempt at improvement. The principle of quota system itself has no problem; it is the practice in Nigeria that is frustrating. There is no unit, ethnic group or state in Nigeria that is devoid of capable and innovative thinkers. These people are the ones to enjoy the benefit of this principle as practiced in USA. Emphasis should be placed on merit in the award of scholarship which is the only possible way to balance up the imbalance that is reflected in the appointment that in turn leads to the lowering of standard. The above can only be possible if the ruling elite's class or rulership suicide and start looking inward in attempt to balance up the development process in Nigeria that leads to national unity The Federal Character Commission has a particular responsibility for managing the shortterm agenda. All the deficiencies of the arithmetic quota noted in this analysis, form the bias in favour of the majority ethnic groups to the limited concern for merit within the state and the insufficient attention to ensuring a measure of fairness across states should be addressed. There is no reason why candidates currently disaggregated by state of origin cannot be further disaggregated by qualifications and experience, gender, ethnicity; religion and urban or rural residence to ensure that most qualified and the most diverse candidates are chosen from each state. The comfort zone of the simple arithmetic quota is fast becoming a liability which needs to be addressed in conjunction with the National Assembly. The Federal Character Commission can also ensure a greater openness and transparency in its operations. It is particularly disappointing that no work has been done yet on the persistence of deep socioeconomic inequalities in the country. Since federal rules stipulates, that junior posts (Level 01-06) should be filled with candidate from the catchment area of the federal establishment, the federal character principle has been effectively reduced to senior service or elites posts from level 07 and Page 15

20 above. This concern with elite political and bureaucratic interest to the detriment of issues that affect the wider population such as health, education and livelihood undermines the moral claims of those advocating for the federal character principle. For instance, in South Africa and Malaysia, the quota system was about transferring wealth to the disadvantaged elites and improving the socio-economic circumstances of majority of the disadvantaged enabling them to perform better in open competition (Cahn, 2002). In the long run, Nigeria also needs an exit strategy from affirmative action. Currently, federal character is about sharing existing educational and bureaucratic facilities. This narrow emphasis on sharing the cake glosses over Nigeria's social history communal and regional groups who strove to overcome educational and social disadvantage through collective action. Unfortunately, Nigeria contemporarily is driven by a concept of citizenship that is almost entirely above entitlements (Cahn, 2002). In final analysis, every segment of Nigeria society has responsibility to contribute to eradicating the structural inequalities. The challenge is to develop policy with the right mix of encouragement, information, support and sanctions to ensure that every segment plays its rightful part. Federal Character Principles properly done can become motor for wider social change by having self perpetuating positive effects on employment and economic growth, even when the initial policy prop has been relaxed. The initial opportunity matters and the responsibility falls on Federal Character Commission to provide this in the most fair and efficient manner. References Boston, T. (1999) Affirmative Action and Black Entrepreneurship. London: Routledge. Cahn, S.M (2002) Introduction in Cahn, S.M. (ed) The Affirmative Action Debate New York: Routledge. Federal Character Commission (1996) First Annual Report. Abuja: FCC. Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999). The Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria Abuja: Federal Government Printers. Fischer, J. (1994) Perquisite of Balance in Macmahon; A. (ed) Federalism: Mature and Emergent. New York: Russen and Reusell. Hamalai L. (1994) Distribution of Industrial Enterprises in Nigeria and National unity in Mahadi et al (eds) Nigerian, the state of Nation and the way Forward Kaduna: Arewa House. Kashfir N. (1976) The Shrinking Political Arena. Berkely: University of California Press. Kwanashie, G (2002) The Making of the North in Nigeria: Kadnua: Arewa House. Ohonbamu, O. (1968). The Psychology of the Nigerian Revolution. Devon: Stockwell. Olanyi J.O. (2002) Introduction to Contemporary Political Analysis. Ibadan: Fapsony Publishers. Osaghae, E. (1988) Federal Society and Federal Character: The Politics of Plural Accommodation in Nigeria since Independence in Uma, E. (ed) Nigeria; The First 25 years. Lagos: Infodata Ltd. Pfifner (1978) Public Administration. in Houghton, M (ed) Public Administration: Concepts and Cases. Boston: Mifflin. Remy, R.C. (1993) United State Government Democracy in Action. Texas: Macmillan. Rothschild, D. (1969) Ethnicity and Conflict Resolution in World Politics Volume xxii. Varma, S.P (1982) Modern Political Theory. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. Page 16

21 RELIGION AND MARITAL STABILITY IN ATYAP ETHNIC NATIONALITY OF KADUNA STATE HELEN N. AVONG Faculty of Social and Management Sciences Bauchi State University Gadau Abstract This study, using the institutional perspective and the particularistic theology hypothesis, aims at examining the role religion plays in determining marital stability and remarriage which had been found to positively affect fertility among the Atyap. Data obtained in 1995 from 600 Atyap women aged years in randomly selected dwellings in Kaduna State, Nigeria show, in multiple regression analyses, that there is significant difference in marriage disruption either by death or by divorce and separation between Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) and Non-ECWA (Catholic, Anglican and Baptist). Since this study reveals the Christian Church is serving to curb marital instability rather than her doctrine of monogamy increasing it among the Atyap, there is the need for more intrafaith studies in other communities in Nigeria to investigate the role religious factors play in influencing marital stability and dissolution which is one of the determinants of the health status of women. Keywords: marriage stability, divorce and separation, widowhood, religion, Atyap Introduction The patterns of marriage stability or disruption influence fertility levels through their effect on exposure to sexual intercourse. Therefore, where marriages remain highly stable, fertility can be expected to be high resulting in rapid population growth and consequently, very slow or retarded national development (National Population Commission [NPC], 2001). Studies on the relation between marital stability or disruption and fertility show that Nigerian women, including the Atyap, whose first marriages remain intact, tend to have higher fertility than those who have had their marriages disrupted (Isiugo-Abanihe, 1994; Isiugo-Abanihe, Ebigbola & Adewuyi, 1993; Avong 2001). The lower fertility of women in multiple marriages is attributed partly to shorter marital duration or reduced pregnancy risks (Burch 1983; Isiugo-Abanihe 1994:4). Disrupted marriages may also have lower fertility because, regardless of how soon remarriage takes place after divorce, women who experience marital disruption are more likely to experience lower frequency of sexual intercourse before the disruption. However the issue of direction of causation in the relationship between marital disruption and fertility arises where sterility or subfecundity often results in marital disruption, as in many Nigerian sociocultural groups (Isiugo- Abanihe, 1998) but this is not highly relevant to the Atyap among whom sterility is extremely rare (Avong, 2001). Various perspectives have attempted to explain the main factors responsible for differentials in fertility behaviour, including marital stability and remarriage. While modernisation perspectives, including the classical demographic transition, maintain that economic development and social change in African societies result in changes in their cultures and social institutions which subsequently change the internalised values concerning the cultural and social supports which reshape fertility behaviour. With respect to marital stability, the modernisation perspectives hypothesise that the erosion of the extended family system destabilises marriages: as spouses become more individualistic and less tolerant of one another, marital instability increases (see Caldwell and Caldwell (1987:428-9, Malhotra et al. 1994). The institutional perspectives (see McNicoll (1975, 1994, Hull 1987, Smith 1988) speculate that it is the perception and response by individuals to a group of publicly known written or unwritten behavioural rules, 'governing human action and relationships in Page 17

22 recurrent situations', that determine fertility behaviour (McNicoll, 1994:201). The perception of individual circumstances and 'the subsequent constraints, largely unseen, placed upon the choice-set' (McNicoll 1994:206) by societal institutions, that are important in determining fertility behaviour. Thus fertility behaviour, particularly marital stability and remarriage, is determined by a decision-making process involving both institutions and individuals. Religion, the main independent variable in this study, has tended to be incorporated into most empirical studies, employing the classical demographic transition, diffusion of innovations or the ideational perspective, women's status approach, microeconomic theory or the institutional perspectives as one of the putative or principal determinants among other aspects of sociocultural environment affecting fertility behaviour (Simons, 1980). Most studies that have examined the religion-fertility relationship have employed one of four general approaches - the characteristics, particularistic theology or norm, interaction and minority status hypotheses - to explain the fertility behaviour of religious groups (Mosher, Williams & Johnson, 1992:201; Johnson, 1993:87). The debate has centred on whether 'religion per se has any consequences for fertility, or whether the religion-fertility relation is spurious' (Marcum, 1988:621). For example, the characteristics hypothesis (see Petersen, 1969), anchored largely on the modernisation perspectives on fertility behaviour, considers the root of differentials to be differences in the distribution of social characteristics across religious groups or denominations rather than religion per se. It therefore asserts that the relationship observed between religious denomination and fertility factors is an artefact of socioeconomic differences: the observed association disappears if the differences in social composition of the religious groups even out (E. Lee & A. Lee, 1959; Murty & De Vos, 1984; Ritchey, 1975; Sly, 1970). On the other hand, the particularistic theology hypothesis, taking the institutional approach, asserts that religious differences are not spurious. Its theorists argue that certain specific theological tenets about the family, family size and acceptable birth control methods directly govern human fertility (Goldscheider, 1971:273, ; Goldscheider & Uhlenberg, 1969:370; Kennedy, 1973; Reynolds, 1988). Therefore, in this view, differentials in fertility behaviour among religious groups are related to differences in their doctrines, ideologies or norms related to attitudes towards family planning and size, the proximate determinants of fertility and fertility. In this study, the institutional perspective is adopted through taking the stance of particularistic approach: religious differences are not spurious. Variations in the incidence of marriage disruption have been found among Nigerian groups, as is also true of age at marriage and type of marriage. Muslims experience a lower incidence of marital disruption than Christians in Nigeria as a whole, as shown by data from the 1981/82 NFS and 1990 NDHS (NPB & ISI, 1984:71; Isiugo-Abanihe, 1994:17-18). But Brandon (1990:79, 82), in contrast to her assertion that the Christian doctrine of monogamy would make the effect of Christianity on divorce stronger than that of Islam, reported that Muslims in Nigeria are more prone to divorce than Christians. These contradictory results are due to differences in the definition of marital instability or disruption. While Brandon's study examined only the incidence of divorce and separation, the studies of 1984 and 1994 included widowhood, which was experienced more by Christians than Muslims (Isiugo-Abanihe, 1994:18; 1998:36-7). Thus, there is need, in this study, to examine separately, marriage disruption resulting from death of spouse and divorce and separation. The Catholic Church is believed to mount greater opposition to divorce and remarriage than Protestant churches, and white Catholic women in the United States were found to have a lower probability of being divorced than Protestants, but the reverse was the case among black women (see McCarthy, 1979:180-9). In Nigeria, a smaller proportion of Nigerian Catholic women (12 per cent) than Protestants (17 per cent) had their first marriages dissolved in 1982 (National Population Bureau [NPB] & International Statistical Institute [ISI] 1984:71), but, net of other confounding factors, the reverse was the case in 1990 (Isiugo- Abanihe, 1994:18). So, the evidence of denominational differences is somewhat ambiguous. However, regarding religiosity, religious women, regardless of denomination, are expected to adhere more strictly to the traditional Christian religious beliefs or doctrines relating to marriage. Fertility among the Atyap was found to be high (TFR 5.8) and the women were not only found Page 18

23 to be highly religious Christians but their religiosity was significantly associated with their fertility levels (Avong 1999, 2001:9). In addition, the fertility of Catholics and Other Protestants (Baptist/Anglican) was higher (TFR 7) than that of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), a protestant denomination (TFR 4.7). Thus, based on the discussion above the examination of the role religion plays in determining marital stability and remarriage is necessary. Studies with the sole aim to examine the relationship between religion, particularly intrareligion and religiosity, and fertility behaviour or determinants of fertility in Nigeria are very few. Therefore, this study should prove relevant as an eye opener to the need to undertake such studies, especially at national level. This study will also augment the scarce literature on fertility behaviour in Northern Nigeria and contribute to the existing substantive literature on the relation between religion and marital stability and remarriage. Purpose of study In spite of the growing awareness of the great role religion plays in all spheres of the Nigerian society (Orubuloye, J. Caldwell, & P. Caldwell, 1993; also see Renne, 1996), little direct attention has been paid to the study of the relationship of religion to other various areas of life, particularly fertility behaviour, in Nigeria. Thus, this study aims at establishing the pattern of marital stability among the Atyap and examining the relationship between religious denominations and religiosity and marital stability or instability and remarriage. Research questions What are the patterns of marital instability and remarriage among the Atyap Christian religious groups? What is the relationship between religion and marital stability or instability and remarriage among the Atyap? Hypotheses Catholic women are more likely to experience marital dissolution than their Protestant counterparts. Less religious women are more likely to have their marriages dissolved, especially by divorce and separation, than more religious women. Research setting The Atyap reside in Atyap Chiedom in Zongon-Kataf Local Government Area (LGA), Kaduna State, Nigeria. This ethnic nationality were predominantly engaged in agriculture until the arrival of Christian missionaries to the Atyap homeland about 1920 when numerous Westerntype educational institutions were introduced and the Atyap were equipped with skills for other economic activities. This ethnic nationality is almost entirely Christian and like other Africans (J. Caldwell & P. Caldwell, 1987; J. Caldwell, Orubuloye & P. Caldwell, 1992) is intensely religious (Avong, 1998). Data and methodology The data used for this paper come from a study that is the first to specifically explore the influence of religion and its institutions on fertility behaviour in the area. The target population for the women survey was women age and the data for this study were obtained from 600 women drawn from 278 randomly selected inhabited dwellings in Zonzon Atyap, Kaduna State. The questionnaire for collecting the quantitative data consists of replicated questions from the Nigerian national surveys (1981/82 NFS and 1990 NDHS), and the International Social Survey Programme, Religion Round 1. The qualitative data set contains information from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Three categories of religious denomination used in the analyses: Catholic, Other Protestants (Anglican and Baptist) and Evangelical Churches Winning All (ECWA), a Protestant denomination. Religiosity is measured by religious participation, which is an index based on the average of four 100- point scaled items (questions on frequency of prayers, Church service attendance, Bible reading/study, and attendance of other religious activities).and by religious belief an index based on the average of four 100-point scaled items (questions on belief in Biblical miracles, accounts of creation of man, and the world; and God's punishment. Some of the questions asked on the key dependent variables during the survey include: Have you ever been married or lived with a man?,. For example, information on religious affiliation was not collected during the 1991 census (so also the 2006 census) because of its negative influence on the politics of the nation (Haub 1992:3; Turaki 1993a:226-7; Isiugo-Abanihe 1994:7). Page 19

24 Are you now married, widowed, divorced, or separated?, Have you been married more than once?, How many times all together have you been married? (see Avong 1999:340; NPC 2000:279) Bivariate and multivariate analysis have been carried out and for the multivariate analysis, the problem of multicolinearity was taken care of by excluding one of any two variables with a correlation coefficient of, at least, r=0.8 (see Gow, 1997). For the multivariate analysis in this study, the logistic model used is: P In ( ) =+++ bo b X bkxk + e 1-P 1 1 the end of their childbearing years (Table 1). This suggests that a large majority of marriages remain intact among the Atyap (at least throughout the childbearing ages) for the cohorts now approaching the end of their childbearing years. This pattern of high marital stability echoes that which was found for Nigeria as a whole (Isiugo-Abanihe, 1994; NPB & ISI 1984). Looking across the whole age span, about 23 per cent of the 387 ever-married women had ever had their marriages disrupted (Table 1), either through death of spouse (13 per cent), divorce (seven per cent) or separation (three per cent). where P is the probability of the outcome given the array of independent variables, X1.. Xk; bo is a constant, bi bk represent a series of unknown coefficients to be estimated using the maximum likelihood method, and e is an error or residual term (Hosmer & Lemeshow 1989; Retherford & Choe, 1993). Operational definitions of key variables: Religion refers to the Christian religious denomination to which each of the respondents belongs and religiosity measured by religious participation and religious belief. Marital stability referred formal and informal marital unions which had not been truncated either by death, divorce or separation at the time of the survey. While divorce refers to reported permanent truncation of a formal marital union by a spouse through legal means (civil or traditional), separation is when a formal or informal marital union was temporary truncated by a spouse with expressed intention for a reconciliation at the time of the survey. Widowhood refers to truncation of a marital union through death of a spouse. Results and discussion Research question one: What are the patterns of marital instability and remarriage among the Atyap Christian religious groups? Although the research questions one and two include remarriage, the discussion of remarriage: pattern and its relationship to religion comes after the discussion of marital stability. Marital disruption is far from being unknown among the Atyap, although my estimates suggest only about one-third of Atyap evermarried women experience marital disruption by Page 20

25 Table 1: Percentage of ever -married women age15-49 by marital disruption according to selected characteristics, Zonzon Atyap, 1995 Age Characteristics Percentage n Years of schooling None Marriage pattern Monogamous Polygynous Husband s occupation Agriculture Non-agriculture Disrupted Widowed Divorced Separated All women Religious denomination Catholic Other Protestants ECWA ll women Source: Zonzon Atyap Women Survey, 1995 Similar proportions were observed when the analysis was restricted to information on the 371 ever-married women aged years, used in the analysis in Tables 2 and Table 2: Percentage of ever -married women aged whose first marriages were intact, according to selected characteristics, Zonzon Atyap, Characteristics Percentage n Age Religious denomination Catholic Other Protestants ECWA Years of schooling None Marriage pattern Monogamous Polygynous Husband s occupation Non-agriculture Agriculture Censoring and truncation effects on marriage data are often more pronounced among younger women who, at the time of survey, have not all been married or have a shorter duration of exposure to marital disruption. The analysis is therefore limited to women aged years since 18 years median age at first marriage suggests that majority of the Atyap women would have been married by age 20 years All women Source:Zonzon Atyap Women Survey, 1995 Page 21

26 Social differences in marital disruption among the key religious denominations of the Atyap echo the pattern for Nigeria as a whole. Among the Atyap, there is no statistically significant difference between Catholic and Protestant Atyap evermarried women aged in whether or not first marriage remained intact (not shown) thereby negating the research hypothesis that Catholics are more likely to experience marital disruption than Protestant women. A similar pattern was also observed for women whose marriages were reported disrupted in 1990 for Nigeria as a whole (Isiugo-Abanihe, 1994). But there is a statistically significant difference in marital stability when we differentiate among the Protestant religious groups, in particular, separating the ECWA from the other Protestants (Table 2). Similar proportions of Catholics (30 per cent) and Other Protestants (29 per cent) are less likely to have had their marriages remaining intact than the 18 per cent of their ECWA peers. Thus far, the discussion has concentrated on marital disruption without differentiating it into disruption due to widowhood and disruption due to divorce and separation in order to enable comparisons with other studies and data sources that only provide evidence on disruption. But death and divorce are fundamentally different processes, albeit with some common consequences for exposure to the risk of pregnancy, so ideally one should analyse them separately. Thus, the multivariate analyses that follow examine whether first marriage has remained intact or has either been dissolved by death or dissolved voluntarily through divorce and separation. The distinct causal processes leading to divorce and death make it important to assess them separately, but there is an important caveat to these analyses: only a small number in my sample had been widowed (51 cases in the age range 20-49), and even fewer had been divorced or separated (36 cases in the age range 20-49). The principal consequence of these small numbers is to increase the standard errors of coefficients: that means we run the risk of dismissing as insignificant the same effects that would be significant in larger samples. Of the 88 ever-married women whose marriages had ever been disrupted, about 58 per cent reported the disruption was due to death of spouse, 31 per cent to divorce and 11 per cent to separation from their spouse. Research on other Nigerian groups also reveals considerable variation in the relative importance of widowhood versus divorce and separation as sources of marital disruption. For example, Isiugo-Abanihe (1994:17-18; 1998:37) observed that while the death of the husband was the major cause of marital disruption among the Hausa and Igbo, separation and divorce were the major causes among the Yoruba. Echoing the Hausa and Igbo pattern, death is the main cause of marital disruption among the Atyap (Table 1). The traditional practice of secondary marriage, a married woman eloping with another man, resulted in high levels of marital disruption and remarriage among the Atyap (Avong, 2001). But this practice has so thoroughly vanished that many focus group participants were completely unaware of it. In regard to present-day practices, there was a general observation by all focus group participants in the 1995 Zonzon Atyap Survey that marriage disruption, through divorce and separation, is relatively very low in the Atyap community. This qualitative data suggest that the child-centred orientation of educated women, marriage by choice, and the contemptuous attitude of the community towards the ananswali (separated or divorced women) are the factors that have reduced the incidence of divorce and marital separation. The abhorrence divorce and marital separation may have been fuelled by the Churches' general stand against them, as expressed by the clergymen interviewed during the 1995 Zonzon Atyap Survey. All the clergymen of the four main religious denominations indicated that divorce is disallowed either by the Bible or by the Church. One of the Protestant clergymen, Rev. Pab, strongly asserted that 'according to the Bible, divorce is a sin and our denomination doesn't accept it.' The Catholic clergyman explained that the Catholic Church opposes divorce because of the oath 'until death do us part' made before God and man. However, the 1995 Zonzon Atyap qualitative data indicate that while some religious denominations among the Atyap (especially the ECWA) penalise those who do not adhere to the denominational stand on separation and divorce, others (especially Anglican and Catholic denominations) do not. Thus, denominational variations regarding voluntary marital disruption among the Atyap are expected. Page 22

27 Religious denomination and marital stability Although the difference is not statistically significant, more Catholic (19 per cent) than Protestant (14 per cent) women aged years have had their marriages disrupted by death of spouse (Figure 1), a similar result also reported for Nigeria as a whole in 1990 (Isiugo-Abanihe 1994:18). However, Catholic and Other Protestant women have a similar incidence of widowhood but differ significantly from their ECWA peers. About 19 per cent of Catholic women and 20 per cent of Other Protestants, compared to 11 per cent ECWA women, had their first marriages dissolved by death of spouse (Figure 1). With regards to divorce and separation, the Catholic and Other Protestant ever-married women aged years also had similar proportions (14 per cent) compared to eight per cent of ECWA women (Figure 1). Since Catholic and Other Protestant women have similar patterns of marital disruption, the multivariate analysis was limited to examining the difference between ECWA and Non-ECWA. Research question two: What is the relationship between religion and marital stability or instability and remarriage among the Atyap? The multivariate analysis still shows a statistically significant difference in the likelihood of marriage being intact, rather than being dissolved by death, between the ECWA and the Non-ECWA, with the Non-ECWA having a greater likelihood of having their first marriages dissolved by death (Table 3). Page 23

28 Table 3: Logistic regression estimates of the likelihood of first marriage being intact rather than experiencing widowhood, ever-married women aged 20-49, Zonzon Atyap, 1995 Variable B S.E. Odds ratio N Religious denomination Non-ECWA ** ECWA (RC) Religious participation ** Religious belief Age ** Years of schooling Age at first marriage Husband s occupation Non-agriculture * Agriculture (RC) Constant Reduction of X ** d.f. 7 Source: Zonzon Atyap Women Survey, 1995 Notes: RC= Reference category * p<.05; ** p<01 or p<001 Similarly, Non-ECWA women are more likely to have their marriages disrupted by divorce or separation than ECWA and this difference is statistically significant (Table 4). Thus, contrary to Brandon's claim that church doctrine of monogamy encourages voluntary marital dissolution, the ECWA denomination in Atyap land, with its dogmatic stance on monogamy, encourages higher marital stability among its members than do the Catholic and Other Protestant denominations, thereby reinforcing long periods of exposure to risk of pregnancy within marriage. However, since ECWA women are more likely to use modern contraceptives (Avong, 2012) the high stability of marriage may not result in increased fertility. Table 4: Logistic regression estimates of the likelihood of first marriage not being voluntarily disrupted, ever-married women aged 20-49, Zonzon Atyap, 1995 Variable B S.E. Odds ratio N Religious denomination Non-ECWA ECWA (RC) * Religious participation ** Religious belief Age Years of schooling Age at first marriage Husband s occupation Non-agriculture Agriculture (RC) Constant Reduction of X d.f. 7 Source:Zonzon Atyap Women Survey, 1995 Page 24

29 Notes: RC= Reference category p<001 * p<.05; ** p<01 or While Isiugo-Abanihe (1998) speculated that the elevated levels of widowhood among Igbos might be related to the civil war of in which many Atyap men fought, the factors responsible for the higher incidence of widowhood among the Atyap Catholics and Other Protestants than their ECWA peers are not known, and cannot be ascertained in this study for lack of mortality data. The lower divorce and separation rates of ECWA than Non-ECWA women may partly reflect differences in the enforcement of the common doctrinal position of the religious denominations on marital stability. To ensure compliance with the 'until death do us part' sworn by couples, the ECWA denomination denies divorced or separated members responsible positions in the church and does not recognise the remarriage of divorced members whose spouses are still alive. In contrast, the other denominations tend to be less rigid in enforcing the 'until death do us part' to which they make their members swear to adhere to in marriage. Thus, divorce is much more socially 'costly' for ECWA than for Non- ECWA women. Religiosity and disruption of marriage Net of confounding factors including modernising ones, women who participate less frequently in religious activities are more likely to have their first marriages disrupted by death and this positive relationship is significant though small (Table 3). However, it is possible that the women whose first marriages have remained intact may be having less family responsibilities than widows thereby having more freedom or time to participate in religious activities, especially those outside the home. Furthermore, women whose marriages have been disrupted often remarry into polygynous unions greatly disapproved by most Atyap churches thereby forced to participate less in Church activities. Regarding marital disruption through divorce and separation, women who participate more frequently in religious activities are more likely to have stable marriages and this positive relationship is significant though small (Table 4). This confirms the research hypothesis that less religious women are more likely to have their marriages voluntarily dissolved than more religious women. This is expected since greater participation in religious activities is likely to result in closer adherence to the doctrines on marriage and marriage relations. As mentioned earlier, the Protestant churches, especially the ECWA, exclude women who are divorced or separated from their husbands from some religious practices such as Holy Communion. The significant associations between religiosity and marital disruption confirm the assertions of the particularistic approach that religion in itself has impact on fertility behaviour. There is no variation in marital disruption through widowhood or divorce and separation by the strength of religious belief, indicating that intactness of first marriage is not determined by the magnitude of the women's religious beliefs, and that death is no respecter of the women's religious beliefs. The qualitative data suggest that Atyap husbands mostly determine their way of life and whether or not divorce or separation takes place. Thus, it is the religious beliefs of husbands, rather than those of wives, that may determine both the husbands' life style, which may largely determine their life expectancy period, and their adherence to the teachings of their church denomination on marriage. Remarriage A huge majority of women who experience marital disruption later remarry. About 83 per cent of the 88 Atyap women who had experienced marital disruption at least once were currently married (not shown) compared to about 70 per cent for rural Nigeria and 72 per cent for the entire country in 1981/82 (NPB & ISI, 1984:68). This indicates that the incidence of remarriage is unusually high among the Atyap rural community, which in turn can be expected to positively influence fertility among the Atyap, although the numbers whose fertility is potentially reduced by marital disruption are small. Unfortunately, the small numbers of women who had experienced marital disruption would so greatly increase the risk of genuinely important effects failing significance tests in multivariate analyses that the results are more likely to be misleading than illuminating. So, the focus of analysis here is on denomination at bivariate level. Religious denomination and remarriage Among those who had ever experienced marriage disruption, about 52 per cent of the 29 Page 25

30 Catholics, 62 per cent of 26 Other Protestants and 52 per cent of the 33 ECWA Atyap women were currently married in Higher rates of remarriage were also found among Protestant than among Catholic women in 1981/82 (NPB & ISI, 1984:71). The slightly lower proportions that remarry among Catholic and ECWA Atyap women than their Other Protestant peers is expected, since it is the event of remarriage that is disapproved by the Catholic Church (McCarthy, 1979:192), and the ECWA strongly oppose polygyny, the union into which most Atyap widows and divorcees can enter. Conclusion and recommendations Net of the effect of other confounding factors, Non-ECWA women are significantly more likely to experience marital disruption through widowhood and divorce and separation than ECWA women. Thus the loud call for intrafaith studies in other Nigerian communities to provide better understanding of the role religious factors play in determining fertility behaviour for the formulation of more effective fertility influencing policies and implantation strategies. The more frequent the participation in religious activities by an Atyap woman, the more likely she had a first marriage that had remained intact. This implies that the Churches' position on marital stability or dissolution still asserts some effect on the marriage unions of the Atyap regardless of its strength or weakness. This study, in contrast to some claims of the modernisation theory, generally tends to show that instead of Christianity absorbing the Atyap's traditional values and practices relating to marriage and the family it has generally reinforced them, although it changed or replaced some with its values and practices. Marital stability implies that women stay longer in unions and are therefore exposed longer to sexual activities within marriage and consequently, especially in societies with low-contraceptive prevalence, may have higher fertility than those whose marriages are unstable or dissolved. On the other hand, those experiencing marital instability face health hazards such as STIs including HIV, social and psychological problems and even higher suicide rates (Ide, Wyder, Kolves, & De Leo, 2010) than those in stable marital unions. The importance of a healthy population for national development cannot be over emphasised. Furthermore, highly stable marriages, in low contracepting populations, could result in high fertility rates, and consequently rapid population growth rate which has negative impact on national development. Therefore, this demographic double barrel variable should no longer be paid little attention in Nigeria by researchers and policy makers if Nigeria is to achieve a significant level of national development. Since this study reveals the Christian Church serving to curb marital instability, as well as encourage the use of contraceptives among the Atyap (Avong, 2012), there is the need for research in other communities to investigate the role religious factors play in influencing fertility behaviour including marital stability and dissolution which affect health status of women and consequently, their productivity and contribution to national development. Page 26

31 References Adepoju, A., (1993). The impact of structural adjustment on the population of Africa: Implications for education, health and employment. London: UNFPA/Heinemann. Avong, HN (1999). Religion and fertility behaviour of the Atyap, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Australian National University, Canberra. Avong, H.N., (2001). Religion and fertility among the Atyap in Nigeria. Journal of Biosocial Science, 33:1-12. Avong, H.N. (2012). Relationship between religion and use of modern contraceptives among the Atyap in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences 2(8): Brandon, A.J., (1990). Marriage dissolution, remarriage and childbearing in West Africa. (Doctoral dissertation), Ann Arbor: Bell and Howell. Burch, T.K., (1983). The impact of forms of families and sexual unions and dissolution of unions on fertility. In R.A. Bulatao & R.D. Lee (eds.), Determinants of Fertility in Developing Countries, Vol. 2, (532-61), New York: Academic Press. Caldwell, J.C, & Caldwell, P., (1987). The cultural context of high fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa. Population and Development Review, 13(3), Caldwell, J.C., (1982). Theory of fertility decline. London: Academic Press. Caldwell, J.C., Orubuloye, I.O. & Caldwell, P., (1992. Fertility decline in Africa: a new type of transition? Population and Development Review, 18(2), Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) & IRD/Macro Inter national, (1992). Nigeria demographic and health survey IRD/Macro International, Columbia MD. Goldscheider, C. & Uhlenberg, P.R., 1969). Minority group status and fertility. American Journal of Sociology, 74(4), Goldscheider, C., (1971). Population, modernisation, and social structure. Boston: Little Brown and Company. Gow, D.J., (1997). Fundamentals of multiple regression analysis, Lecture Notes of ACSPRI Summer Program, 15 January, Australian National University, Canberra. Hosmer D.H. & Lemeshow, S., (1989). Applied logistic regression. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Hull, T.H., (1987). Fertility decline in Indonesia: An institutionalist interpretation. I n t e r n a t i o n a l F a m i l y P l a n n i n g Perspectives, 13 (3), Ide, Naoko, Wyder, Mariane, Kolves, Kairi & De Leo, Diego (2010. Separation as an important risk factor for suicide: a systematic review. Journal of Family Issues 31(2), Isiugo-Abanihe, U.C., (1994). Nuptiality patterns, sexual Activity and fertility in Nigeria. DHS Working Papers, Calverton MD: Macro International. Isiugo-Abanihe, U.C., (1998). Stability of marital unions and fertility in Nigeria. Journal of Biosocial Science, 30(1), Isiugo-Abanihe, U.C., Ebigbola, J.A. & Adewuyi, A.A., (1993). Urban nuptiality patterns and marital fertility in Nigeria. Journal of Biosocial Sciences, 25(4), Johnson, N.E., (1993). Hindu and Christian fertility in India: A test of three hypotheses. Social Biology, 40(1-2), Kennedy, R.E. Jr., (1973). Minority group status and fertility: The Irish American. American Sociological Review, 38(1), Lee, E. S. & Lee, A. S., (1959). The future fertility of the American Negro. Social Forces, 37(3), Marcum, J.P., (1988). Religious affiliation, participation and fertility: a cautionary note. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 27(4), McCarthy, J., (1979). Religious commitment, affiliation, and marriage dissolution. In R. Wuthnow (ed.), The religious dimension: New directions in quantitative research, (179-97), New York: Academic Press. McNicoll, G., (1975). Community-level population policy: an exploration. Population and Development Review, 1(1), McNicoll, G., (1994). Institutional Analysis of Fertility, Research Division Working Paper No. 62. New York: The Population Council. Page 27

32 Mosher, W.D., Williams, L.B. & Johnson, D.P., (1992). Religion and fertility in the United States: New patterns. Demography, 29(2), Murty, K. R. & De Vos, S., (1984). Ethnic differences in contraceptive use: Sri Lanka. Studies in Family Planning, 15(5), National Population Bureau [NPB] & International Statistical Institute (ISI), (1984). The Nigeria fertility survey, 1981/82: Principal report, Vol. 1, Methodology and findings. Lagos: NPB. National Population Commission [Nigeria] (2000). Nigeria demographic and health survey Calverton, Maryland: National Population Commission and ORC/Macro. National Population Commission [Nigeria] (2001). Nigeria demographic and health survey: Policy and program implications (North East Zone). Abuja: National Population Commission. Oni, J.B., (1996). Family structure and treatment of child illness in Yoruba households, Ekiti district, Nigeria. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Australian National University, Canberra. Orubuloye, I. O., Caldwell, J. C. & Caldwell, P., (1993). The role of religious leaders in changing sexual behaviour in Southwest Nigeria in an era of AIDS. Health Transition Review, 3(Suppl.), Petersen, W., (1969. Population, (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. Renne, E.P., (1996). Perceptions of population policy, development, and family planning programs in Northern Nigeria. Studies in Family Planning, 27(3), Retherford, R.D. and Choe, M.K., Statistical models for causal analysis. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Reynolds, Vernon, (1988). 'Religious rules, mating patterns and fertility'. In C.G.N. Mascie- Taylor and Anthony J. Boyce (eds.), Human mating patter ns, ( ), Cambridge: University Press. Ritchey, N.P., (1975). 'The effect of group status on fertility: a re-examination of concepts'. Population Studies, 29(2), Simons, J., (1980). 'Reproductive behaviour as religious practice'. In C. Hohn and R. Mackensen (eds.), Determinants of fertility trends: Theories re-examined, (133-45), Liège: IUSSP. Smith, R.M., (1988). 'Transactional analysis and the measurement of institutional determinants of fertility: a comparison of communities in present-day Bangladesh and preindustrial England', in J.C. Caldwell, A.G. Hill and V.J. Hull (eds.), Micro-Approaches to demographic research (215-41), London: Kegan Paul International. Sly 1970; Sly, D.F., (1970. Minority-group status and fertility: an extension of Goldscheider and Uhlenberg. American Journal of Sociology, 76 (2), Page 28

33 RETHINKING INFORMAL ENTERPRISE ORGANISATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIAN CITIES 1 2 JOSEPH S. OLADIMEJI & IDRIS I. ISAH 1 Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria. 2 & Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology (NITT), Zaria. Abstract The informal sector of the economy is a major employer of labor in developing nations. However, it has been observed that city planners in such nations do not consider the sector while preparing physical development plans. This paper acknowledges the fact that a number of authors have highlighted the importance of including the informal sector in urban physical plans but also stresses the importance of further investigations into what will make for optimal and healthy development of the sector in our cities. The city of Zaria in northern Nigeria was chosen as an example of a third world city, and the practices of five governance institutions that have bearing on informal enterprise operations were examined. Two hundred informal enterprises were also selected from a stratified sample frame using systematic random sampling. This sample was used to gain insight into the characteristics and challenges of informal enterprises. It was discovered from the Zaria example that apart from the challenge of adequately locating enterprises spatially, governance institutions were not properly positioned for optimal organization and development of informal enterprises in their jurisdiction. The paper therefore stresses the need for a localized and integrated multi-sectoral / agency approach to informal enterprise development in our urban centres if any meaningful success is to be achieved in the development of the sector. Key Words: Informal Enterprise, Development, Urban, Physical Plans, Zaria. Introduction Issues on the informal economy have been on in international development circles right from the early 1970's when debates began on them till date. Hart (1973) in a study of informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana first defined the informal economy as all unregulated economic enterprises or activities. Since Hart's study in the 1970's, several other authors and researchers have come up with other definitions, positions, arguments, and schools of thought on the informal economy. The informal sector is an inevitable phenomenon especially in transition economies like Nigeria where the bulk of citizens obtain their means of livelihood and employment from informal livelihood opportunities. This sector may not have been planned for in our urban physical plans but they do exist in our urban spaces. Therefore it is of utmost importance that institutions of governance do not just include them in our urban physical plans to help organize them in physical space but also create a healthy climate for their survival. The research problem Informal enterprise activities have always generated issues of concern from different professional or research perspectives. Onyenechere (2011) was more bothered about the negative environmental effects in terms of waste generation and environmental degradation. Adeyinka et al (2006)) focused on the challenges for urban planning, based on the capacity of informal economic activities to generate land use problems such as sprawl, incongruous land uses, and building alterations. Meshram (2007) and Adeyinka et al (2006) both made a case for including informal enterprises activities in urban physical plans. Although Meshram went further to detail out how this can be done in a study carried out in India. However, the inclusion of the informal sector in urban physical plans would only reduce the spatial component of the challenge either faced or created by informal enterprise operators. There are definitely other factors to consider apart from Page 29

34 issues that have to do with space availability and utilization. Authors like Choudry (2005), Oladimeji and Ojibo (2012) and Gosen (2008), looked into issues ranging from informal economy governance and corruption, enterprise perception of governance institutions, and the need to create comparative advantage for enterprises through e- governance. Such issues are also important considerations if a balance is to be achieved in informal sector organization and development. This paper has set out to investigate the challenges surrounding informal enterprise organization and development in the city of Zaria, in northern Nigeria. Objectives This paper seeks to firstly adopt a theoretical approach in highlighting the importance of informal enterprises in creating livelihood opportunities which reduce unemployment in third world cities and also discuss the relevance of including informal enterprises in urban physical plans. Secondly, the paper will take on an empirical approach by showing findings from a research carried out in Zaria, in This is intended to show the actual internal characteristics of informal enterprise and the challenges that they face. Some of the activities of the five selected governance institutions which affect the development of informal enterprises in the study area will also be highlighted. Policy implications that will help optimize informal enterprise organization and development will be stipulated at the end of the paper. Theoretical framework The Concept of Informal Enterprises Johnson et al. (1997) described the informal economy as constituting any economic activity not reported to the state statistical office. According to the ILO (1972), the informal economy is characterized by its ease of entry, reliance on indigenous resources, family ownership of enterprises, small scale of operations, labourintensive and adapted technology, skills acquired outside the formal school system and unregulated and competitive markets. However, this paper finds the CBN and NISER (2001) definition to be more encompassing; Informal enterprises are those that operate without binding official regulations, as well as those which operate under official regulations that do not compel rendition of official returns on their operations or production process This definition adequately captures the reality of what constitutes an informal enterprise particularly in the Nigerian context. This is because the definition covers enterprises that operate without any form of levying or fee payment and those who may pay some form of levies or fees to governance institutions but are not under compulsion to render accounts or business records to government institutions like the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The role of the informal economy Informal enterprises play important roles in promoting employment creation and poverty alleviation and providing incomes to unskilled and semi-skilled workers who otherwise would be unemployed (Malik 1996). According to the Nigerian National Urban Development Policy of 2006, between 70 to 80 percent of Nigerian citizens are employed in the informal sector (FGN 2006). This phenomenon is not limited to Nigeria, as shown by authors like Rukmana (2007) who also showed that the informal sector in Indonesia in 2004 accounted for 64 percent of total national employment. It is therefore difficult to relegate the importance of the informal sector in cities, particularly in developing countries. Urban Planning and the Informal Economic Sector The businesses that comprise the informal sector, typically operating on streets and in other public places, are often seen as eye-sores and undesirable activities. Thus, conflicts arise between urban authorities trying to keep their cities clean and the urban informal sector operators who need space for their activities (Rukmana 2007). In many cases, authorities forcibly evict informal sector activities in the name of urban order and cleanliness. Yet, such eviction does not address the problem with the informal sector. It only relocates the problem and even exaggerates the conflicts between urban authorities and the informal sectors. Often many operators return to their places a few days after being evicted by the urban authorities. Seeing the vital importance of physical space to informal enterprise operators, should they not be included in our city Master plans? It is obvious that apart from the conventional commercial area planning, our city plans make no provision for the inclusion of informal economic activities in city land use considerations. Page 30

35 Meshram (2007), in the case of Delhi in India, advocated for both the formal and informal sectors to be recognized as two separate but complementary sectors of the urban economy. He emphasized the importance of reshaping the settlement structures of our cities to enable them to absorb the expanding informal sector along with planned expansion of the formal sector. Adeyinka et al. (2006) after a study of the activities of informal enterprises in South Western Nigeria, also concluded from their findings that one of the ways of reducing the challenges posed by this sector is by integrating them into urban development plans. It is commonly said that Planning should be responsive to the needs of citizens. Therefore, there is a need for planning authorities to designate specific spaces for informal enterprise activities, instead of only trying to eliminate them from the cityscape. This will help reduce the problem of traffic bottlenecks created by informal enterprises along major traffic routes in our cities. It will also reduce the eyesore of makeshift structures and mobile trolleys used by enterprise operators along the roadsides of our cities. It is noteworthy to say that,a part from the inclusion of informal enterprise development in urban physical plans (which will only reduce the spatial challenge), there is a dire need to provide other incentives that are needed to ensure the healthy development of informal enterprises in our cities. Such incentives include physical infrastructure provision, micro credit facilitation and training / skills development. Governance institutions must awaken to their responsibilities in ensuring that a healthy climate for informal enterprise development is created, seeing that majority of city dwellers derive their livelihood from the sector. Oladimeji and Ojibo (2012) in a study of Zaria, found that over 70% of the informal enterprise operators were youths. They concluded that, this scenario will tend to be similar in most third world cities, and by implication, since most urban migrants and dwellers are youths seeking for livelihood opportunities, there is a need for urban governance institutions especially in third world cities to facilitate youth development in the informal sector. This will help curb youth problems related to crime, youth restiveness and urban insecurity in cities. Methodology adopted Data on informal enterprises were obtained through interviews using structured questionnaires and oral interviews. The questionnaires were applied to a randomly selected but stratified sample of enterprises within Zaria urban area to garner infor mation about their structure and characteristics. Their aspirations, and perceptions of governance institutions were also considered. A sample size of 200 was adopted, this sample constitutes 0.03% of which is 70% of the total population of Zaria (975,153). 70% represents the lower limit, estimated percentage of the national population involved in informal economic activities, according to the Nigerian National Urban Development Policy of The 200 questionnaires were administered within the five distinct urban quarters of Zaria. 50 questionnaires in Sabongari, 20 in GRA, 40 in Samaru, 50 in Zaria walled city, and 40 in Tudunwada.. Stratified random sampling was used to survey enterprises in each of three sub-sector groups of informal enterprises (Retail, service, and production subsectors) in each cluster within the study area. A systematic random sampling procedure was then used to select one out of every three informal enterprise subsector within the five urban quarters. The collected data was then analyzed using simple statistical methods. The paper excluded the transport and agricultural sector in order to cut down on the research time scope and avoid data gathering challenges especially in the agricultural sector. Sabongari Local Government Council, Zaria Local Government Council, Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority ( KASUPDA), the National Directorate of Employment ( NDE), and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Now Trade and Investment), were the selected institutions for the study because their activities have some bearing on informal enterprises activities and development. Findings of the Zaria study Nature of activities in the study area The informal enterprise activities in the area were classified into retail, service and production sub-sectors. Among these three, general retail took up 80( 40%) of the total number, the service subsector was 76( 38%) and the least was the production sub-sector which took up 44( 22%) of the activities in the area. Also, as seen in Table 1, most of the informal enterprise activities (52%) Page 31

36 were taking place in open spaces, while the least of 5.5% were been done using movable kiosks. They were also located along transport nodes, near work centres, outside the boundaries of schools and hospitals and near major housing areas in Zaria. It is noteworthy to say that the scenario given here is also similar to the situation in most Nigerian towns. Table 1: Types of Business Spaces Used Space Acquisition Local Govt. Source: field survey 2010 No. of Cases % Cum % KASUPDA By Self Others Total Table 2 below also shows that very few enterprise operators go through formal governance authorities before locating in urban space to conduct their businesses. Educational Status of Enterprise Operators Table 2 below shows the level of education of enterprise operators in Zaria. The research shows the relationship between educational qualifications and the level of involvement of individuals in informal economic activities. It is easy to deduce by this analysis that the informal sector attracts more people with lower educational background. However, 84% of the respondents have attained some formal educational qualifications and this can serve as a potential for making training easier. It also creates a better platform for governance institutions to embark on e-governance of enterprise activities. As posited by Gosen (2008) enterprises with e-governance support have a clear competitive advantage over those that lack such support. Table 3: Level of Education of Informal Enterprise Operators Educational Level No Formal Education Primary School No. of Cases % Cum % Table 2:nature of Space Acquisition by Enterprises Secondary School Facility No. of Cases % Cum % Tertiary Education Movable Kiosk Total Shop Source: Field survey 2010 Open space Others Total 200 Source: Field survey Given the information in Table 1 and 2 above,it is obvious that KASUPDA and the two LGCs in Zaria need to reorganize the spread of informal enterprise activities to create more order and aesthetics in the urban area. As stated in the literature review section in this paper, most urban physical plans do not make provisions for informal enterprise activities. The Zaria master plan which is presently due for review also did not make provisions for guiding the development of informal economic activities. Affiliation to unions Its apparent from the survey results on Table 4, that most (over 77%) enterprise operators do not seem to know the benefits to be derived from union affiliations. If properly organized, unions could be the launch pad for relating needs to governance institutions, and also capital mobilization via cooperative ventures within unions. Obtaining credit from financial institutions is usually difficult for informal enterprises, since most of them have no collateral to offer as guarantee. Choudhury (2005) in his study of Bangladesh stipulated that introducing joint or collective liability as a substitute for collateral has more impact for the growth of informal enterprises. Page 32

37 Table 4 : Enterprise Union Affiliation UNION MEMBERSHIP No. of Cases % Cum% Yes No No Response Total Source: Field survey 2010 Problems confronting informal Enterprises in Zaria From Table 5 below, the major problems confronting enterprises are; poor power supply (69%), lack of access to micro-credit facilities (58%),and difficulty in accessing space to operate (44%). Other complaints raised by informal enterprises in the study area include, lack of an efficient water supply system (especially by cafeterias, local bukas, and car and rug wash owners), harassment by government officials, need for skill acquisition and training, and duplicity of business fees which is very discouraging to many of them as they do not see the essence of the payments they make, since government does not make returns by providing basic infrastructure. The challenges can simply be broken down into 4 basic areas i.e need for physical infrastructure, micro-credit facilitation, training / skill acquisition, and inefficiency of governance institutions. Feedback on governance institution activities and responsibilities towards enterprises This section of the paper tries to give some insight as to what is obtainable in Zaria in relation to expectations from governance institutions on informal enterprise organization and development. From Table 6 below, it is expected that the two Local governments in Zaria should collaborate with KASUPDA in controlling and regulating informal enterprise physical development in urban space. The Local governments should also collaborate with the NDE and the KSMCI in providing training / skill acquisition outlets apart from fostering a viable climate for local economic development. Table 5 : Problems of Informal Enterprises in Zaria Problems No. of Cases % of total respondents Poor power supply Poor water supply Poor business premise Harrassment by Govt officials Lack of access to micro-credit Facilities Inadequate skills Too many levies Difficulty in accessing space to operate Source: Field survey 2010 NB: Respondents gave more than one response. Page 33

38 INSTITUTION Table 6 : Institutions and Expected Responsibilities Towards Informal Enterprises RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Sabongari Local Government Control and regulate informal enterprise activities and foster local economic development 2. Zaria Local Government Ditto 3. Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA) Control an d Regulate informal enterprise physical development in urban space 4. National Directorate of Employment (NDE) Provide training/skill acquisition outlets for enterprise operators and operate liaison offices in all local government areas 5. Kaduna State Ministry of Commerce and Industry (KSMCI) To run entrepreneurship development programmes, give technical support to enterprises and also offer managerial and financial training to entrepreneurs Source: Author's interactions with Institutions in 2010 However, the study revealed that although The NDE State Headquarters at Kaduna claimed that they had liaison officers/offices at the two LGCs, the expected NDE liaison offices in the 2 LGCs were none existent as at the time this study was carried out. Also, only 7% of the informal enterprise operators were aware of the training / skill acquisition outlets available at the NDE and only 2% of the respondents had benefitted from the NDE scheme. This shows very poor responsiveness on the part of the institutions as the expected collaboration and coordination between them was depriving informal enterprise operators of benefits The KSMCI apart from collecting fees for business premise registration from enterprises, also had not held training programmes they should have been running for enterprise development. This was obvious because none of the 200 selected enterprise operators had ever benefitted from any training offered by the KSMCI. On Microcredit facilitation, none of the selected institutions in Zaria urban area were involved in facilitating the process of small loans for enterprise development. On a general note, this paper can conclusively say that informal enterprises operating in Zaria are on their own and operate without any development incentive from the local governing institutions. Should this be the case, seeing that the bulk of citizens obtain their livelihood from this sector? Does this reflect a responsive and good governance system expected from our governance institutions? The answer is definitely no. Policy implications From the Zaria experience, the following areas are highlighted for policy action and interventions towards optimising informal enterprise organisatio and development: To enhance responsiveness, accountability and transparency by governance institutions, it will be worthwhile for the Local Government Councils to organize town hall meetings at least annually so that there can be open consultations with the public on economic development especially for informal enterprise development. At such forums, feedback can be garnered on areas of intervention towards fostering informal enterprise development. To ensure that local government officials contribute efficiently to informal enterprise development, there will be need for consistent capacity building for staff engaged in local economic development. This capacity building will enable officials to make valid contributions in the area of local economic policy formulation and training of enterprise operators. Instead of just engaging in revenue collection from enterprise operators in Zaria. All existing urban development plans need to be reviewed to capture and face the realities of informal enterprise activities in our urban areas as posited by Meshram (2007). The plans should detail out the pattern of accommodation of informal enterprise activities, considering the peculiarities of the urban area involved. Page 34

39 Governance institutions should evolve an adequate institutional framework that accommodates proper collaboration and coordination between institutions of governance that impact on informal enterprise activities. This institutional framework will streamline strategies for micro-credit facilitation, infrastructural provision and training / skill acquisition outlets. This paper also wishes to state that the National Urban summit which will hold in November 2012, convened by the House Committee on Urban Development and Regional Planning, is an opportunity for this nation to evolve an institutional framework for municipal administration. This framework should lay emphasis on a central coordination system for local economic and physical development for our cities.this will involve some reform in the existing local government system. However, it will pave the way for the creation of a more virile climate for informal enterprise development. Conclusion In conclusion, it is pertinent to say once again that optimizing informal enterprise organization and development is definitely beyond mere inclusion in urban physical plans. It will require a strong political will, in addition to a balanced approach that will consider both the internal and external factors that affect informal enterprises and also how best to accommodate their activities in urban space. References Adeyinka S.A, Omisore E.O, Olawuni P.O and Abegunde A.A, (2006) An evaluation of informal sector activities and urban land use management in South Western Nigeria, Shaping the Change XXIII FIG Congress Munich, Germany, October Central Bank of Nigeria and NISER (2001) Statistics on Nigeria's informal sector; A study of Nigeria's informal sector, Vol.I., Benjasprint, Nigeria. Choudhury H.U (2005) Informal economy, governance and corruption, Phillipine Journal of Development. Federal Republic of Nigeria (2006) National urban development policy, Abuja. Gosen, J (2008) Creating comparative advantage for micro-enter prises through e- governance, Management Department, University of Wisconsin Whitewater, Whitewater, USA. Hart,Keith (1973) Informal income opportunities and urban employment in Ghana, Journal of Modern African Studies 11: International Labour Office (ILO), (1972), Employment, incomes and equality: A strategy for increasing productive employment in Kenya. Geneva: ILO. Johnson.S, Daniel.K, Andrei.S, Marshall.I.G, Martin L.W (1997) The unofficial economy in transition, Brookings Papers on Economic Activities, Vol.1 No.2, Malik, M. H. (1996) Urban poverty alleviation through development of the informal sector, Asia-Pacific Development Journal. Meshram D.S (2007) Building informal sector into development plan-mpd, 2021, ITPI Journal,Vol. 4 No. 3, India. Oladimeji J.S and Ojibo S.D (2012) Governance perceptions of informal enterprise operators in Zaria, Nigeria. Accepted for publication in American International Journal of Contemporary Research (AIJCR), vol. 2 no. 10, December Onyenechere E.C (2011) The informal sector and the environment in Nigerian towns: What we know and what we still need to know, Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 3(1): Rukmana.D (2007) Urban planning and the informal sector in developing countries, Accessed 4/09/2012. Page 35

40 RE-DEFINING THE ROLE OF THE MASS MEDIA IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT 1 2 DAMASUS TUUROSONG & STEPHEN B. KENDIE 1 Department of African and General Studies, Faculty of Integrated Development Studies University for Development Studies, Wa Campus, Ghana 2 Faculty of Social Sciences Institute for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana Abstract Various studies have established that the mass media play significant roles in development by providing information needed to promote the education, advance agriculture and healthcare as well as speed up economic growth. However, the mass media have also been blamed for serving elitist audiences since programmes aired and articles published are either linguistically inaccessible to rural audiences or are of little relevance to the deprived communities. This study set out to investigate the effectiveness of the mass media in providing information needed to advance the development of the most deprived part of Ghana, Northern Ghana. It aims at establishing the perceptions of media editors on the contribution made by the media towards Northern Ghana's development. It also attempts to determine the extent to which mass media stories on Northern Ghana are development-oriented and to find out challenges faced by the mass media in their coverage of Northern Ghana. Additionally, the study proposes new approaches to mass media coverage of deprived communities. Using content analysis of selected radio and television programmes and newspaper publications as well as interviews of media editors, the study revealed that what editors applaud as their contribution to the development of Northern Ghana was simply publishing challenges of the North in their various media outlets. Analyses of media content on agriculture, education, health and the economy of Northern Ghana corroborated the fact that media stories fell short of fulfilling the tenets of development journalism. The media content also shows the lack of attention to the development needs of the North. Editors blame their failure to adequately cater for the informational needs of Ghana's most deprived regions on bad roads, inadequate transport, postal services and internet facilities as well as difficulty in accessing information from residents of Northern Ghana. The study recommends a new approach to the practice of development journalism in order to enhance progress in deprived communities. It proposes the re-orientation of journalists to play advocacy roles and a more vigorous use of the community radio concept to speed up development of rural communities. KEY WORDS: Mass media, Rural Development, Northern Ghana, Development journalism & Advocacy journalism Introduction Communication scholars have long established that the mass media play significant roles in advancing development. For instance, the mass media aims to stimulate debate and concientize people for participatory decisionmaking as well as the acquisition of new knowledge and skills (Fraiser & Restrepo-Estrada, 1998: 13). In his analysis of the role of communication in the development process, Hornik points out that mass communication could serve as a low cost loud speaker for developing countries. Since such countries usually have little money to employ the services of several experts to educate the masses on technological innovations, the mass media become an extension of the experts' voice (Hornik, 1989: 9). Fabrizio (2007: 19) acknowledged the role of the media in reducing poverty through its ability to raise public awareness and debate, and shift public and political opinion. This could lead to policy change such as the World Bank-approved and supported Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) developed to deal with poverty in low income countries. In spite of the findings of Fabrizio and others, there is evidence which points at the media's failure to fulfill the development aspirations of Africa. Media researchers have particularly been critical of the mass media's coverage of deprived parts of the country. For instance, Inayatullah (1967: 7) observed that the push for modernization Page 36

41 in the developing world, via communication media has proved ineffective in enhancing development. Beltran (1976) corroborated this view. Similarly, Mbindyo (1984: 12) observed that Kenya is heavily dependent on foreign media messages and content much of which is often irrelevant to the needs of majority of the people. It goes on to state that the print media in that country were largely centred in the urban areas and gave coverage to such areas at the expense of rural areas. Such imbalance in media coverage had negative developmental impact for a country where 80 percent of the populace lived in rural areas and engaged in agriculture (Mbindyo, 1984). Kayode & Jimoh (2009) also showed that the Nigerian media did not do much to educate, enlighten or motivate the public towards the need to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Findings of the study showed that the Nigerian media did not give much attention to some development issues. Environmental sustainability issues were the most frequently reported followed by poverty and hunger. The least reported areas were stories on maternal health, child mortality and universal primary education. Almost a fifth of such stories were carried as straight news rather than features, editorial and opinion pieces (Kayode & Jimoh, 2009: 23). Problem statement Ghana's media have over the years failed to serve the development interest of deprived parts of the country. Since Ghana attained independence, the media have constantly been criticized for their failure to advance the development agenda of the country. Aborampah and Anokwa (1984:107) noted that in Ghana, the growth of mass media and its use as exemplified by cinema, have not brought any significant changes in the life of the mass people. With the liberalization of the media industry in 1993, many expected a more active participation of the media in development. However, Asante (1999: 34) regretted that little efforts were made by Ghana's media institutions to accelerate and sustain national development. According to Asante (1999), some scholars are particularly concerned about the media's failure to promote the development of rural communities. Asante (1999) found that circulation of Ghana's state owned and most widely read newspapers, Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times, are limited to the major cities to the detriment of rural communities. Television has even been given a poorer assessment in terms of its contribution to the development of Ghana. Asante (1999) is of the view that television transmission in Ghana only benefits the urban areas and that the programmes are basically entertainment oriented, neglecting the development needs and aspirations of the country. Also, marginalized groups, including women and rural communities are often neglected in terms of coverage. African Media Barometer Ghana (2008) has also reported the print media's lack of presence in rural communities. According to the research, there is no organized system for newspaper distribution in Ghana (Daily Guide, 2009). The problem for investigation, therefore, is inadequate development reportage on Northern Ghana. Objectives The study set out to investigate the effectiveness of the mass media in providing the information needed to advance the development of the most deprived part of Ghana, Northern Ghana. Specifically, the study aims at attaining the following objectives: 1 To find out the perceptions of media editors on the contribution made by the media towards Northern Ghana's development. 2 To determine the extent to which mass media stories on Northern Ghana are development-oriented. 3 To establish challenges faced by the mass media in their coverage of Northern Ghana. 4 To propose new approaches to mass media coverage of deprived communities. Conceptual framework This study is informed by the concepts of development journalism and advocacy journalism. Development journalism is related to the concept of development as advanced by the North-South Commission to the effect that development is not just about the transition from poverty to material prosperity but relates to notions of human dignity, security, justice and equality (Kunczik, 1992: 7). Quebral (1975: 23) assigned development journalism the task of emancipating deprived groups including the urban poor, the rural poor and women as well as assisting them to actively participate in the political processes that determine their destinies. Page 37

42 Fleury (2008: 3) argued that the development journalist is one who is industrious enough to look beyond the polished news releases and briefings put out by well endowed foreign organizations, and curious enough to find local sources of expertise. Such a journalist must be brave enough to present home-grown solutions to pressing development problems. Development journalists travel to remote areas to report on happenings there. This type of journalism acts as a tool for social justice, speaking for the voiceless, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of a country and in so doing identifying ways in which the nation can be helped. It also serves as a tool for empowerment (Smith, 2008: 6). Additionally, development journalism focuses on the needs of the poor, deprived and marginalized and ensures their effective participation in developmental planning. It advocates the interests of the marginalized in place of the views of the policy makers and the government (Namra, 2004: 9). Where development journalism as practiced in the mainstream media fails in providing the information needed for the development of deprived communities, a more radical approach to development communication, advocacy journalism, might prove more useful in addressing the information needs of such communities. Advocacy journalism refers to reportage aimed at promoting a specific political or social cause. It is that genre of journalism which, unlike propaganda, is fact-based, but supports a specific point of view on an issue. This style of journalism, which gained popularity in the United States of America during the second half of the 20th century, contrasts with earlier journalistic practice of objectivity. Thus, most advocacy journalists reject the objectivity of the mainstream press as practically impossible (Berman, 2004: 23). Berman (2004: 23) argued that the long held journalistic practice of objectivity and neutrality are antiquated principles which are no longer universally observed. According to her, advocacy journalism will be the single most crucial element which ensures change in the world. She stated that when writing news stories, there will always be some form of implicit bias, whether political, personal, or metaphysical, intentional or subconscious. For Berman (2004: 25), this is not necessarily a rejection of the existence of an objective reality, merely a statement about journalists' inability to report in a value-free fashion. Advocacy journalists argue that media sources claiming to be free of bias often advance certain political ideas which are disguised in a socalled objective viewpoint. They contend that the mainstream media reinforce majority-held ideas, marginalizing dissent and retarding political and cultural discourse. The critics propose that it is better to make biases explicit, with the intention of promoting transparency and self-awareness that better serves media consumers. Advocacy journalists also assume that their audiences will share their biases or will at least be conscious of such prejudices while evaluating what are supposed to be well-researched and persuasive arguments (Berman, 2004)). For Careless (2000:4), advocacy journals which are also referred to as alternative publications, have a declared bias, a publicly acknowledged editorial point of view, and are unambiguous regarding their editorial position even on their masthead. According to Careless (2000:5), in cases when the mainstream media ignores, trivializes or seriously distorts happenings within a community, such a community needs its own media. In the view of Careless when a group of people are never quoted or are quoted inaccurately, if they are stereotyped or misinformation is spread about them, then they need their own face and voice. Advancing arguments for the establishment of advocacy journals, Careless (2000:5) stated that most mainstream media have vested interest on issues related to development and cannot be trusted to advance the cause of the disadvantaged in society who desperately need more social services. According to her, the disadvantaged community believes that a journal advocating on their behalf understands their needs. That aside, the whole story is not often being told in the major media. Since society is made up of various communities of varying interests and the mass media aims at the whole pool, such media skims the surface of or totally ignores the needs of smaller communities. The advocacy media is targeted at a smaller audience and can delve deeper into the concerns of marginalized communities. Again, editors of the advocacy media assume their readers are also reading mainstream publications. Therefore, advocacy media often try to answer, clarify, balance or refute unfair publications in the mainstream media (Berman, 2004). Page 38

43 Therefore, the main variables of the concept of development journalism which informs this study are: 1 Explicitly showing bias in coverage of deprived communities in allocating more airtime or space to such communities and focusing on development issues emanating from the communities. 2 The advocacy media must answer, clarify, balance or refute unfair publications in the mainstream media. 3 Constructive and positive reportage to facilitate development:- News stories that focus on this style of reportage should concentrate less on day-to-day events and give priority to long term development issues. Such news items must also focus on development activities which lead towards progress in the lives of Northern Ghanaians rather than stories which catalogue the people's development challenges; 4 Media reports should look beyond press conferences and polished news releases from government and political actors and find local sources of expertise, as in residents of deprived communities, both educated and uneducated, who have expertise and knowledge in development challenges confronting the area; 5 News reports need also present homegrown solutions to pressing development problems, as against merely presenting challenges without proffering solutions, or merely proposing international donor or government support to alleviate the plight of Northerners. Journalists must think outside the box in coming up with endogenous knowledge and value systems that can alleviate people's plight; 6 Also, media stories must critically examine and evaluate the relevance of a development project to the needs of residents of Northern Ghana, the difference between a planned scheme and its actual implementation, and the difference between a project's impact on people as claimed by government officials and as it actually is. Thus, beyond reporting the commissioning of projects by government, journalists must publish follow-up stories to assess the impact of projects on the lives of Northerners; and Methodology Content analysis and in-depth interviews were used for this study. Content analysis was used to examine the theme of messages produced by the media in their task of reporting and analyzing the poverty situation in Northern Ghana. Content analysis assisted in measuring the importance that both print and electronic media attached to news on Northern Ghana as well as the intensity and frequency with which they published stories from that part of the country. That aside, in depth interviews were conducted with media gatekeepers to establish their views on the role of the media in the development efforts of Northern Ghana. Two state-owned dailies, Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times, were purposively sampled for the study. As state-owned newspapers, these print media have a major responsibility to assist in the development efforts of deprived areas like Northern Ghana. The two papers also have offices and journalists in all ten regions of the country. Aside the state-owned papers, two privately owned newspapers, Ghanaian Chronicle and Public Agenda, were purposively sampled. Chronicle had consistently been adjudged the most widely read private newspaper and was the only private paper which had an office and a correspondent in the Northern Region. Public Agenda, on the other hand, is a newspaper which is sponsored by a nongovernmental organization with a focus on development of vulnerable communities. With regards to broadcast media, the stateowned Ghana Television and GBC Radio were purposively sampled since they are state-owned media houses with a mandate to use broadcasting for promoting development. These stations are also appropriate for the study since they have national coverage. Additionally, one privately owned television station, Metro TV, was selected for the sole reason that it was the only privately owned station whose coverage extended to Northern Ghana. Since broadcast programme scheduling is the same every week, simple random sampling was employed to select and analyze print and broadcast news and programmes for one week every month from July, 2008 to June, For each of the selected months, the lottery method was used to select one week for data collection. Every page of selected newspapers was studied to identify stories emanating from Northern Ghana. The selected stories were then coded. For radio and television programmes, news was purposely sampled. The 6:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. Page 39

44 and 6:00 p.m. news bulletins were selected on GBC Radio for the simple reason that these constitute the major news bulletins on the station. For GTV and Metro TV, their 7:00pm and 7.30pm news bulletins respectively were purposely sampled since these were the major bulletins for the two stations. The editors of all media organizations which formed part of the study were also purposively sampled and interviewed. As gatekeepers of state-owned and major privatelyowned media, the editors were expected to have much insight into the role that the media has played in developing Northern Ghana. In analyzing media content, stories published on three key areas of development namely agriculture, education, healthcare and economic issues were prioritized. The selection of these four sectors of development was based on the fact that the Centre for Democratic Governance (2011) found agriculture, education, healthcare and the economy areas of prime concern for most Ghanaians. Also, stories were analyzed as either being favourable, unfavourable or neutral. Favourable stories were those which reported some positive development within Northern Ghana while unfavourable stories presented negative happenings in the area without either advocating for support or presenting possible ways of resolving such challenges. Findings This section analyses the content of selected media organizations to show the effectiveness or otherwise with which they handled development news. It also looks at the views of media editors on the media's role in development as well as challenges they face in reporting from Northern Ghana. Inadequate coverage of Northern Ghana's development issues The study showed that less than half (44.7%) of newspaper articles on Northern Ghana were development-oriented, as against 55.3% which constituted non-development stories. Also, when the media covered development news they often accorded such news little prominence. For instance, only 2.2 percent of press publications on Northern Ghana were front page stories as against 85.6 percent of the stories which were placed in less read inside pages of the newspapers. The prioritized inside pages of the papers the centre spread attracted just 8.4 percent of Northern development stories whereas the back pages, which come second in terms of page prioritization, got 3.8 percent of the stories. Similar to the print media, the broadcast media also gave little attention to development news from Northern Ghana. Slightly more than a quarter (26.1%) of Northern development news made headlines in radio and television as against almost 74 percent (73.9%) of such news which were non-headline news. Since headline news and front page stories usually catch the attention of audiences and, therefore, make more impact than nonheadline and non-front page news, the fact that few stories made the headlines and front pages meant that editors of the selected stations did not place much priority on stories from that part of the country. This fact notwithstanding, Editors of the various media houses praised the mass media's contribution to the development of Northern Ghana. Media editors' views on role of the media in development of Northern Ghana The Deputy Editor of Chronicle indicated that the paper plays a major role in promoting the development of Northern Ghana. Chronicle has reported extensively on challenges facing agriculture in the North. We have projected the cotton industry in that part of Ghana. When cotton farmers were neglected by government, the paper articulated the plight of the farmers until government responded to their grievances, he said. In the area of health, the Ghanaian Chronicle has published stories extensively on communities within Northern Ghana which do not have access to healthcare delivery. The paper also contributed to education by exposing shortcomings like pupils sitting under trees, lack of schools for some communities where pupils have to walk long distances to attend schools, as well as lack of facilities for the University for Development Studies. According to the Chronicle's Assistant Editor, the paper has constantly brought to the fore infrastructural inadequacies like poor road and telecommunication network within Northern Ghana. Again, environmental stories of the paper focused on deforestation and bush burning. Public Agenda also contributes to the development of Northern Ghana by bringing the attention of policy makers to the plight of the North. The Deputy Editor of the paper stated: Though the Page 40

45 paper does not have a specific page devoted to coverage of the North, it works with NGOs which have an interest in the development of that part of Ghana to publish many stories from the North. He criticized other privately-owned newspapers as having overriding commercial interests that make them pay little attention to the North, since that area offers little financial benefits for press houses. The Deputy Editor was of the view that Public Agenda has, through its coverage, contributed to bridging the development gap between the North and the South by exposing development challenges of Northern Ghana and advocating for governments' assistance towards ameliorating the plight of residents of the area. Similarly, Daily Graphic Editor was of the view that the paper has contributed substantially to the development of the North owing to its coverage of development issues emanating from that part of Ghana. According to him, Graphic has a regional file column where every 10 days one region of Ghana gets the spotlight. The three regions of the North also benefit from the regional file page. Editors of the electronic media also applauded their contribution to the development of Ghana's poorest regions. The Head of News of GBC Radio was of the view that the media is making significant contribution to the political, social and economic development of Northern Ghana. The GBC's Head of News drew attention to the educational role of the mass media. He cited the three regional FM stations in Northern Ghana Radio Upper West, URA Radio and Radio Savannah as having done exceptionally well in educating ordinary residents of Northern Ghana to eradicate guinea worm and prevent the spread of HIV/Aids. GBC's regional FM stations also champion girl-child education in Northern Ghana and constantly inform inhabitants of the area on government policies. For instance, on 17th February, 2009, GBC Radio did a story to the effect that there was no single pathologist in Northern Ghana. The station did an update on the story the following day by interviewing stakeholders in health on the issue, he stated. The Head of News emphasized that GBC has contributed towards bridging the development gap between the North and the South through coverage of vulnerable groups like the young women who travel from Northern Ghana to Southern Ghana in search of greener pastures. The state broadcaster also highlights educational programmes and the work of non-governmental organizations within Northern Ghana. The Station's Head of Radio News indicated that each time government delays in paying feeding grants for northern second cycle institutions, GBC takes up the issue and advocates for payment of the grants. On his part, the Producer of News at Metro TV said the station's coverage brings to the attention of duty bearers the development challenges faced by Northerners. He was of the view that beyond presenting development challenges, the station celebrates successes chalked by ordinary residents of Northern Ghana. The station has also covered stories on the prospects of sheabutter processing, the potential of kapaala (a variety of sorghum), the use of poverty alleviation funds in Northern Ghana, smock weaving in Upper East and the tourist potential of Yezutang in the Upper West Region. The roles the Ghanaian media have played in developing Northern Ghana, as indicated by the media gatekeepers, fell short of the tenets of development reporting much less advocacy journalism. The mainstream media merely catalogued development challenges without assisting the people with proposed solutions to such challenges. The media were probably oblivious of the fact that constantly reminding people of their challenges could dampen the spirits of such people rather than motivating them to take development into their own hands. Contrary to the tenets of advocacy journalism, the media did not explicitly show bias in coverage of Northern Ghana. All editors who were interviewed indicated that they did not devote any special space or airtime to the concerns of Ghana's most deprived regions. Also, media stories failed to analyze political, economic and environmental issues to enable rural people appreciate such issues better and make informed political and economic decisions. Content of media stories Aside sampling the views of media gatekeepers on the role their various organizations played in developing Northern Ghana, this study analyzed the content of selected media houses to find out how stories on agriculture, education, health and the economy were reported on. While some of such stories carried a favourable image of Northern Ghana, others were reported in a manner as to give the area a negative image. Page 41

46 Agriculture In the area of agriculture, some favourable stories announced Government policies or assistance packages which were expected to impact positively on agricultural development within the study area. For instance, on 17th March, 2009, Radio Ghana's 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm news bulletins reported that owing to an intervention by the Vice President of Ghana, a factory in Tema had agreed to buy all tomatoes produced in the Upper East Region to avert a glut of the crop. In February, 2009, tomato farmers within the Upper East Region had complained of lack market for their produce since Market Queens from Accra preferred to purchase an improved variety of the crop from Burkina Faso. Media reports of the farmers' woes notched government into negotiating market for the farmers' crop. Having elicited government's response to the farmers' plight, development journalism practice entails following up the story to ensure that government lived by its promise and that the farmers' plight is addressed. However, there was no follow up to the story. Aside bringing the challenges of the tomato farmers to the fore, journalists also failed to come up with proposed solutions to the farmers' plight, contrary to the admonition of Smith (2008) that the development journalist goes beyond cataloguing problems of deprived communities to offering solutions. The Ghanaian Times of 7th April, 2009 also published a story titled FASCOM Coming Back which outlined Government's intention to reintroduce the Farmers' Service Centre (FASCOM) as a means of enhancing agriculture under the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA). On 11th November, 2008, Ghanaian Times published the story of a Farmers' Day ceremony which was held at Sandema in the Upper East Region during which many farmers were honoured. At the ceremony, the Vice President promised to use SADA as a means of promoting agriculture within Northern Ghana. Also, Public Agenda reported in its 16th March, 2009 issue that the Vice President, His Excellency John Mahama, announced to farmers at Navrongo in the Upper East Region that the School Feeding Programme would target locally produced rice rather than imported foodstuff. In a similar vein, the Ghanaian Times of 5th May, 2009 featured the Upper East Regional Minister who pledged government's support to revitalize agriculture within the three Northern regions. Moreover, Radio Ghana broadcasted during its 1:00pm and 6:00pm news bulletins on 15th September, 2008 that a long-term strategic development plan for the development of agriculture was unveiled by the Northern Development Fund. Government also provided seven (7) farming communities in the Bole District with water pumping machines. This favourable news item was aired by Radio Ghana on 27th October, 2008 during its 6:00am news. Both Metro TV and GTV also announced government initiatives aimed at enhancing agricultural production. For instance, Metro TV carried a story on 31st July, 2008 to the effect that some farmers in the Upper East Region had benefited from fertilizer subsidies, and another story on 7th April, 2009 reported of a workshop organized for livestock breeders in Tamale to enhance productivity. GTV aired two favourable news items on agriculture in Northern Ghana. The first, aired on 6th April, 2009, reported of the inauguration of a dam at Fusegu in the Northern Region during which the Minister for Food and Agriculture announced that government would strengthen agricultural mechanization to make farming more attractive. The second story covered the launch by the Northern Regional Minister of a sheabutter processing factory. While such stories show an attempt by the media to showcase positive developments in agriculture within Northern Ghana, the stories do not go far enough in analyzing the potential impact of such positive initiatives. Moreover, development journalism prescribes that news coverage should go beyond focusing on the planned events which the media houses covered to deal with initiatives by Northern farmers which are producing positive results. Such initiatives could then serve as examples to show the way to successful agricultural production for other farmers. It is not enough for the development journalist to merely outline government's promises of support communities as the stories published above did. What the journalists who reported on pledges to use the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to improve agriculture and to bring back the Farmers' Service Centre (FASCOM) failed to appreciate was that, The journalist's job on a development newsbeat is critically to examine, evaluate and report the relevance of a development project to national and local needs (Aggarwala, 1978 cited in Kunczik, 1992:13). However, there was neither analysis from the media on the proposed agricultural policies and programmes for Page 42

47 Northern Ghana nor were there follow up stories to find out whether government made good its promises for the people. Unfavourable stories on agriculture took the form of natural and manmade disasters, lack of market for farm produce and lack of conducive environment for agricultural production. The Ghanaian Times of 20th January, 2009, carried a story headlined, Fire razes 10 acre mango farm. The unfortunate incident took place at the Savlugu/Nanton District of the Northern Region. A similar story was published by the same paper on 21st August, 2008 titled, Cattle destroy farms at Gbiligu. The story reported how large tracts of cultivated fields were destroyed by cattle headed by Fulani men at Gbiligu in the Northern Region. Destruction of farms by cattle also caught the attention of Radio Ghana during its 6:00pm news on 19th March, The Economics of tomato marketing was not left out of media reportage. The 5th November, 2008 issue of Ghanaian Times reported that the refurbished Northern Tomato Factory could not operate since there was disagreement between farmers and the factory management in pricing tomatoes. Thus, the farmers preferred selling to market queens who bought the crop at a higher price. This story was captioned, Tomato farmers prefer selling to market queens. Such stories were deemed unfavourable for the simple reason that having brought challenges facing agriculture to the fore, the stories neither proposed solutions nor did they advocate for intervention to alleviate the people's plight. Education Like stories on agriculture, more than half (54.3%) of the print stories either portrayed a favourable image of education in Northern Ghana, while only 29.4 percent of broadcast stories did the same. Many of the favourable stories reported some progress made in education or some forms of support given to educational institutions within Northern Ghana. In Kassena Nankana West District in focus, the Ghanaian Chronicle edition of 16th February, 2009 dilates on educational progress within the district, focusing mainly on the development of educational infrastructure. Another district which was praised for implementing educational policies was the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region. The Ghanaian Chronicle edition of 25th August, 2008 carried a story with the title, Enrolment figures jump in Sissala West, in which the Ghana Education Service (GES) District Director applauded government and NGOs for their role in the enhancement of enrolment within the district. A Radio Ghana story of 16th September, 2008 also spoke of an enrolment figure of 282 pupils into Primary One in the Upper West Region. This came to light during the Regional Minister's visit to some schools on the occasion of My First Day in School. The Talensi-Nabdam District of the Upper East Region was equally concerned about enrolment of children in school. Thus, the Assembly enacted a bye-law to ensure that parents send their children to school. This was reported in the 19th June, 2009 edition of Daily Graphic. Regarding the contents of unfavourable educational stories, 47.1 percent of broadcast stories on education were negative as against 16.1 percent of newspaper publications on the area which were unfavourable coverage of educational issues within Northern Ghana. Less than a quarter (23.5%) of broadcast stories was neutral as against 29.6 percent of print media stories which were neutral. Most unfavourable education stories merely catalogued educational challenges within Northern Ghana without attempting to show the way forward. Notable among such stories was a feature story in the 19th September, 2008 edition of the Ghanaian Chronicle under the headline New Education Reform, Challenges of Upper East Schools. This full page story merely mentioned the well-known challenges in education inadequate classroom accommodation, lack of furniture, insufficient textbooks and syllabi etc. Similar to this story was a Ghanaian Chronicle story of 16th June, 2009, which was titled, Most children in Bongo district attend school late research. The news item, which mentioned many educational challenges within the Bongo District of the Upper East Region, was based on research carried out by some civil society groups. The fact that the above stories conveyed news of challenges within the educational sector of Northern Ghana is not itself a negative reportage. The style of reportage is what makes such stories unfavourable in terms of the development aspirations of the Northern communities which formed the subject matter of such stories. All that such news stories did was to enumerate the educational challenges without indulging in campaigns to ensure that such challenges are Page 43

48 addressed. Such reportage, according to Gough (2002), might only end up demoralizing the community members since constantly being exposed to their many problems could make them throw up their arms in despair. The media could go beyond the simplistic act of presenting such challenges to mobilizing the people for action, advocating for support for the communities concerned and proposing credible options for tackling such challenges. Health With regards to stories on health, half of the electronic media stories was adjudged unfavourable as against 37.5 percent which was favourable, with neutral stories accounting for 12.5 percent. On the other hand, favourable stories (43.9%) outnumbered unfavourable (42.1%) and neutral stories (14.0%) for the print media houses. Many of the favourable health stories published on Northern Ghana reported of assistance packages from donors, philanthropists and government agencies to healthcare institutions in the North. Under the headline, NGO collaborates with GHS to address health issues in Upper East, the Ghanaian Chronicle of 9th December, 2008 reported that Grassroots Africa and the Ghana Health Service were working towards eliminating negative cultural practices which hinder healthcare delivery in the Upper East Region. The 17th February, 2009 issue of Daily Graphic also reported that the Christian Children's Fund of Canada, an NGO donated one thousand, five hundred Ghana cedis (GH? 1,500.00) and drugs to people living with HIV/Aids in Tamale, while the 19th March, 2009 issue of the same paper reported of a de-worming exercise for 17,000 basic school pupils in the Saboba District of the Northern Region. Unfavourable health stories published in the press covered areas such as lack of health personnel, poor health facilities, common ailments which constitute health challenges to Northern Ghana and cultural practices that are inimical to the health status of Northerners. Bad cultural practices were the subject of Chronicle's story of 11th December, 2008 edition headlined Bad cultural practices killing pregnant women and Public Agenda's story of 12th December, 2008, titled Pregnant women die as a result of negative cultural practices. Both stories resulted from the coverage of a forum organized by a civil society organization during which a District Director of Health Services complained that some communities within the Upper East Region were not allowing pregnant women to attend antenatal care at clinics. Cultural practices impeding good healthcare was also the subject matter of We smell a communication challenge, a Ghanaian Times story of 17th November, 2008 which intimated that pregnant women in some Northern communities were refusing to use mosquito nets provided by health personnel. On 8th May, 2009, a similar story was published in the same paper headlined, Antimalaria drugs don't cause abortion. It may be observed that both the favourable and unfavourable health stories lacked critical analysis. The media did not undertake the health campaigns that Namra (2004) recommends for tackling health care problems in developing countries. What the media did, instead, was to report on events which happened related to health. This means that they reneged on their core duty as the fourth estate of the realm which is to educate audiences. The media's attempt at informing audiences on health issues within Northern Ghana was also poorly executed. Rather than using research and interviews to gather comprehensive information to educate Northerners on health issues, the media merely attended organized events and functions where they obtained and published speeches of politicians and management of health service providers. This has proved insufficient in catering for the health information needs of Northerners. Economy For both the print and broadcast media, majority of the stories portrayed a favourable image of the economy of Northern Ghana. The print media published 64.3 percent of favourable stories and the broadcast media 66.7 percent, as against 33.3 percent unfavourable broadcast news and 7.1 percent unfavourable print news. More than a quarter (28.6%) of newspaper stories was adjudged neutral, whereas broadcast media did not have a single neutral story. Some favourable stories pointed at improved economic activity in Northern Ghana or prospects for better standards of living. In Bolga Exhibits made in Africa products, a Ghanaian Times story of 20th August, 2008, the writer gave a detailed account of a five-day exhibition of made-in-africa products organized in the Upper East Regional capital, Bolgatanga, to showcase the economic potentials of the Northern, Upper East and West Regions. Similarly, Metro TV, Page 44

49 on 6th May, 2009, aired a news item on the Bolgatanga Crafts Village showcasing the economic potential of the Village. Still within the Upper East Region, GTV, on 21st February, 2009, highlighted the economic potential of the Dog Market in Bolgatanga. Radio Ghana also conveyed some positive economic news on the North. As a means of alleviating poverty within Northern Ghana, government secured funding for the Northern Rural Growth Programme. Radio Ghana's 6:00am bulletin of 18th June, 2009 aired this news. As an indication that business was growing in Northern Ghana, Radio Ghana, on 29th October, 2008, again amplified the voice of the President of the North-Eastern Chapter of Rural Banks Association who indicated at Bolgatanga that rural banks had advanced GH 8.5 million to businesses within Northern and Upper East Regions. All unfavourable print stories on the economy were published by the Daily Graphic. One such story was published on 16th September, 2008 bearing the title, Woes of loan seekers in Tamale. Another had earlier on the 26th August, 2008 featured in the paper headlined, Foreigners capture Tamale market, while the third story of 16th September, 2008 which bore the heading Food joints on holiday, lamented that restaurants in Tamale had closed down owing to the Ramadan fasting. Only two unfavourable broadcast stories on the economy were featured in the news, one each on Metro TV network and Radio Ghana. The Metro TV story of 6th May, 2009 brought to the fore the deplorable state of the Bolgatanga Crafts Village and the traders' call on government to complete it. The Radio Ghana's 1:00pm story of 20th March, 2009, on the other hand, featured the Ghana Trade and Livelihood Coalition which questioned the closure of the Bolgatanga Tomato Factory. These stories are deemed favourable because they portray positive economic development in Northern Ghana, while other stories advertised the economic potential of that part of the country. However, the favourable stories do not go far enough in creating the physic ambience within which economic development and productivity occurs, a requirement for effective development communications (Yayewera, 1987: 49). This shows that media coverage of development issues from the North failed to contribute effectively to the economic development of Northern Ghana. On the contrary, stories which portrayed a negative picture of the economy of Northern Ghana could scare away investors and dampen the spirit of the Northern businessperson. Challenges to media coverage of Northern Ghana To enable the researcher gain insight into reasons why the media do not give adequate coverage to Northern Ghana, the author asked media gatekeepers the challenges involved in extending sufficient coverage to the North. The Assistant Editor of Chronicle identified various challenges which inhibit coverage of Northern Ghana. According to him, many parts of the North are not easily accessible owing to bad roads and lack of vehicles plying some roads. Therefore, journalists found it difficult covering events in that part of the country. The Deputy Editor of Chronicle further noted that, there were inadequate internet access and postal services in the North, and this made the work of journalists difficult. He concluded that it was expensive sending journalists to Northern Ghana. This explained why the paper had inadequate human resource presence in the North. It had no office within the Upper West Region and hardly got stories from that Region. Though it had offices in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, and Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional capital, such offices were poorly furnished and resourced. The Tamale office, manned by one trained journalist, had only one computer, no internet facility and no means of transportation. The Bolgatanga office was even worse off with neither a computer, nor an internet facility or means of transportation. Only one trained journalist also worked for the newspaper within the Upper East Region. Public Agenda's Deputy Editor also cited inadequate internet access, bad road network and lack of electricity in Northern Ghana as major hindrances to media coverage of that part of the country. According to him, the unwillingness of officialdom in the North to give information also made the work of journalists difficult in that part of the country. Similarly, the Editor of Daily Graphic mentioned difficulty in accessing information because of traditional beliefs as a major challenge to accessing information from the North. He said, Negative practices such as female genital mutilation and witchcraft are not reported since the reporter risks being lynched should he / she attempt exposing such practices. Also, lack of Page 45

50 access to some parts of the North and unwillingness to accept postings to the North constitute major challenges to media practice in the North. Graphic, the Editor stated, often had to employ the services of stringers since qualified journalists were unwilling to serve in the North. The Editor indicated that though the paper had offices in all three regional capitals of Northern Ghana, the offices were neither well-staffed nor were they well-equipped. Each region of the North had two journalists, while the offices were only provided computers and fax machines. None of the three offices had either a vehicle or internet facilities. For the Head of GBC Radio News, the media's lack of sensitivity to problems of Northern Ghana was the major challenge to providing accurate coverage of the area. He indicated that most reporters had not been exposed to the development challenges of the North. According to him, his negative perception of Northern Ghana changed only upon his return from a visit to that part of the country. He mentioned bad roads and inadequate vehicles for journalists as significant challenges to reporting from Northern Ghana. On the other hand, the Producer of News at Metro TV stated: Reporters and editors may give negative coverage to Northern Ghana owing to their genuine ignorance of happenings there rather than an exhibition of any malicious intent to denigrate the people. This is because most reporters and editors face genuine language difficulties, while others lack an appreciation of the people's culture. He observed that Metro TV did not have its own reporters based in Northern Ghana. The station depended on stringers to cover the North. For him, the vast nature of Northern Region was a challenge to its coverage since no single stringer could cover the entire Region. Additionally, stringers who covered the area were not provided cameras. They had to acquire cameras on their own for the work. This often affected quality of the video footage, and ultimately, the quality of the news stories. Besides, stringers faced logistical constraints as well as difficulties in accessing transportation to some remote parts of the North. For instance, the stringer for the Upper West Region was swept away by flood waters while going to cover a story and almost got drowned, the Producer stated, adding that Metro TV had no single office of its own in the North. Reconceptualizing development Journalism Results of the study showed that Ghanaian journalists do not engage in development reporting for the benefit of Northern Ghana. Journalists failed to adhere to the tenets of development journalism namely, engaging in constructive and positive reportage to facilitate development, conscientizing deprived communities to enhance political participation and using local sources of expertise to identify home-grown solutions to development challenges. In violation of the tenets of development journalism, majority of stories reported on Northern Ghana were based on coverage of planned, day-to-day events rather than giving priority to long term development issues. This tenet of development journalism falls in line with the sustainable development approach which argues for long-term utilization of natural resources. Smith (2008) recommended that development journalists should focus on progress being made by deprived communities rather than cataloguing people's development challenges. This is contrary to the results of this study which showed that many broadcast media stories presented development challenges without making any attempt to propose a way forward for Northern Ghana. When a group of people are constantly reminded of their deplorable living circumstances without any attempt to give them hope of overcoming their deprivation, such people easily resign to their fate and are unable to initiate action towards bettering their situation. More so, media coverage of Northern Ghana shows a disregard for the recommendation of Dare (2000) that development reporters must look beyond press conferences and polished news releases from government and political actors and find local sources of expertise. Dare (2000) also indicated that the development reporter must critically examine, evaluate and report the relevance of development projects to communities, and monitor the implementation of such projects to ensure that community members benefit from development initiatives. The stories in this study did not go beyond reporting the commissioning of projects by government. Journalists failed to publish follow-up stories on development projects to enable them assess the impact of projects on the lives of Northerners. This study also showed that journalists failed to think outside the box in coming up with indigenous solutions to alleviate Northern Ghana's Page 46

51 plight. Against the advice of Fleury (2008), stories on Northern Ghana did not attempt to present home-grown solutions to pressing development challenges. Development journalists have the tendency of sitting at their editorial desks to proffer solutions to the development of communities which they have hardly ever visited, or using the views of development theorists as panacea to the progress of deprived communities. Such information need not come from foreign development experts. Using participatory communication methods as espoused in the community radio concept, development journalists can arrive at home-grown solutions to development challenges. In effect, the media did not live up to the expectation of development reporting as a tool for social justice and empowerment as well as a voice for the voiceless (Smith, 2008). Rather than speak for the marginalized, the media merely articulated the views of policy makers and the government. Journalists acted as propagandists and public relations tools for governments and corporate organizations rather than pursuing development objectives. This is partly a result of commercial interests being pursued by individual journalists and the media houses. Gadzekpo (2008) have revealed that media men and women practice soli, a situation where they collect monies from highly-placed individuals or organizations to give publicity to such people or organizations. This means that in its present form and orientation, the Ghanaian media is unable to practice development journalism to the letter. Viewed from the background of the fact that Smith (2008) found adherence to the principles of development journalism as the most effective means of using the mass media for development of deprived areas, the Ghanaian media's inability to abide by development journalistic practices testifies to their ineffectiveness as development partners. Therefore, a more vibrant and radical approach to development communication, advocacy journalism, is required to bring Northern Ghana's development issues to the attention of the country's development partners. Careless (2000) laid the ground rule for advocacy journalism by stating that when the mainstream media ignores, trivializes or seriously distorts happenings within a community, such a community needs its own media. This study has established that news on Northern Ghana was not given much priority by both the print and electronic media. It also came out that only 2.2 percent of press publications on Northern Ghana made it to the front pages, while 26.1 percent of broadcast stories on Northern Ghana were headline news. Also, majority of press stories on Northern Ghana were less than a quarter page long and lacked enhancements with photographs. Berman (2004) argued that since society is made up of various communities of varying interests and the mass media aims at the whole pool, the needs of smaller communities are often ignored. The advocacy media is targeted at a smaller audience and can delve deeper into the concerns of marginalized communities. This explains why, as the results of the present study testifies, the development needs of Northern Ghana were not adequately discussed by the mainstream media. Advocacy media is required to focus attention on the development priorities of Northern Ghana and to answer, clarify, balance or refute unfair publications about Northern Ghana in the mainstream media. Advocacy journalists would have to be further trained to have the humility to listen carefully and accurately to residents of the area voicing out their development challenges. Media men and women would also be expected to offer leadership, promote new norms and practices aimed at advancing the development of Northern Ghana rather than simply reporting on events. As part of advocacy journalism, media persons ought to also indulge in campaigns aimed at drawing the attention of government and nongovernmental organizations to challenges faced by residents of Northern Ghana. Advocacy journalism also requires constructive and positive reportage to facilitate development with less focus on day-to-day events and an emphasis on stories that promote long term development of Northern Ghana. To achieve this, there is the need for Ghanaian journalists to change their perception of news from the western concept of news being regarded as a saleable commodity (Ansah, 1990). News must be seen as a means of strengthening the cultural values of communities and presenting home-grown solutions to challenges which slow down development. Working within the mainstream media environment and guided by the commercial orientation of the mainstream media, it is difficult for the advocacy journalist to achieve development objectives. The philosophy of community radios makes them more effective channels for advocacy Page 47

52 journalism. Since community radios are usually owned by members of a community and are nonprofit making entities, commercial interests cannot stand in the way of development advocacy. Additionally, the participatory nature of community radios offers community members fora to debate and reach consensus on their development process. Conclusion The Ghanaian media is not abiding by either the tenets of development journalism or those of advocacy journalism. Therefore, much as editors claim to have contributed significantly to the development of Northern Ghana, media stories failed to make the level of impact needed to speed up the development of Northern Ghana. This results from the fact that the media had no consistent plans aimed at using communication for development support particularly of deprived parts of Ghana. Also, though majority of stories analyzed portrayed positive development within Northern Ghana, the media failed to analyze the implications of the stories or to follow up pledges made by politicians to implement specific development programmes within Ghana's poorest regions. The media, instead, concentrated on coverage of planned events which yielded routine news reports articulating the views of persons in authority. of Northern Ghana, managers of media houses should assign more reporters cover stories within Northern Ghana. Besides, the Department of African and General Studies of the University for Development Studies should collaborate with the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) to train journalists who appreciate the culture of the North. 5 Additionally, district assemblies in the North could sponsor the training of some indigenes and bond them, on completion of their training programmes, to practice development journalism within the districts where they benefited from such sponsorships; 6 Proximity of the media to their sources of news is an important consideration on the amount of news hole devoted a particular area. Therefore, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies must establish more media houses, particularly television stations, within northern Ghana. Recommendations To enhance media coverage of Northern Ghana, it is worth considering the following suggestions: 1 Media managers should accord some prominence to Northern Ghana by dedicating at least one page in each issue of their papers to Northern issues. Media personnel should constantly interview 2. Northern Members of Parliament to abreast themselves with challenges of the area which could be brought to the notice of development partners; 3 Regional Coordinating Councils, municipal and district assemblies in Northern Ghana should partner the media in coming out with a policy for the coverage of development issues from Northern Ghana. 4 Insufficient development news on the North has also been blamed on the presence of few trained journalists in that part of the country. To enhance coverage Page 48

53 References Aborampah, O.M, and Anokwa, K 1984, Communication and agricultural development: some theoretical and conceptual considerations. Gazette, 34 (2): Ansah, P.A.V. (1990). News Values: An African perspective. Development, (2). Asante, C. E. (1999). The press in Ghana problems and prospects (2nd Edition). University Press of American Inc. Beltran, L. R. S. (1976). Alien premises, objects, and methods in Latin American communication research. Communication and development: Critical perspectives, Beverly Hills, Sage Publications. Berman, D. (2004). Advocacy journalism, the least you can do, and the no confidence movement. Lecture delivered at the Independent Media Center on 29 June Careless, S. (2000). Advocacy journalism. The Interim, 2. Daily Guide. 7th September, 2009, page 7. Dare, O. (2000). Development journalism: The role of the print media in development and social change. In A.A. Moemeka, (Ed.). Development communication in action: Building understanding and creating participation. University Press of America. Fabrizio (2007). Using media for development. h t t p : / / t e ch n o s o c - b l o g s p o t. c o m (Viewed ). Fleury, J. (2008). Development journalism or just good journalism, /trust/. (Viewed ). Fraiser, C. & Restrepo-Estrada, S. (1998). Communicating for development. human change for survival. Tauris Publishers. Gadzekpo, A. (2008). When the watchman slips: Media accountability and democratic reforms in Ghana. Critical Perspectives, ( 22). Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana. Hor nik, R. C. (1989). Development communication: Information, agriculture and nutrition in the Third World. Longman. Inayatullah, Y. (1967). Quoted by H. Bin Adnan, The Nature of Development. Introduction to Development Communication, East-West Communication Institute, East- West Center: 8. Kayode, J. & Jimoh, J. (2009). Newspaper coverage of development issues. A paper delivered at the African Council of Communication Education Conference, Accra, Ghana. Kunczik, M. (1992). Development and communication. Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung. Mbindyo, J. M. (1984). Agricultural extension and national development. UNESCO-ACCE seminar on communication policy and planning for development. Nairobi, Kenya. Namra, A. (2004). Development journalism vs. 'envelopment' Journalism. http/www. c o u n t e r c u r r e n t s. o r g / h r - namra htm. (Visited ). Q u e b r a l, N. C. ( ). D e ve l o p m e n t communication: Where does it stand today? Media Asia, 2 (4): Smith, S. E. (2008). What is development journalism? (Visited ). Page 49

54 YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AS A MAJOR OBSTACLE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA. Abstract ABARSHI DAUDA DANIEL Department of Sociology, Bauchi State University, Gadau Bauchi Campus. Nigeria is one of the largest, populated and the richest country in Africa and the world at large. It has been endowed with both human and natural resources. It has the population of over 150 million people and is the 6th petroleum producing country in the world. Yet, despite these enormous human and natural resources, youth unemployment is on the high increase as hundreds of thousands of youth are graduating from higher institutions of learning every year into the labor market, but only few are being absorbed into gainful employment, the rest keeps roaming the streets. Large number of youth is not gainfully employed, who are the future leaders of this great country and this gives birth to poverty and consequently their involvement in innovative behaviors to survive. Therefore, this paper attempts to find out the rates of unemployment based on states in Nigeria, causes of youth unemployment, its effects and recommends measures to be taken to achieve a sustainable development in Nigeria. The methodology employed in this article is highly a contextual approach using secondary data. KEY WORDS: Unemployment, Youth, Population, Sustainable development. Introduction The population of every nation is divided into two categories, the economically active and the economically inactive. The economically active population or working population refers to the population that is willing and able to work who are employed and those who are unemployed. Whereas, unemployed refers to people who are willing and a capable of work but are unable to find suitable paid employment.national Bureau of Statistics (2009). The next category, the economically inactive population refers to people who are neither working nor looking for jobs. An example includes housewives, full time student those below the legal age for work,old personsetc. (World Bank, 1998:63). Unemployment is a problem that each society faces, and each society must find a way to beat it. Unemployment is one of the developmental problems that face every d e v e l o p i n g e c o n o m y i n t h e 2 1 s t Century.Unemployment in Nigeria is one of the most critical problems the country is facing. The years of corruption, civil war, military rule, and mismanagement have hindered economic growth of the country. Nigeria is endowed with diverse and infinite resources, both human and material. However, years of negligence and adverse policies have led to the under-utilization of these resources. These resources have not been effectively utilized in order to yield maximum economic benefits. This is one of the primary causes of unemployment in Nigeria.Unemployment in Nigeria is a major problem both politically, economically and socially. Unemployment in Nigeria has resulted in more and more people who do not have purchasing power. Less consumption has led to lower production and economic growth has been hampered. Unemployment also has social consequences as it increases the rate of crime. Research objectives The objective of this study was to find out the rates of youth unemployment based on states,how it has undermined the attainment of sustainable development in Nigeria. And also to suggest measures to curb this menace for the attainment of sustainable development in Nigeria. Page 50

55 Theoritical framework Radical theories of economics and unemployment proliferated in 19th century. The theory was propounded by P.J. Proudhon, an anarchist, who saw both the state and the firm as two side of the identical coin: they worked together and shared profits among themselves. The theory states that workers were merely chattel to be hired and fired at will by this state-capital nexus. Also that profit is the real cause of unemployment. Since so much money is unjustly accrued to the owning classes and the state, there is little money left for labor. The more power the owners of capital receive, the more money they reward themselves, completely out of proportion to their actual usefulness. Unemployment exists, therefore, because of the political power the bosses have over the allocation of resources. In Nigeria, youth unemployment can be attributed to the sharing formula of government resources among the executive, which was meant to build industries, empower the youth with capital for businesses to be self-employed etc. Consequently, the money to even pay those already working becomes a problem, therefore the laying off of workers from their jobs. Those given the political mandate by the people are not serving the interest of the people but their own selfish interest by siphoning the resources that is meant for creating jobs, building industries, provision of infrastructures in rural areas, provision of steady electric power supply to attract both foreign and domestic investors to invest in Nigeria thereby creating jobs for the youth. Data collected, results and discussion Table I: Unemployment Rates by States [both Sex] Census,1991 STATES STATES TOTAL POPULATION EMPLOYED LABOUR FORCE UNEMPLOYED POPULATION Abia AkwaIbom Adamawa Anambra Bauchi Benue Borno Cross River Delta Edo Enugu Imo Jigawa Kaduna Kano 2,338,487 2,409, ,796,475 4,351,007 2,753,077 2,536,003 1,911,297 2,590,491 2,172,005 3,154,380 2,485,635 2,875,525 3,935,618 5,810, , , , , , , , , , ,030 1,039, , , ,338 1,291,311 79,335 76,021 31,589 49,322 32,425 30,129 23,526 50,534 64,824 56,030 77,707 92,792 18,772 46,331 39,580 Katsina Kebbi Kogi Kwara Lagos Niger Ogun Ondo Osun Oyo Plateau Rivers Sokoto Taraba Yobe 3,753,133 2,,068,490 2,147,756 1,548,412 5,725,116 2,421,581 2,333,726 3,785,338 2,158,143 3,452,720 3,312,412 4,309,557 4,470,176 1,512,163 1,399, , , , ,687 2,438, ,761 1,066,532 1,431, ,896 1,502, ,277 1,223, , , ,069 21,734 8,160 47,655 11,135 92,825 16,622 15,053 42,086 13,728 20,208 33, ,214 11,401 13,861 9,544 Abuja-FCT Nigeria 371,674 88,992, ,265 26,624,926 8,900 1,311,603 UNEMPLOYED RATE Source: NPC, (2010) 1991 Census, Analytical Report. Method of data collection The method of data collection employed in this research was purely secondary data. The report of National Population Commission on census 1991 and 2006 (final result) was consulted. Also, the statisticalrate of youth unemployment from National Bureau of Statistics of different years was used in this research and the work of many scholars on the same subject matter. Page 51

56 According to the 2011 unemployment rates released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).Zamfara, Bauchi and Niger states are worst hit by unemployment in the country. Table II: Unemployment Rates in Nigeria 2011 STATES ZAMFARA BAUCHI NIGER GOMBE NASARAWA JIGAWA EDO YOBE ADAMAWA KADUNA BORNO KATSINA DELTA IMO RIVERS PLATEAU KEBBI KANO -FCT ABUJA AKWA IBOM CROSS REVER SOKOTO KOGI TARABA ONDO ANAMBRA ABIA BAYELSA BENUE EBONYI EKITI OGUN ENUGU OSUN KWARA LAGOS OYO PERCENTAGES 42.6% 41.4% 39.4% 38.7% 36.5% 35.9% 35.7% 35.6% 33.8% 30.3% 29.1% 28.1% 27.2% 26.9% 25.5% 25.3% 25.3% 21.3% 21.1% 18.2% 18.2% 17.9% 14..4% 12.7% 12.5% 12.4% 11.2.% 23.9% 14.4% 23.1% 12.1% 22.9% 25.2% 3.0% 7.1% 8.3% 8.9% Source: National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria With the current population of 170 million, the 23.9% as posted by NBS as national unemployment rate represents about 40.6 million Nigerians who are within the working age of 17 to 65 years. This age bracket in Nigeria's population represents over 70% of the 170 million people, which implies that about 119,000,000 falls within the working age of 17 to 65years and 40,630,000 lacked any form of employment. The youth, by Nigeria's conventional definition, are those within 17 to about 45years, and this makes about 80% of the active population, meaning that an estimated 32,504,000 active youths are totally unemployed. In Nigeria, accurate unemployment rates are difficult to access. However, according to Oyebade (2003:12), Nigeria's unemployment can be grouped into two categories: first, the older unemployedwho lost their jobs through retrenchment, redundancy, or bankruptcy; and second, the younger Unemployed, most of whom have never been employed. For Awogbenle and Iwuamadi (2010:34), the statistics from the Manpower Board and the Federal Bureau of Statistics showed that Nigeria has a youth population of 80 million, representing 60% of the total population of the country. Also, 64 million of them are unemployed, while 1.6 million are underemployed. The data on youth unemployment showed that the largest group of the unemployed is the secondary school graduates. Also, 40% of the unemployment rate is amongurban youth aged and 31% of the rate is among those aged Also, two thirds of theurban unemployed are ranged from years old. Moreover, the educated unemployed tendedto be young males with few dependents. There are relatively few secondary school graduates and the lowered job expectations of primary-school graduates. There is no consistent trend of unemployment rates in Nigeria. An increase in one or two years is sometimes followed by a decline in the subsequent years. According to National Bureau of Statistics (2009:238; 2010:2), the national unemployment rates for Nigeria between 2000 and 2009 showed that the number of unemployed persons constituted the following; Page 52

57 Table III: Annual Percentages of Unemployment from YEARS % % % % % % % % % % PERCENTAGES Source: National Bureau of Statistics Specifically as regards the age group, educational group and sex, data provided by the National Bureau of Statistics (2010:3) further showed that as at March 2009 in Nigeria, for persons between ages 15 and 24 years, 41.6% were unemployed. For persons between 25 and 44 years, 17% were unemployed. Also, those with primary education, 14.8% were unemployed and for those with only secondary education, 23.8% were unemployed. Furthermore, for those with post secondary education, 21.3% were unemployed. For those who never attended school and those with below primary education, 21.0% and 22.3% were unemployed respectively. As regards sex, data showed that males constituted 17.0% while females constituted 23.3%.It is important to note that the figures above may not have captured in totality the youth unemployment situation in Nigeria, however, they are pointing to the fact that the phenomenon is a very critical issue with farreaching implications for stability of democracy. The Causes Of Youth Unemploymentin Nigeria. In the study of unemployment in Nigeria, Adebayo (1999), Alanana (2003), Awogbenle and Iwuamadi (2010),Ayinde (2008), Echebiri (2005) and Morphy (2008) have identified some of the main causes of youth unemployment in Nigeria. Rural-urban Migration: The first is the rapidly growing urban labor force arising from rural urban migration. Rural-urban migration is usually explained in terms of push-pull factors. The push factors include the pressure resulting from man-land ratio in the rural areas and the existence of serious underemployment arising from the seasonal cycle of climate. The factors are further exacerbated in Nigeria by the lack of infrastructural facilities, which makes the rural lifeunattractive. Youth move to urban areas with the probability of securing lucrative employment in the industries. In addition to this, there is the concentration of social amenities in the urban centers. This means that the rural areas are neglected in the allocation of social and economic opportunities. According to Sarr (2000), youth migrants in Africa are three times more in number than other migrants. He estimated that by the end of year 2015, over 50 percent of the youths in Africa will be residing in urban areas where job opportunities are limited to a few modern sectors and establishments. Population Growth: The second is the rapid population growth. Going as a result of the 2006 census in Nigeria, the nation's population was put at140,431,790 and projections for the future indicate that the population could be over 180 million by the year 2015, given the annual growth rate of 3.2 percent (National Population Commission, 2009:3). With this population, Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa. It is argued that the high population growth rate has resulted in the rapid growth of the labor force, which is far outstripping the supply of jobs. The accelerated growth of population on Nigeria's unemployment problem is multifaceted. It affects the supply side through a Page 53

58 high and rapid increase in the labor force relative to the absorptive capacity of the economy. The outdated school curriculum: The third is the outdated school curricula and lack of employable skills. Some scholars and commentators have argued that as far as the formal sector is concerned, the average Nigeria graduate is not employable and, therefore, does not possess the skills needed by the employers of labor for a formal employment. Often, this is attributed to the Nigeria's education system, with its liberal bias. The course contents of most tertiary education in Nigeria lack entrepreneurial contents that would have enabled graduates to become job creators rather than job seekers. The fourth is the rapid expansion of the educational system which directly leads to increase in the supply of educated manpower above the corresponding demand for them. This contributes to the problem of the youth unemployment in Nigeria. For instance, according to Manning and Junankar (1998), the total number of graduates turned out by the higher institutions in Nigeria, which were 73,339 in 1986/1987 which rose to 131,016 in 1996/1997. Presently, with over 97 universities in Nigeria (both federal, state, and private) and the increasing demand for higher education there has been the problem of suitable employment for the varieties of graduates are turned out by these higher institutions every year. Ordinarily, this should not have been a problem, but the reality is that the Nigerian economy is too weak to absorb this large number of graduates (Utomi, 2011). The decay of industries: There is no vibrant manufacturing sector which has the capacity to absorb unemployed youth in Nigeria. There are over 800 collapsed industries in Nigeria and over 37 factories have closed shops in About half of the remaining operating firms have been classified as ailing, a situation that poses a great threat to the survival ofmanufacturing in the country in the next few years. According to a survey carried out as part of its membership operational audit in January 2010 by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the 834 figure represents the cumulative aggregate of firms that have shut down their operations in 2009 across the country. The MAN survey usually covers five manufacturing enclaves, into which the country is divided, in terms of manufacturing activities. These include the Lagos, northern, southeast, south-south and southwest areas. The report of the survey showed that in 2009, a total number of 176 firms became terminally sick and collapsed in the northern area, comprising the Kano and Kaduna states manufacturing axis. In the southeast area, which is comprised of Anambra, Enugu, Imo, and Abia states, a total number of 178companies closed shop during the period. While in the south-south area, which consisted of Rivers, Cross River, and AkwaIbom states, 46 companies shut down operations beforedecember According to the survey, the southwest area, which is comprised of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi, and Kwara states, lost 225 companies during the year. It said that the Lagos area, covering Ikeja, Apapa, Ikorodu, and other industrial divisions in the state, followed closely with 214 manufacturing firms closing shop before the end of 2009 (Maiyak, 2010; Okafor, 2008; Oparah, 2011; Usman, 2011).In a nutshell, the fact is that the Nigeria investment climate is not investor friendly.besides, high and multiple levies and taxations being paid by these companies, energy crises have combined to make the cost of doing business in Nigeria to be very exorbitant.when the industries and factories closed shops or relocated to a friendlier economic environment, workers were laid off and prospects of recruiting new ones were dashed. All these exacerbated thecrisis of youth unemployment in the labor market (Adeloye, 2010; Onifade, 2011). Corruption: Corruption, which has permeated the entire social structure of Nigeria, has robbed the country of developing a vibrant economic base. Funds meant for development projects have been misappropriated, diverted, or embezzled and stashed away in foreign banks, while some incompetent and corrupt bureaucrats and administrators in the public enterprises and parastatals have liquidated these organizations (Okafor, 2007a). The point being made here is that the collaboration of the political elites, local and foreign contractors in the inflation of contract fees have robbed Nigeria of the chances of using more than $500 billion estimated revenue from the oil sale in the last 50 years to develop a vibrant economy that would have created jobs for the youths in various sectors of the economy. The ruling (political) class failed because they replaced the vision, policy, and strategy, which should be the Page 54

59 thrust of every leader with transaction (contract award and other mundane money-related activities). Each successive government took turns to prey on the nation's wealth, by using public power, resources, good will, utilities, instrument of abuse, and personal gains (Okafor, 2005). The most recent rating of Nigeria, by the Transparency International (TI), on corruption computed a scale of 0-10 that showed that corruption has yet to abate. Nigeria was ranked 134 out of 178 countries that were assessed. They were viewed against previous ratings for the year 2008 and 2009, in which Nigeria was ranked 121st out of 180countries and 130th out of 180, respectively; the country has declined alarmingly on the corruption scale. In theafrican Bracket, Botswana led with a score of 5.8, while the crisisridden Somalia was at the bottom with a score of 1.1. Countries like Ghana, Liberia, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Benin Republic, Mali, and Niger led Nigeria. No Africa country made the top 20 list of countries with low corruption in the survey. This is despite the fact that Nigeria has streams of institutional mechanisms for combating corruption, namely, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices (and other related offenses) Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) (The Guardian, 2010; Ijioma, 2010). 366 The effects of youth unemployment on Nigeria s Nascent democracy: In Nigeria, what is the guaranteed that large army of unemployed youths will not engage in activities that would undermine the stability of her nascent democracy in Nigeria? The problem of chronic youth unemployment is very evident in Nigeria such as high rates of crime, violent attitude, drug abuse, prostitution etc. As every year thousands of graduates are turnout for whom there are no jobs. Nigerian streets are littered with youth hawkers who ordinarilywould have found gainful employment in some enterprise. The selfemployed are in quandary as scant infrastructure makes it impossible for them to ply their trade. The large number of youths who are unemployment is capable of undermining democratic practice as they constitute a serious threat if engaged by the political class for clandestine activities (Adepegba, ; I b r a h i m, ; L a r t e y, ; Olatunji&Abioye, 2011). On the economy: The economy of every country depends on the productive capacity of the people. The working age which is between years falls within the productive stage where they are able and willing to contribute maximally to the economic growth of their country.with the current population of 170 million, the 23.9% as posted by NBS (2011) as national unemployment rate represents about 40.6 million Nigerians who are within the working age of 17 to 65 years. This age bracket in Nigeria's population represents over 70% of the 170 million people, which implies that about 119,000,000 falls within the working age of 17 to 65years and 40,630,000 lacked any form of employment. The youth, by Nigeria's conventional definition, are those within 17 to about 45years, and this makes about 80% of the active population, meaning that an estimated 32,504,000 active youths are totally unemployed. If 80% i.e. 32,504,000 population of Nigeria are youth and are not involved in any form of employment, this invariably means that the contribution of these youths to the economy of Nigeria is lacking. Imagine the contribution of these youth to the economy of Nigeria if they were to be involved in any gainful employment.if the government can create jobs for the teaming youth, the gross domestic product (GDP) of Nigeria will almost double thereby improving the condition of living of the people. Response of African leaders. In response to this challenge, regional and continental governments have met severally to discuss solutions to youth unemployment in Africa. On 18th February 2009 in Addis Ababa, African heads of state declared as the decade of youth development in Africa. They resolved to advance youth development and ensure increased investments in youth Development programmers at national levels. The declaration was reviewed two years later. On 1st July 2011, the heads of state and government met in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea to discuss the need to 'accelerate youth empowerment for sustainable development'. They reinforced the Addis Ababa 2009 declaration and promised 'creation of safe, decent and Competitive employment opportunities'. In July 2012, the African Development Bank facilitated a policy dialogue on youth employment for the Southern African region, chaired by its Vice President Prof MthuliNcube. Let's see what this led to. In Ghana, the government created the National Youth Service Page 55

60 for its graduates and also the 'National Youth Employment Program' (NYEP) to secure jobs for the unemployed. Mauritius has a 'National Human resource plan that provides framework for t e ch n i c a l a n d vo c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n ' (NAHPFTVE). Zambia introduced the 'National Youth Policy and Youth Enterprise Fund' (NYPYEF) to reduce poverty and create jobs. TheNigerian government introduced Skill Acquisition and enterprise development into the National Youth service corps and a business plan competition for young people tagged 'Youth enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria' (YOUWIN)program. These efforts have not clearly resulted in significant reduction in youth Unemployment. Conclusion/recommendations for curbing youth unemployment in Nigeria In view of the above mentioned causes of yo u t h u n e m p l oy m e n t, t h e f o l l ow i n g recommendations were given to curb youth unemployment in Nigeria. 1 Government should discourage ruralurban migration through the provision of infrastructural facilities such as stable power supply, good road network, safe drinking water, well equipped hospitals etc. 2 Government should bring a policy that is geared toward population control. 3 Government through the ministry of education should update our schools' curriculum by comparing it with countries such as China, Japan, and U.S.A who are highly enterprenual. 4 Government should create an investment friendly environment by stabilizing electricitypower and ensures that lives and properties are secured etc, to attract both domestic and foreign investors. 5 Government should also reduce the high and multiple levies and taxation paid by investors in Nigeria. 6 Government should encourage youth by providing those of them who are willing to venture into small scale business with soft loan with little or interest. 7 Government should provide a social security scheme, where graduates are being paid a token of money monthly for their upkeep before securing a gainful employment. The African Development Bank (ADB)chief economist Prof.Ncubesummarized the recommendations that 'it has become clear that there are no quick fixes to ensuring that all Africa's young people get off to a good start. Stronger job creation Mechanisms grounded in a deliberate strategy for inclusive growth and social development is needed. The youth unemployment in Africa requires an integrated holistic approach. Shortcuts will not work.the World Bank 2008 report advocates for a comprehensive model that caters for rural development, rural-urban migration, preparation of young people for the labor market and investments in agriculture. The aim of every Government should be to create enabling environment to promote investments. This includes Provision of power, maintaining law and order, and adequate security. The justice system must also be strong to facilitate strong contracts and protect mutual trust. Minimum standards should be set for products that will cross borders. Free movement of people and goods should be allowed, within the limits of regional and international trade treaties. Education curriculum must be immediately revised to incorporate skills and enterprise development.a special program should be designed for low-skilled youth in vocational canters. Incentivesshould be provided to SMEs that promote student internships. The current state of youth unemployment in Nigeria and the rest of Africa require shared responsibilities to tackle it. It will take the 'Power of We' to solve it. Businesses will thrive in a safe and secure society.government can implement developmental programs only in an atmosphere of peace of security. It is therefore incumbent on government to work closely with the private sector to promote internships, graduate trainee programmers, and community-based projects that Create jobs for young people. Agriculture is a viable source of investments for young people if it is made attractive. There should be a swift transition from subsistence to commercializedfarming. Farm and nonfarm activities should be better packaged to make them reallyattractive. There should also be adequate investment in rural education. This will boost rural Opportunities and reduce rural-urban migration and its concomitant challenges'. Page 56

61 References Okere, R., Democracy in Nigeria, Nigerians mourns rate of unemployment. Seek action', The Guardian, Tuesday 7, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 2009.Social Statistics in Nigeria.Abuja: Internet: National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 2010: p34 National Population Commission [Nigeria]: 1991 AnalyticalReport: p167 Ronny Characteristics and Determinants of Urban Youth Unemployment in Umuahia, Nigeria: p289 Youth and Employment in Africa: 2012.The Potential, Problem and the Promise: p121 World Bank 2012: p Zuehike, E 'Youth Employment and underemployment in Africa brings uncertainty and Opportunity: p21-30 Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa(Volume 13, No.1, 2011) ISSN: United Nations (1986): Some Common Wealth Responses to Youth Unemployment: p38-46 Unemployment. London (1989) FAO, Comprehensive Demographic Estimates and Projection ( ).p23 : Population Reference Bureau. (Youth Population and Employment in Nigeria) Venatus K. (2010) Youth Unemployment in Nigeria.p Alanana O. (2003): Youth Unemployment in Nigeria: Some implications for the third Millennium.P Ohiorhenuan, J.F.E. (1986); "Unemployment and Underdevelopment in Nigeria: Some Theoretical and Methodological Issues", i n U n e m p l o y m e n t a n d Underemployment in Nigeria, Annual Conference Proceedings of the Nigerian Economic Society, Kaduna, May Krugman, Paul (1994); "Past and Prospective Causes of High Unemployment", Economic Review of the Federal Reserve Bank of Ranses City, Fourth Quarter, pp Okojie, C.E.E. (1995); "Human Capital Investment for Productivity Growth in Nigeria",The Nigerian Economic and Financial Review, Vol. 1, No. 1 June, pp Okpechi, S. O. (1991); "Private Sector and Productivity Improvement in Nigeria", Productivity for Self-reliance and Excellence, National Productivity Centre, Lagos, pp Oloko, O (1983); "Factors in Labour Productivity: in Osoba, A.M. (ed), Productivity in Nigeria: Proceedings of a National Conference, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), pp Oladeji, S. I. (1994); Absorption of Educated Manpower into Nigeria's Informal Sector, Diagnostic Studies Series 1, NMB, Lag o s. Olaloye, A.O. (1986); "Labour Market Adjustments and Unemployment Problem in Nigeria", in Unemployment and Underemployment in N i g e r i a, A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e Proceedings of the Nigerian Economic Society, Kaduna, May Oloruntimehim, F. (2000): "Women and Criminality" Paper presented on the Methodological Workshop on Economics of Criminality in South-Western Nigeria, Lady Bank Anthony Hall, Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan, April 11, CODESRIA/McArthur Foundation. Phillips, O.A (1983): "Trends in Productivity: Nigeria's Experience compared with the experience of selected countries",inosoba, A. M ( e d s ) P r o d u c t i v i t y i n Nigeria: Proceeding of a National Conference, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), pp Raheem, M. I. (1993); "Nigeria for Africa: A Case for Labour Export", in Oyejide, T. A. and M.I. Obadan, Applied Economics and Economic Policy - In Honour of Emmanuel C. Edozien, Ibadan University Press, Ibadan. Rama, Martin (1998); "How Bad is Unemployment in Tunisia? Assessing Labour Market Inefficiency in a Developing Country" Research Observer, Vol. 13, No. 1, The World Bank.Ransburg, L and W. Naude (1999); "Productivity and Export Growth in the South African Manufacturing Sector", South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, Vol. 2. No. 2, pp s Page 57

62 ETHNIC POLITICS, VIOLENCE AND SUSTAINABLE DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA: AN ELITIST PERSPECTIVE MUSA ADAMU WUNTI Department of Political Science, Bauchi State University, Gadau, Nigeria Abstract The phenomenon of politicization of ethnicity in Africa has demonstrated an increasing state decay and political instability in most of the postcolonial African states. This affected largely the way and manner government conducted its responsibility and the extent to which leadership determined its polity. Thus, the paper is an attempt to explore in considerable terms the major issues related to political ethnicity in Nigeria so as to understand the role of the elites in ethnic politics in the country. Especially, with specific reference to the structural divides that help in translating the reason why political elites behave the way they do. That is to compete in the struggles for political and economic benefits to their ethnic groupings at the expense of the other groups. The study further investigates the implications of political ethnicity and violence on sustainable development, and good governance. In conclusion, the paper blamed the elites for using ethnic differences in their quest for power and wealth accumulation, which in analytical reality has devastating effects on sustainable democracy and the future of Nigerian state as country. Introduction To understand ethnic politics clearly in Africa, politics of colonialism has to be revisited so as to grasp the origin of the phenomenon from the perspectives of policy of divide and rule adopted by the colonial masters for their economic advantage. Therefore, the paper has associated the development of ethnicity in Nigerian politics with colonialism as argued by (Nnoli, 1978), the fact that, tribalism or ethnicity in Nigeria is a creature of the colonial and post-colonial order. He further added that, this colonial and urban origin of ethnicity becomes clear when it is realized that the phenomenon cannot exists when individuals from different communal groups are in contact. These phenomenon has enunciated direct bearing on the politics of the first republic that exhibited regionalism and political parties predominated by elitist politics in the three regions like Sardauna Ahmadu Bello in the North, Awolowo in the West and Azikwe in the East. From this background and the recent economic development which is oil economy the paper agree in totality that, the bane of the Nigerian political and economic development is the nature of this politics of ethnocentrism in all aspect of human development. Therefore the objective of the paper is primarily to understand the implication of political ethnicity on sustainable development, democratic peace and consolidation. Also the paper believed that ethnic politics have evolved from the context of state decay and political incumbency. The question is what will be the future of Nigerian politics in the present interface between political ethnicity and prevalence of violent conflicts? Can ethnicity be managed in an atmosphere where elitism dominates the political landscape? Theoretical framework: Elitism Elite theory is generally considered to be one of the leading theoretical contributions to explain the attitudes of ruling class in politics and Page 58

63 how they behave in their struggle to control power. The central argument of elite theory is that a small minority which includes members of the economic elites and those that dominated the political landscape always take lead by deciding for the rest of the public. According to Varma (1975), elite theory was based on the idea that every society consists of two broad categories, that is, the selected few who are the influential and have the right to supreme leadership and the rest of the people who are destined to be ruled (pp143). Elite theorist argued that, elitism is in favour of rulers who benefits from the process at the expense on the majority. Thus, the politicians are ruling in their interest. Jega (2007), states that, elite contestation for political power and capture of the state is characterized by cut throat competition in a zero sum game manner (pp 120.). Methodology The study is simply interested on materials in books, journals articles, newspapers and other publications as a secondary source of information which largely centered on content analysis from the qualitative technique method. Therefore the methodology adopted is considered to be the viable one for this kind of research. An overview of ethnic politics in Nigeria According to Nnoli, ethnicity is a social phenomenon associated with interactions among members of different ethnic groups. It is behavioral in form and conflictual in context. Therefore it exists only within a political society consisting of diverse ethnic groups, characterized by a common consciousness of being one in relation to the other relevant ethnic groups. The exclusiveness of association where only members of a given group trust each other while group outside their culture suffers distrust and conflict between groups as a result of competition over scarce resources and power (Nnoli 1992). The manifestation of ethnicity in Nigerian politics is not so much an outcome of popular grassroots passions as it is a creation of vested political interests. The reason for stressing this is because it is often uncritically accepted that politicians at the centre are holding back the popular surge of communalism, for ethicized politics is a natural inclination of the Nigerian people. The present plethora of ethnic conflicts has coincides with an increasing sense of shrinking economic horizons and political battlement. Many things have gone awry with economic development: the declining terms of trade dictated by the industrialized internal bottlenecks; agricultural underemployment and migration to cities; increasing disparities of income among the expectant participants in the literacy explosion; the visible pauperization of the urban underclass while those political elites in power at the centre have been obliged to use diverse strategies and tactics which were not always sound from a long-term to maintain their control over state level forces. Many a time, the actions of the centre, its discriminatory approach towards some states, its lack of understanding of local problems, its abject insensitiveness and the blatant misuse of authority vis-à-vis the states, have all distanced it from the people. This in turn has, as it is believed, reversed the process of national integration. There were fears expressed that lack of perceived ethnic justice, particularly for the minority ethnic groups in the Niger Delta, was threatening the moral foundations of the Nigerian federation. Even when such apprehensions have been expressed and real conflicts have been experienced, it is theoretically erroneous to assume, as has been done by many scholars and analysts, that transformation of a peacefully coexisting, collaborating and competing diversity into a conflictual one is inevitable or automatic. Social reality in Nigeria and elsewhere clearly reveals, on closer scrutiny, that the precipitation of ethnic conflict from a situation of ethnic diversity and heterogeneity is a rather complex process. Through this process, the boundaries of a given ethnic group are activated, resulting in the awareness and politicization of ethnic identities. Further, political mobilization for given goals leads to the building up of an ethnic movement which subsequently may or may not be transformed from one stage to another. Ethnicity and Violence: A nexus Competition and conflict are inevitable in politics. This is epitomized by the increasing level of violent acts associated with resources control struggle, elections and politics of identity. Since return to democratic rule in Nigeria, the political atmosphere has become so infiltrated with political violence triggered by ethnicity. This stemmed from the fact that, the ruling elites in Nigeria took advantage of ethnicity and rising level of poverty to intimidate unemployed youth for their personal interest. It is thus that, Apam (2010) blamed the nature of governance in the continent of Africa to be the major factor that contributed to fueling or ameliorating conflicts arising from ethnic and Page 59

64 religious diversities (pp.59). Political ethnicity and violence interact very closely in the social process of Nigeria, where those profiting from the process keeps igniting the members of one ethnic group against another. As such violent youth gangs and militias are formed and armed, and ethnic tensions and conflicts are thereby facilitated (Jega 2007, 117). Ethnicity in the public realm, according to Osaghae (1994), is conflicts related to the determination of who gets what when and how and it is usually mobilized by individuals to satisfy particularistic ends (pp. 15). It is against this background that, democratic practice in Nigeria has always been accompanied by uncertainty and severe risk of instability. For fear of domination, the three major ethnic groups (Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo) and their elite representatives deployed ethnic conflict a weapon for structural violence and disturbances. Political violence arising from ethnic diversities is really a challenge to democratic peace in Nigeria, due to the fact that the grievances of ethnic riots are usually directed against the members of other ethnic groups signifying the intensity of mass ethnic sentiment (Apam 2010, pp 64). Ethnic politics and the future of Nigerian politics As demonstrated by the earlier section that ethnicity is politicized for so many reasons in Nigeria to the extent that ethnic politics now penetrated all aspect of human relation in the country especially economy and religion. For resource completion to benefit group of personal enrichment our politicians relied heavily on the fruits of ethnicity to advance their personal interest more especially when they are in government. In this regard Nnoli (1992) explained how privileged class in the country politicizes ethnicity right from the era of the development of political parties in the country before independence. This development in relation with the growing power of the ethnic groups and its negative consequences for development of a common national consciousness has eroded leadership and some development more specifically in the period of second republic and beyond. In providing the negative and positive impacts of ethnicity Nnoli (2004) posited that, it is believed that socioeconomic competition among ethnic groups is fueled by multi party political competition to create waste in the use of resources for development because of the political need to balance ethnic interests. He further added that ethnicity is also seen as promoting the use of violence in multi party competition because of the absence of restraints within the group against the expression of hostility and violence towards out group members. Thus, the impact of ethnicity on democracy is calculatively negative following the attitudes of political elites in destroying anything for personal gains. There were several hints in these discussions that some of these differences among ethnic groups were deliberately fomented by governments in order to gain partisan advantage for those controlling the affairs of state The promotion of equitable inter-ethnic political integration through the constitutional requirement that that the composition and conduct of public institutions at federal, state and local levels reflect the 'federal character' or diversity of constituents at each level. A particularly innovative aspect of the federal character principle is the constitutional requirement that, to be elected, the federal president must obtain at least a quarter of the votes in two-thirds of the states, plus a plurality of votes nationally. In addition, the federal character principle has spawned a vast repertoire of formal and informal consociational practices that seek to distribute, balance and rotate the federal presidency and other major public offices among the country's diverse ethnic, religious, regional and geo-political zones or constituencies. These mechanisms clearly establish Nigeria as a leader and innovator in the building of institutions of inter-ethnic accommodation and conflict management To Osagae (1994) the most effective way to manage ethnic conflict is to transform the negative consequences of these conflicts into positive ones or if possible to supplant negative ethnicity with positive ethnicity. But reality of the situation in the country exhibited high level of utilization by the elite against what Osagae is saying that is more of leaders that are progressive in focus which is very difficult to find in Nigeria at present. That is why the paper seems to have lost confidence in the way and manner political elites personalizes power or uses what power brings to perpetually subordinate the masses. Suberu (1998) lamented that our leaders are not ready to provide solution or address effectively the funder mental problems of Nigerian federalism mainly the over concentration of power and resources at the center and the destructive and Page 60

65 Social Science & Law Journal Of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., divisive struggles for control of the center by different ethnic groups and the problem it endanger. According to Kukah (2011), the rise in the spiral of violence in our democracy must not be seen a limitation of democracy, but on the contrary as the fundamental expression of what democracy aspires to achieve namely the creation of the condition for people to realize their demand of being of somebody. Democratic peace an imperative for sustainable democracy and development Political competition in Nigeria is characterized by ethnocentrism and coordinated violent occurrences which is a total departure from democratic principles and social justice in the country. It is a kind of political atmosphere where the Nigerian ruling elites turned politics into a do or die affair for the sake of resource accumulation and quest for power which is antithetical to conventional democratic values. Though competition is inevitable in politics, but what is obtainable in Nigeria is paradoxically posing a great threat to the sustainability of democracy in the country. Conflict, competition and cooperation are part of democratization process; therefore a peaceful atmosphere is badly needed for democratic peace, good governance and human development. Agpa and Odey (2010), states that, good governance promotes both the socio-political and economic growth and development of the citizens as individuals and the society (pp 149). Thus, our leaders should rule in accordance to the rule of the game using appropriate human development strategies based on the principles of sustainable development. Even though the phenomenon of political ethnicity has become the latest challenges bedeviling the national survival of Nigeria. The leadership factor is fundamentally the issue identified as conflict inducing phenomenon of which various conflict manifestations and instability beclouding the country. (Alimba and Muhammed 2010, pp 289). And to achieve peaceful democratic atmosphere in the country, there is need to achieve some degree of attitudinal and behavioral changes in the political life of both the rulers and the ruled. That is achieving violent free political atmosphere through re-orientation and re-ordering behavior (Tijjani, 2003 pp 290). Osagae argued that, management of ethnicity is possible, though cannot be eliminated, suppressed or wash way. But failure to handle it properly may likely lead to the destruction of the state than other conflicts including class conflicts (Osagie 1994). Summary and conclusion Nigeria as a nation is at the prone of politics of destruction simply because of the greediness and insincerity of our leaders, but there were several hints in my view that some of these differences among ethnic groups were deliberately fomented by the ruling class in order to gain partisan advantage for those controlling the affairs of state. Future reform should embody a requirement barring Federal and State functionaries from using public resources for creating ethnic and religious disharmonies. Therefore the system needs a strong understanding that ethnic dialogues should be an integral part of promoting a strong federal system in Nigeria. Encouragement of local populace autonomy and inter ethnic linkages especially in political issues like constitutional making process, political representation and popular decision making can make ethnic management possible. Another important segment of human life that need attention to address the problem of political ethnicity and violence in Nigeria is good governance which stands to be the only meaningful treading part that can ensure peace, security and sustainable development for great number of Nigerians. Page 61

66 References Adebayo, R. I. (2010). Ethno-Religious Crises and the Challenges of S u s t a i n a b l e Development in Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, Volume 12, No. 4 Alimba, C. N., & Muhammad, K., (2010). Peace and Good Governance in Nigeria, In Dada J. P., Sa;ad A., and Mu;azu A., Peace Security Human Rights and Development in the 21st Century. (Eds.), Kaduna: Pyla-mak Services Ltd. Vol. 2 pp Apam, J. (2010). Governance and the Management of Ethnic and Religious Diversities on the African Continent. Journal of Democratic Studies, Vol. 2, pp Egwu, S. (2009). Ethnicity, Political Exclusion and Citizenship Rights in Nigeria. In Muazzam, I. The Citizenship Question in Nigeria. (Eds.), Kano: Centre for Research and Documentation (CRD). pp Graham, P., & Hoffman, J. (2009). (Eds.), Introduction to Political Theory. London, Pearson Education Limited. International Crisis Group. (2010). Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict. African Report. No. 168, 20th December, 2010 Iduh, S. (2011). The Key Challenges to Peace in Nigeria. International Journal of Vocational and Technical Education. Vol. 3(8), pp Insecurity: 6696 NYSC Members Reject North. (2012, October 2). Daily Trust, pp A1-A5 Jega, A. M. (2007). Democracy, Good Governance and Development in Nigeria. Ibadan: Spectrum Books Limited. Kukah, M. H, (2011, July 29). Nigeria: Violence and the Cost of Reconstruction. Daily Trust. pp Nnoli, O. (1979). Ethnic Politics in Nigeria. Ibadan, Fourth Dimension Nnoli O. (1994). Ethnicity and Democracy in Africa: Intervening Variables. Lagos: Malthouse Press Odey M. K., and Agba Terna, T. P., (2010). Poverty a n d D e m o c r a t i c I n s t a b i l i t y i n Nigeria since In Wuam T. and Sunday T. N., (Eds.), Governance and Economic Development in the Fourth Republic Nigeria: Aboki Publishers Osaghae, E. (1994). Ethnicity and its Management in Africa: A Democratization L i n k. Lagos: Malthouse Press Otegwu, I. & A. O., (2010). Godfatherism and Political Crises in Nigeria, Journal of Democratic Studies, Vol. 2, pp Salihi, H. S. (2012). Governance Failure and Political Violence in Nigeria: The Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-jihad in Petrspectives. In Muhanned, H., (Eds.) Nigeia's Convulsive Federalism: Pespectives on Flash-points of Conflict in northern Nigeria. Ibadan: Cypress Concepts & Solutions Ltd. Suberu. R. T. (1998). Federalism, Ethnicity and Regionalism in Nigeria. Journal of Democracy 4. Tijjani, K. (2003). Strategies for Controlling Political Violence and Regulating Campaigns. In Jega, A. M., Wakili, H. & Umar, M. A. (Eds.), Strategies for C u r b i n g Election- Related Political Violence in Nigeria's North-West Zone. K a n o : Centre for Democratic R e s e a r c h a n d Training. Varma, S.P. (1975). Modern Politic.al Theory. India: Vikas publishing House Page 62

67 DESERTIFICATION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF BAUCHI STATE DIQSON BISHUGAD YUNANA Department of Sociology Bauchi State University, Gadau Bauchi-nigeria Abstract This paper discusses the causes as well as the impacts of desertification in Bauchi state in particular and the northern Nigeria in general. Data used in this paper were pulled from published and unpublished secondary sources. Non-statistical method was used in analyzing the various causes and consequences of desertification in the affected areas. The study reveals that poverty is the major factor responsible for deforestation aside ignorance of the dangers of desertification. The paper also reveals that about forty-three million, three hundred and twelve thousand, five hundred and thirteen people in northern Nigeria are suffering from the effect of desertification and the problem poses a serious threat to the nation's economy. The paper concluded by recommending a way forward. KEYWORDS: Desertification. Deforestation. Frontline states. Afforestation. Anthropogenic activities. Poverty. Introduction Bauchi state is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is the city of Bauchi. The state was formed on the 3rd of February, 1976 when the defunct North-Eastern State was broken up. According to the 2006 census, the state has a population of 4,676,465. Geographically, Bauchi state occupies a total land area of 49,119sq kilometers representing about 5.3% of Nigeria's total land mass and is located between latitudes 9.3 and 12.3 degrees north and longitudes 8.50 and 11 east. The state is bordered by seven states, Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the east and Kaduna to the west. The state is one of the states in northern Nigeria that span two distinctive vegetation zones, namely Sudan savannah and the Sahel savannah. The Sudan savannah type of vegetation covers the southern part of the state. The Sahel type of the savannah, which is also known as the semi-desert vegetation, becomes manifest from the middle of the state as one moves the state's south to its north. Desertification is one of the most serious environmental problems facing Bauchi state and other arid and semi-arid regions of Northern Nigeria popularly referred to as the frontline states. These states include Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara. Desertification is caused by natural and anthropogenic factors. Desertification refers to land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub humid areas resulting from climatic variations, UN 2004 (as cited in Babangida Y.Y., Usman H.A. & Saleh U.F 2010). Desertification is also seen as the encroachment of the desert on land that was once fertile (Omofonmnwan and Osa Edoh, 2008). Desertification can be induced either by natural process or by the action of man. Natural hazards such as drought and sand deposit by winds are prime factors in the desertification process. Desertification is more pronounced in the northern part of the country where the Saharan desert has eaten deep into the once fertile land. Desertification is dangerous to man because it leads to famine, diseases, and destruction of crops, livestock and man. This paper discusses the impact of desertification on the affected area and tries to suggest ways to mitigate the problem. Page 63

68 The problem D e s e r t i f i c a t i o n i s o n e o f t h e environmental problems Nigeria is facing today. The northern part of the country has it as one of its greatest environmental challenges that needs to be tackled immediately. One of the most serious environmental problems facing Bauchi State and other Semi-arid regions of northern Nigeria popularly referred to as the frontline states is desertification. As stated above, Bauchi state has a population of 4,676,465. The interaction of these millions of people with their environment has left so many indelible marks on the landscape of the state. One of the manifestations of these impacts is desertification which is encroaching into the state. This problem emanates as a result of continuous overexploitation of the forest resources through activities like cutting down of trees for firewood and charcoal, overgrazing, uncontrolled logging and indiscriminate bushburning. It is important to note that apart from causing desertification, these activities also lead to soil erosion, flood, siltation of rivers and streams, to mention a few. In Nigeria, especially in the northern part of the country, between 50% and 70% of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states are under the threats of desertification (Babanyara et al 2010). The ten states, with a population of about 27 million people account for about 38% of the country's total land area. In these areas, population pressure results in overgrazing, over exploitation for fuel wood of marginal lands and aggravated drought due to global warming, has accelerated the rate of desertification. Nigeria is currently losing sq km of its land mass to desert condition. This process is advancing at the rate of 0.6 km a year, NAP 2000 (as cited in Babanyara et al 2010). In the late seventies, there was the Arid Zone Afforestation Project (AZAP) which classified areas affected by desertification in the country as those areas above 12o LN. As at that time only small portions of Zaki and Gamawa Local Government Areas of Bauchi state were affected. With increase process of desertification, the areas expanded to latitude 11o and below. This shows that 12 out of the 20 Local Government Areas covering a total of 20,997.41sq.km are seriously affected. These include Zaki, Gamawa, Itas/Gadau, Jama'are, Katagum, Dambam, Missau, shira, Giade, Ningi, Warji and Darazo. This article addresses the following important questions: what factors are responsible for desert encroachment in the frontline states? Does desertification has negative consequences on human life? How can the problem of desertification be tackled with the current advancing rate of 0.6 km a year according to experts? Objectives The paper aims at identifying some of the factors causing desertification, its impacts on the lives of the people in the affected area and suggests ways to combat desertification in the state and northern region at large. Theoretical framework Okeibunor and Anugwom 2003 defined a theory as a logical interconnected set of propositions from which empirical uniformity will arise. It is a set of facts, propositions, or principles analysed in their relation to one another and used to explain phenomena. There is therefore a need for a theory to help us understand why desertification occurs. There are so many theories that try to explain why desertification occurs. These theories can be grouped into: the human provocation camp, the natural causes camp, and the complex cause camp. The human provocation camp sees desertification to be almost entirely the result of the mismanagement of natural resources by human beings, leading to climatic changes. The natural causes camp, on the other hand, sees droughts and other factors such as desiccation, plague (diseases), swarming, volcanoes, and earthquakes as been solely responsible for desertification. The complex cause camp believes that the problem of desertification is far more multifarious than the members of the other camps believe, being the result of both natural and human influences which interact in such a manner that the cumulative effects are greater than the sum of those effects created by the independent influences. This article adopts the complex cause camp perspective as its theoretical framework of analysis. The choice of this perspective is informed by the perspective's comprehensiveness in providing the requisite theoretical underpinnings for a better understanding and explanation of desertification issue in Bauchi state in particular, and in northern Nigeria at large. The complex cause camp interbreeds the concepts of both the other camps Page 64

69 into a singular stance. This perspective does not see humanity as an independent entity, unique from its environment. Indeed, it is as much a part of its environment as any other life form, interacting in both a give and take manner. The reason that human activity may be given special attention within that context of environmental pressures is due to the distinctive range of activities that humanity is capable of pursuing, the scale upon which these activities are able to be conducted, and the human capacity to manipulate the environment in order to achieve maximum perceived results from these activities. Humanity is thus simultaneously responsible for and subject to its environment, including desertification. Therefore, the micro-human factors, macrohuman factors, and natural factors are in fact a singular entity, differentiated only in the human mind in order to allow for its limited faculty to conceive at least generally of the chaotic order of which it is a part. From the above, it can be seen that desertification is a function of both anthropogenic activities and natural processes. Methodology Data used in this paper were collected mainly from secondary sources. Factors that contribute to desertification as well as impacts of desertification in northern Nigeria were identified through literature review of both published and unpublished materials. An overview of desertification issue in Nigeria Desertification is the process of land degradation in arid or semi-arid areas, which occurs as desert encroach on land. It occurs due to the combination of climatic variations and anthropogenic activities such as overpopulation, deforestation, poor irrigation practices, overgrazing, and over exploitation of land. Desertification is a major environmental problem in northern Nigeria. According to the Nigerian Government, the entire semi-arid zone in the northern part of Nigeria is currently experiencing desertification (FGN 2005). This region accounts for about 43 percent of the country's total land area and has a population of about 30 million people (USAID 2002). It also supports 90 percent of the country's total livestock population, and thus plays an important economic role. The UN Economic and social Council estimate that Nigeria is currently losing about 1,355 square miles of rangeland and cropland to desertification annually (UNESC 2007). Some effects of desertification include increase susceptibility of soil to wind erosion, lack of resilience to natural climate variability such as drought, loss of soil productivity, loss of biodiversity, and loss of vegetation cover (UNCCD 2008). Although desertification is only prominent in northern Nigeria, if it continues unchecked, it will have serious economic consequences for the entire country (USAID 2002). It currently affects food security and has adverse impacts on the economic, social, and cultural activities of the region. Results and discussion desertification frontline states Land Area Population States Km2 % of Nigeria No. Density/km2 Bauchi 49, ,653, Borno 75, ,171, Gombe 17, ,365, Yobe 46, ,321, Kano 21, ,401, Jigawa 24, ,361, Katsina 24, ,801, Sokoto 33, ,702, Kebbi 37, ,256, Zamfara 35, ,278, Total 367, ,312, Source: NPC 2010:10 The frontline states as a zone, has a high carrying capacity and is a home to over a quarter of the Nigerian population. It supports about 90% of the cattle population, about two-third of the goats and sheep and almost all the donkeys, camels and horses found in the country. The zone has also played a dominant role in the agricultural modernization of the country; promotion of export crops such as cotton, groundnuts and food crops, most especially in the production of the import substitution crops, notably rice and wheat. There is additional pressure on the pasture resources by livestock from other Sahel countries, especially from Chad, Niger and Cameroon respectively. Livestock from these countries are attracted to this zone because of the abundant supply of fodder around the patches of the wetland areas of Lake Chard and beyond. Water has been made available in the Chad Basin since the late 1950s, when large number of boreholes was put down on rectangular grid with spacing of roughly Page 65

70 16km to tap artesian and sub-artesian water. The overall consequences of this are increasing rate of desertification which is estimated to be progressing at the rate of about 0.6 km per year. Bauchi state being one of the frontlines state has 20 local government areas as stated above. Out of these 20 local government areas 12 local government areas covering a total of 20,997.41sq km2 are seriously affected by desertification (forestry Department, Bauchi State ministry of Environment). This indicates that in no distant future, except adequate measures to mitigate desertification are taken, the remaining 8 local Government Areas of the state will be affected by this ugly trend. Already, experts have said that the remaining eight states have virtually shown evidence of desertification. Causes of desertification in the Nigerian Environment Natural causes The natural causes of desertification include the poor physical conditions of soils, vegetation, and topography as well as the inherent extreme climatic variability as evidenced in periodic droughts. Climatic variation is perhaps the most important natural cause of desertification and drought in the dry lands of Nigeria. The history of the Sudano-sahelian zone of Nigeria is replete with severe and prolong drought events, some lasting several years. The zone started the 20th century with a prolonged drought of 1903 culminating in that of Other droughts included those of 1919; 1924; 1935, and Rainfall was relatively abundant in the late 1950s and early 1960s. since then average rainfall has fallen below the mean for almost three decades with lows in both and In terms of rainfall deficiency, river discharges and Lake Chad level, the period was the driest period in this century in this zone as the lake fell to its lowest level and shank to its smallest area. Evidence seems to suggest that the droughts were a function of tropical anomalies associated with the global atmospheric pattern. There is growing tendency to treat the drought as one and to regard that of and as lows in the continuum. Rainfall in the sudano-sahelian zone barely improves in 1975 over that of but was still much below mean value. In 1976, large rainfall was recorded throughout the region while the length of the rainy season was unusually long. The slight recovery was immediately followed by a rainfall deficiency in , which was at least as low as that of The year 1984 was the driest in the sudano-sahelian region within the period of instrumental records and this was evident from low rainfall, low river discharges and low water level in the lake. With series of severe and prolonged droughts as witnessed since the 1950s, the sudano-sahelian environment, already a fragile environment has become more vulnerable than ever. Human activities The anthropogenic factors is mainly the disruption of the ecological system caused by poor land use and ever-increasing pressure put upon the available resources by the expanding population. More specifically there are four primary causes, notably over-exploitation, 0vergrazing, deforestation, and poor irrigation practices, and these are influenced by the factors such as changes in population, climate and socio-economic conditions. It is obviously a complex interrelationship, which includes: i. Poor physical conditions in terms of soils, vegetation, topography and inherent extreme variability of climate as manifested in the frequent drought; ii. Disruption in ecological balance caused by poor land use and ever increasing demand being made on the available resources by the expanding population and socioeconomic systems of the affected areas; and iii. Improper land-use practices and poor land management. Wood extraction for fuel and construction Without alternative sources of energy in the sudano-sahelian zone, the demand for fuel wood has been on steady increase by the increasing population and rapid urbanization despite the existing Felling of Trees (control) Edict in the various states. In addition, wood is also exploited for building, arts and crafts in this environment. The United Nation Sudano-Sahelian Office (UNSO) has identified forest depletion as the major agent of desertification in Nigeria. As a result of the demand for wood for construction, building, fuel, fishing industry and other uses, the removal of trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants and grass cover from the fragile land of the sahel will continue Page 66

71 accelerate the degradation of the soil to desertlike conditions. The people in the surrounding countryside fine the sale of wood to the town people a useful supplement to their meager cash incomes. It has been estimated that nearly three quarters of Kano city's yearly firewood requirement, which is about 75, 000 tones, are brought in by donkeys mainly within a radius of about20-km. As the degree of urbanization increases rapidly at rates of between 5-10 per cent per annum, one can expect the woodland to become very sparse. This situation is further compounded by the people, who clear areas for the purpose of making and transporting charcoal to urban centres for additional income. Pastoralists also contribute significantly to woodcutting as they cut foliage to feed their animals and use branches to build enclosures. The consequences of human dependence on wood for fuel and construction is that about 350,000ha of land is under the threat of deforestation annually while the annual rate of reforestation is estimated at about 30,000ha. Bush Burning Bush burning is an agent in the process of deforestation. Owing to the low relative humidity of the semi-arid zone couple with very dry harmattan wind, there is always a high incidence of bush fires every dry season. The occurrence of fire within the zone can be attributed to: i. Bush burning by villagers during land clearing for agriculture, ii. Hunters who in search of game, set fire onto the vegetation, and iii. Cattle herdsmen who set fire to dry grass to stimulate growth of dormant grass buds. Grazing Livestock population in Nigeria has been estimated to consist of 16 million cattle, about 13.5 million sheep, some 26 million goats, approximately 2.2 and 150 million pigs and poultry respectively. The dry lands of Nigeria is said to support much of the country's livestock economy, hosting about 90 percent of the cattle population, about two-thirds of the goats and sheep and almost all donkeys, camels and horses. In the Sudan and Sahel zones, which carry most of the livestock population, nomadic herdsmen graze their livestock throughout the area and are constantly in search of suitable pastures. Additional pressure is also put on pasture resources by livestock from neighbouring countries notably, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger respectively. The frontline states as well as the buffer zone are located along two of the pastoral corridors of Nigeria. The corridors are: i. The north-west corridor, running from Nig er/benin Re publics through Sokoto/Kebbi/Zamfara/Katsina, Niger and Kwara state axis, and terminating in Oyo State. ii. The north-east corridor emanating from Niger/Chad Republics and running through Adamawa, Borno, Jigawa, Plateau and Yobe, and terminating in the Benue/Niger river basins. Other sub-routes emanating from all the states through which they criss-cross service the two corridors. Both corridors form part of Sahel ecozone and run through Sudan savannah, terminating at the Guinea zone of the middle-belt and some southern states. These corridors carry millions of heads of cattle annually. The total wetlands (Fadama) in the pastoral corridors are estimated to be 3 million hectares. Evidence seems to suggest that these wetlands experience over-stocking, especially during the dry season. A study conducted along these corridors showed that average livestock population density was per hectare, well above the carrying capacity. Available evidence tends to suggest that the sudano-sahelian zone experiences overstocking. Overgrazing resulting from over-stocking cannot be completely ruled out as a major cause of desertification. Cultivation of marginal land Cultivation of marginal areas is one of the causes of desertification. In periods of higher than normal rainfall, people tend to extend farming activities into the marginal areas. When the years of plenty are followed by dry years, exposed land with very little vegetal cover is at the mercy of the winds. The fine clays and silts are carried away as dust, and the sand drifts into dunes. The effect of this could be irreversible except through carefully planned rehabilitation programme. Faulty irrigation management Irrigated cropping can turn land into desert if not properly designed and managed as a result of waterlogging, salinised or alkalinization. This Page 67

72 scenario is already a reality on a number of irrigation projects in Nigeria today, such as Bakolori Irrigation, South Chad Irrigation and Hadeja-Jama'are Irrigation projects. Poverty Perhaps the most subtle and often neglected cause of desertification is poverty. Although statistical data are hard to come by, evidence seems to suggest that the vast majority of the inhabitants of the dry lands of Nigeria live below the poverty level. To a large extend therefore; they depend heavily on the natural resources of the area. Thus the well known interrelationship between poverty and environmental degradation obtains whereby poverty generates environmental degradation (desertification) which in turn accentuates poverty. Overall, the dry lands of Nigeria are the least developed in terms of the ability to meet basic needs. Per capita income is not only low, but the population growth rate is high, morbidity and mortality rates are high, medical services are lacking, the transportation system is chaotic and food security is not guaranteed. Therefore, overstocking, overgrazing, overpopulation, cultivation of marginal land, and poaching are seen as the possible responses to a harsh and inhospitable environment and poverty. For any conservation measure to be successful in this environment, it must address the issue of poverty squarely. Impacts of desertification Resource use conflicts Desertification and land degradation encourage economic and social strife as shown in wars of the Sahel and the Horn of Africa in the last two decades and even at present. This is often accentuated by lack of proper natural resource planning and management as well as rapid population increase in the arid zone, and the diminishing environmental resource base. In the dryland of Nigeria, conflicts over land resources are focused on areas of high productivity, especially those that provide seasonally critical resource such as the wetlands. There has been completion among the various rural land users, notably farmers, herders, fishermen and hunters over the available resources. Loss of biodiversity and destruction of habitat The flora and fauna of the sudano-sahelian zone have been badly depleted as a result of climatic variation and human mismanagement and overexploitation of the environment. Some fauna species such as the sitodunga antelope, cheetah, lion, giraffe and elephants are endangered. Other endangered species are the crowned crane, the bustard, pale arctic migrants, ostriches, and fulvov tree ducks. With regards to flora, most of the indigenous plants species that were identified in the 1960 are now hard to come by, especially those with medicinal value and edible qualities such as A. senegalisis (madaci-hausa) and mitrogina spp (giyaya- Hausa). Socio-economic impact Desertification has severe impact on food security, livelihood, and economic, social and cultural activities of the affected people. Studies have shown that the most usual response to the hazards of desertification and drought is migration. Most of the in this zone are directed to the urban centres in northern and southern states. The other pattern of migration is rural-rural, particularly directed to the floor of Lake Chad to grace cattle and cultivate cowpea and maize and also to fish. One major consequence of desertification induced migration is that it causes family separation as men usually abandon the women and children to seek for employment in the urban centres or pasture for their cattle. The way forward In Bauchi state, like other states in the frontline states, poverty and deforestation have been identified as some of the major factors responsible for desertification and other environmental problems. The underlying reason for deforestation in the state is poverty. This is because the vast majority of the population depends on the forest for firewood and other means of livelihood. To effectively tackle these problems, certain important issues must be considered and addressed properly. Some of these following measures if taken and sustained will greatly help in combating desertification: i. Community participation The people of the affected areas should be involved in every afforestation programme the government may embark upon. This is necessary because an approach to solve ecological or Page 68

73 Social Science & Law Journal Of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., environmental problem without the active participation of the affected people will remain unabated. The people should be involved in the planning and execution of projects that touch on their lives for sustainability to be achieved. ii. Empowerment projects Poverty has been identified as one of the reasons for deforestation where most of the people in the rural areas depend on the forests for their means of livelihood. The government should map out activities which are rural-based and involving rural communities in the forestry subsector, so as to reduce the poverty of its citizens. Soft loans at low and concessionary interest rates or no rates all should be given to the people to carry out activities that help in preserving and conserving the natural environment. iii. Wood energy Wood is the major source of heat energy in almost all part of Bauchi state in particular and Northern Nigeria in general. With rapid increase in our population, the demand for wood has risen tremendously that is why there is indiscriminate cutting of trees for firewood and charcoal. There is therefore the need for introduction of environment-friendly alternative/renewable energy devices at subsidized rate to the public. iv. Management of existing forest reserves The existing forest reserves should be properly managed and new forest reserve should be established so that there would be adequate forest cover in the affected areas. Forest laws should be updated and more protection staff be employed to tackle the activities of unscrupulous members of the society. v. Plantation establishment One of the important exercises in the success of any afforestation programme is utilizing the seedlings produced through planting them in plantations. This greatly helps in controlling desert encroachment. The existing ones should be protected and new ones established. vi. Nursery Establishment To successfully combat desertification, communities, individuals, and schools should be made to participate actively in raising trees from nursery. Beneficiaries should contribute in specie selection. Where specific species are targeted, the beneficiaries should be enlightened on the benefit(s) of the targeted species. vii. Political will from the government The government at all levels should be willing to embark on afforestation projects aimed at combating desertification. Funding has always been the problem militating against the success of combating desertification. The government should continually release and monitor the utilization of funds meant for environment protection. viii. Public Enlightenment People in the affected areas should be enlightened on the need to protect their environment. So many people are ignorant of the consequences of indiscriminate use of the natural resources. They use the natural resources without thinking of posterity. The people need to know that these natural resources will one day finish if not properly taken care of. There is therefore the need to protect and conserve the natural environment so that both man and other plants and animals will continue to exist and enjoy the blessing the world is endowed with. It is important at this point to say that the above measures if implemented will help greatly in combating and mitigating the effect of desertification. Conclusion Natural and anthropogenic activities have been identified as being the factors responsible for desertification in northern Nigeria. The interaction between human beings and their environment is paramount in determining their wellbeing in the society. The problem of desertification in the northern Nigeria has been attributed to deforestation which is caused by poverty. Poverty has been seen by researchers as the major factor responsible for deforestation which in turn exposes the fragile lands to desertification. Majority of the people in Bauchi state, like in other states in the north, depend on the forest for livelihood. Activities like farming, cattle rearing, fishing, and hunting expose a fragile land to desertification if such activities are carried out indiscriminately. This is the reason why desertification is becoming more pronounced in the frontline states. There have been so many measures taken at the international and the national levels to combat desertification but the problem still prevails. This Page 69

74 shows that a lot need to be done before the problem is tackled. The people in the affected areas need to have knowledge of the dangers of overexploiting the natural environmental. The problem is not the poverty per say but lack of the knowledge of the consequences of desertification on sustainable development. Deser t encroachment remains a very serious issue to address. Government should put a check on the activities of people that involves forest resource exploitation. Strict punishment should be meted out on people found violating the environmental laws. The government should ensure that cooking gas and diesel are in sufficient quantity and at affordable price for domestic consumption. This is because when people cannot afford gas, diesel or kerosene, they resort to deforestation in search for alternative energy source. References Ajayi, D.D. & Ikporukpo (2005). An analysis of Nigeria's Environmental Vision Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 7(4): Babanyara Y.Y., Usman H.A., & Saleh U.F (2010) An Overview of Urban Poverty and Environmental Problems in Nigeria. Journal of Human Ecology, 31(2), , Retrieved 15 October, 2012, CIA World Factbook (2008). Nigeria. Retrieved 13 September, 2012, from /the-world factbook/geos/ni.html Federal Government of Nigeria (2005).Combating Desertification and mitigating the Effects of Drought in Nigeria. The revised National Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, retrieved 28 September, Hutchinson, C. F (2009) Desertification. Microsoft(R) Encarta [DVD] Microsoft Corporation National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (2001). Retrieved 13 October, 2012, from programmes/nigeria-eng 2001.pdf National Population Commission (2010). Population and Housing Census: Distribution by States, LGAs and Senatorial Districts, Abuja, Nigeria National Population Commission Nigeria (2006). National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development 2004, NPC, Report. Abuja: Nigeria Okeibunor, J.C and Anugwom, E.E (2003). Sociological Theory: An Insight into the Dominant Viewpoints, Nsukka: AP Express Publishers Ltd. Omofonmwan S.I and Osa-Edoh (2008) The Challenges Environmental Problems in Nigeria. Journal of Human Ecology, 23(1), 53-57, Retrieved 20 October, 2012, from publishers.com/02- journals/jhe/jhe web/jhe abstr- P D F / J H E _Omofonmwan United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (2008). The Consequences of Desertification. Retrieved 7 October, 2012, Page 70

75 United Nations Economic and Social Council Africa Review Report on Drought and Desertification. Fifth meeting of the Africa Committee on Sustainable Development (ACSD-5)/ Regional Implementation Meeting (RIM) for CSD-16 Addis Ababa, October, 2007, Retrieved 19 October, 2012, from 5- SummaryReportDrought.pdf United State Agency for International Aid (2002). Nigeria Environmental Analysis. 62P7.pdf. Page 71

76 POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GAS FLARING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA FAMOUS S. ESEDUWO PhD Department of Political Science Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State Nigeria Abstract This article evaluates the comparative cost of gas reinjection technology and the cost of gas flaring to Nigeria's sustainable development. Is the gas reinjection technology too advanced and/or exorbitant to be adopted by Nigerian government and the Petrobusinesses operating in the oil-rich Niger Delta? Is the cost of gas reinjection technology higher than put together, the economic waste of flaring gas and its adverse consequences on the Niger Delta ecosystem with the multiplier effects on the socioeconomic conditions of oil-bearing communities? Is gas flaring justifiable in the present technological age? Specifically, this article seeks:(i) the average cost of a gas reinjection facility; (ii) the cost of gas flaring to Nigeria's national economy; and (iii) the adverse effects of gas flaring on the socioeconomic conditions of oil-bearing communities in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region. The article employs the Center-Periphery Dependency Theory as its framework of analysis. In gathering of data from primary and secondary sources, the paper used the observation and interview methods of data collection; and the simple percentage with tabular presentations was employed for the analysis of the data collected.using the quasi-quantitative research method, the article argues that government's efforts towards sustainable development will remain elusive until Nigeria curbs the stupendous economic wastages and degradation of its major economic zone through gas flaring. Thus, the foremost policy implication of this article is the need for conscious efforts from Nigeria's ruling class for further harnessing, development and utilization of indigenous productive forces towards overcoming the challenges of innovative technology and capital formation for sustainable development. Key Concepts: (i) Political Economy, (ii) Gas Flaring, (iii) Sustainable Development, (iv) Center-Periphery Relations, (v) Petrobusinesses. Introduction Nigeria flares an estimated daily rate of 2.5 billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas with an annual market value of US$2.5 billion (N4 trillion). Ironically, Nigeria sets on flame the equivalent of more than 80% of its 2010, 2011, and 2012 annual budgets, while about 70% of Nigerians are living on less than US$1 (N160.00) a day. At least 75% of Nigeria's total gas production and about 95% of associated gas, a by-product of crude oil extraction from reservoirs are flared. This is enough to supply domestic gas to more than 40% of the African continent. For over fifty years ( ) of nation-building and apparent pursuit of sustainable development, the country has been suffering from such outrageous economic waste and environmental pollution through gas flaring. Considering the economic waste and environmental pollution from associated gas flaring, it is bothersome whether Nigeria lacks both the technology and business acumen to invest on the gas associated with crude oil during oil production as practiced in other oil-producing countries like Norway, Britain, Venezuela, and so on.the Norwegian economics of gas reinjection used 2-3% of gas as fuel to reinject and reinjected is left in the reservoir. And in Norway, associated CO2 is removed from the produced gas and reinjected into a storage reservoir for investment (Norway Petroleum Directorate, 2010: 7-8). In Venezuela, Page 72

77 the gas reinjection technology provides turbines 15-25% of gas and compressors. Recently, GE Nuovo Pignone (a company in Venezuela) has received a contract of approximately US$100 Million to supply gas turbines and compressors to WILPRO Energy Services of Caracas, Venezuela for a new gas reinjection station being constructed in the Pirital oil fields of the State of Monagas, eastern Venezuela. This underscores Venezuela's prominence in the supply of gas reinjection tools through WILPRO, a market leader for gas reinjection and refinery projects on a build-owno p e r a t e ( B O O ) b a s i s i n Ve n e z u e l a ( accessed on September 9, 2010). And in Britain, the present practice is to convert the separated H2S into elemental sulfur through a well-known chemical conversion process and the acid gases are reinjected into either a depleted petroleum reservoir or into aquifers thus reducing CO2 emissions from natural gas plants ( accessed on September 9, 2010). Britain's popular gas reinjection model is anchored on the creation of domestic and international markets for carbon credit sales and the converted associated gas reserves.if all these countries are trading with their associated gas reserves, why Nigeria is keeping its billions on flame? It is this confusion that this article interrogates. Is Nigeria's inability to invest on its associated gas reserves a function of its dependence on Petrobusinesses for technology and capital formation? Is the comparative cost of gas reinjection/investment higher than the economic waste and pollution of the Niger Delta petro-region from gas flaring? Is the technology too advanced and/or exorbitant to be adopted by Nigerian government and the Petrobusinesses operating in the Niger Delta? Is gas flaring justifiable in the present technological age? What are the specific adverse consequences of gas flaring on the Niger Delta Region? The article specifically seeks: (i) the average cost of a gas reinjection facility; (ii) the cost of gas flaring to Nigeria's national economy; and (iii) the adverse effects of gas flaring on the socioeconomic conditions of oil-bearing communities in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region.this will be done within the context of the Nigeria-Petrobusiness dependence relations theoretical perspective. Operationalizing key concepts The key concepts in this article include: (i) Political Economy:- In this article, Political Economy refers to the outcome of political processes/relations and economic activities. The phrase is used to denote the irreconcilable capitalist contradictions and economic wastages emanating from wrong policy choices prompted by the existing unequal relationship between Nigeria's policy-makers and Petrobusinesses operating in the country.(ii) Gas Flaring: - This refers to the burning of the gas associated with crude oil by Petrobusinesses during oil production thereby emitting dangerous greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. (iii) Sustainable Development:- In this study, Sustainable Development refers to an enduring development that preserves human, material and natural resources for continuous development of future generations. (iv) Center- Periphery Relations:-This refers to the historical unequal dealings between developed countries and developing countries in the World. (v) Petrobusinesses:- In this article, the concept of Petrobusinesses is a coinage referring to all multinational oil companies operating in Nigeria. Theoretical framework of analysis This article adopts as its theoretical framework of analysis, the Centre-Periphery Dependency Theory. Some of the proponents of the theory include; Frank, Sunkel, Furtardo, Santos, Emmanuel and Amin. The theory sees the World from two major divides i.e. the industrialized (developed) countries of western Europe, Britain, United States, and so on, as constituting the 'centre' and the less-industrialized (developing) countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America as constituting the 'periphery'. The central contention of the theory is that the dependency of the developing countries on developed countries is the main cause of the underdevelopment of Third World (developing) countries. It argued that there are unequal centreperiphery relationships whereby developing countries are dependent on developed countries in trade, investment, technology, capital, and so on. This theory, therefore, provides plausible explanations for the understanding and analysis of the relationship between Nigerian government and Petrobusinesses as it affects Nigeria's inability to invest on the multi-billion naira associated gas reserves flared to pollute the oil-rich Niger Delta region for over five decade. As Lall (1975: as quoted in Jhinghan 2007:210) aptly stated thus: dependency is meant to describe certain characteristics (economic as well as social and political) of the economy as a whole and Page 73

78 is intended to trace certain processes which are causally linked to its underdevelopment and which are expected to adversely affect its development in the future. Dependency, therefore, affects the gamut of the life of a developing country i.e. its internal politics, society and culture. This implies that the dependency theory can account for the actions and inactions of developing countries e.g. policy failures, political and economic relations between developing countries and developed countries and their agents. Dependency theorists elaborated this fact by identifying five major ways developed countries instigate the development of 'underdevelopment' in Third World countries. These include: (1) Historical international process: - that the present economic and socio-political conditions prevailing in the periphery are the result of a historical process. Frank (1979) traced the process of development of underdevelopment at three levels viz: According him, at the first level, many countries in the periphery have been incorporated into the world economy since the early days of colonialism. At the second level, such peripheral countries have become capitalist economies through incorporation into the world economy. At the third level, the incorporation of peripheral countries in the world economy has led to 'metropolis-satellite chain' in which the surplus generated at each level in the periphery is impoverished and the centre is enriched. (2) Foreign capital: - that the peripheral countries are heavily dependent on the centre for foreign capital and foreign capital leads to external orientations of developing countries and they are conditioned to export primary commodities and importing of manufactures (consumer durables) under lopsided prizing subjecting developing countries dependent on developed countries for the industrialization of their countries. (3) Technology dependence: - that peripheral countries use excessively capital-intensive technologies imported from the developed countries of the centre and these technologies are inappropriate for the production and consumption needs of developing countries. (4) Trade and unequal exchange: - that developed countries at the centre exploit peripheral countries by forcing them to specialize in the export of primary products with inelastic demand in respect of both price and income, and as such, peripheral countries continue to face stagnation in export earnings. And that the industrialized countries at the centre keep the prices of the manufactured exports to peripheral countries exceedingly high and that of their imports (raw materials from peripheries) very low. And foreign capital from developed countries controls major sectors of peripheral countries with the result that there are large outflows of profit, interest and principal. (5) Dualism: - that, countries are divided into developed and developing countries (metropolitan and satellites or centre and periphery. That international dualism leads to the dominance of the centre and dependence of the periphery (See Jhinghan 2007:207(iii-vii)). Consequently, the Centre-Periphery Dependency Theory is very appropriate in understanding and explaining the political economy of gas flaring and sustainable development in Nigeria. In relating the theory to the question under review, successful investment on associated gas reserves as fundamental to Nigeria's sustainable development, is conditioned by the following variables: 1. The nature of the Nigerian state as a former colonial enclave and a peripheral country depending on Petrobusinesses for technology and foreign capital for investment is a sufficient condition for Nigeria's inability to invest on associated gas reserves. 2. The rentier and extractive nature of Nigeria's economy is anti-investment as the ruling class is preoccupied with the c o l l e c t i o n o f r o y a l t i e s f r o m Petrobusinesses instead of involving in the rigors and intricacies of investment. 3. T h e d o m i n e e r i n g i n f l u e n c e o f Pe t r o b u s i n e s s e s o v e r N i g e r i a n government and its socioeconomic and political systems through oil production inhibit Nigeria's economic freedom to invest. This explains the minimal political will of Nigeria's ruling class to outlaw gas flaring and attendant marketing of gas reserves. The incessant economic waste and Page 74

79 attendant scale of environmental degradation occasioned by gas flaring in Nigeria, therefore, can be located and explained from our theoretical perspective, as fundamentally Nigeria's dependency on Petrobusinesses for technology, foreign capital, and external orientations. The theory impliedly sees the nature of the relationship between Petrobusinesses and Nigeria's ruling class as a precondition for sustainable development in Nigeria. It is against the above backcloththat the political economy of gas flaring and sustainable development in Nigeria is examined. Comparative cost of gas reinjection machinery Is gas reinjection technology and attendant domestication of associated gas for marketing too exorbitant for Nigerian government and Petrobusinesses? As earlier stated, GE Nuovo Pignone (a company in Venezuela) has received a contract of approximately US$100 Million to supply gas turbines and compressors to WILPRO Energy Services of Caracas, Venezuela for a new gas re-injection station being constructed in the Pirital oil fields of the state of Monagas, eastern Venezuela. WILPRO is a market leader for gas reinjection/refinery projects on a build-owno p e r a t e ( B O O ) b a s i s i n Ve n e z u e l a ( accessed on September 9, 2010). It is worthy of note that compressor and gas turbine or electric motor constitute the major structural components of a gas reinjection facility. US$100 Million at N160 exchange rate is equal to N1.6 billion. If N1.6 billion is the cost of the two major components of an average gas reinjection train, then the relative cost of an average gas reinjection facility will be in the neighborhood of between N2.6 to N5 billion, approximately. It is also suggestive of the GE Nuovo Pignone contract value that the US$100 Million was to supply more than one gas turbine and more than one compressor. This cost is further confirmed by SPDC's earlier pledge to put in $700 million towards phasing out the practice of gas flaring at up to 75% of its Nigerian operations (Mason, 2010:2). Mason, the City Reporter concluded thus: The oil company was heavily criticized at its annual meeting for continuing to burn excess gas during oil extraction, which green groups blame for environmental pollution and health problems. The consortium behind Nigeria's main fields, including the state petroleum company, Shell, Total and Eni will together put $2bn into reducing flaring by piping rather than burning gas (Mason, 2010:2). The above combined estimate of four Petrobusinesses to reduce gas flaring in the more than 100 flare sites therefore confirms our earlier N2.6 to N5 billion speculated unit cost of an average gas reinjection facility. Consequently, the realization of a gas reinjection facility in Nigeria is quite thinkable and a possibility in all ramifications if Government and Petrobusinesses are willing to do so. Figure 1 shows the components of an average gas reinjection facility.figure 1: Components ofa Gas Reinjection Facility Page 75

80 Figure 1: Components of Gas Reinjection Facility Flare Fuel Flue Gas flue Clean Fuel Gas Gas Separation CO 2 Capture Well Stream Sale Utilization Gas Reinjection Products: - Electricity - Chemicals - LNG - Others Oil CO2 Reinjection Source: Nja (2006) and Eseduwo Fieldwork (2010) It is observed from Figure 1 that the facility provides for sales utilization and at least three different products can be produced from associated gas viz: electricity, chemicals, liquefied natural gas (NLG), and others. Having seen the comparative cost of an average gas reinjection facility, we now turn to the relative cost of flaring gas in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria for more than five decades. Gas flaring and Nigerian economy The daily rate of gas flaring in Nigeria's Niger Delta Region is estimated at 2.5 billion cubic feet (bcf) with an annual market value of $2.5 billion (James, 2007:2; World Bank, 1995; Environmental Watch, 2001). A total of 5.0 trillion cubic feet of associated gas was reported to have been flared in Nigeria between 1958 and 1999 which represents 88% of the 5.7 trillion cubic feet that was produced within the period (Environmental Watch, 2001:5). This implies that over 6.0 trillion cubic feet of gas has been flared in Nigeria between 1958 and The Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia Article, Key Environmental Issues in the Niger Delta of Nigeria (2009:7) also averred that Nigeria flares more natural gas associated with oil extraction than any other country on the planet, with estimates suggesting that of the 3.5 billion cubic feet of associated gas produced annually, 2.5 billion cubic feet or about 70% is wasted via flaring. According to Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia, this equals about 25% of the UK's total natural gas consumption, and is the equivalent to 40% of the entire African continent's gas consumption in The Wikipedia also condemned all statistical data on gas flaring in Nigeria as notorious and unreliable, but confirms that associated gas wasted through flaring in Nigeria is estimated at US $2.5 billion per year. It is quite explicit from the foregoing reports that the unutilized revenue from natural gas in Nigeria is far outweighing the utilized proportion. Comparatively, the N2.6 to N5 billion approximate cost of putting in place an average gas reinjection facility to stop gas flaring in each oil field which will be interconnected to several oil locations through the horizontal oil drilling technology is too meager an amount for Nigeria and Petrobusinesses to allow gas flaring in the Niger Delta. This depicts the irony in Nigeria where associated gas with so much economic value is wasted for an environmental pollutant constantly burnt as a byproduct waste in astronomical gas flares for more than fifty years (Eseduwo, 2010:6). This dangerous waste i.e. polluting its economic zone with a substance estimated at US $2.5 billion (currently about N4 trillion) per annum, seemingly exceeds the legendary wastefulness and unbridled extravaganza of the old Malian Emperor, Khankhan Musa, who went to Mecca with incredible wealth but borrowed money to return home. Thus, Nigeria's ever-staying colossal foreign debt is largely a product of wasteful Page 76

81 management of natural resources i.e. as World's highest gas flaring country. According to the UNDP Report (2006:185), related to oil spills is gas flaring, which is as old as the oil industry in Nigeria. Nigeria flares about 75% of the gas it produces. Table 1 shows Nigeria's leading role in gas flaring, globally. Table 1: Rate of Gas Flaring in Major Oil Producing Countries (Most Recent ) S/no Country Crude oil production (in Global ranking in oil production Gas flared (in bcmpa) Reduction from Global ranking in gas flaring bbpd) 1. Saudi Arabia 10.3 Ist th 2. Russia nd st 3. United States rd th 4. Iran th rd 5. China th th 6. Mexico th th 7. Canada th th 8. United Arab Emirates th N/A N/A N/A 9. Venezuela th th 10. Kuwait th th 11. Norway th N/A N/A N/A 12. Nigeria th nd 13. Brazil th N/A N/A N/A 14. Algeria th th 15. Iraq th th 16. Angola th th 17. Libya th th 18. Britain th N/A N/A N/A 19. Kazakhstan th 20. Qatar th th Sources: World Bank (1995 & 2010); Gervet (2007); NOAA (2010) Page 77

82 Table 1 shows the data on oil production and gas flaring in twenty major oil producing countries, worldwide. Nigeria's leading role in global gas flaringis exemplified in the data logically. Nigeria is rated 12th in world oil production with 2.4 billion barrels per day and flared 14.9 billion cubic meters per annum (2009), thus rated 2nd in gas flaring in the world. While Russia ranked 2nd highest oil producer with 9.9 billion barrels per day and flared 46.1 billion cubic meters per annual (2009) thereby ranked as 1st in gas flaring. Also, Saudi Arabia is ranked highest oil producer in the World with daily production rate of 10.3 billion barrels, yet ranked as 8th in gas flaring with annual rate of 3.5 billion cubic meters in 2009, only. Nigeria therefore produced more than 70% gas flares from its 2.4 billion barrels daily oil production rate. This explains why Nigeria flared 23 billion cubic meters (13%) of World's 168 billion cubic meters of gas flared in 2005 (Friends of the Earth International, 2010:1). At present, over 100 gas flare sites continue to emit noxious gases in Nigeria's Niger Delta. In sum, the implication of flaring gas to Nigeria is two-fold, viz: One is the lost of $2.5 billion (N4 trillion) in government revenue, annually for fifty years i.e. more than $100 billion (N200 trillion) loss of gas revenue for the period between 1960 and 2010; and Two, is the gangrenous environmental degradation of Nigeria's vulnerable economic zone the Niger Delta and attendant numerous adverse consequences on the socioeconomic conditions of the oil-bearing communities. Some of the specific effects of gas flaring on the Niger Delta biosphere, therefore, require an assessment. In this article, the cost of gas flaring on the Niger Delta Region refers to the gamut of adverse effects on the living conditions of the oil-bearing people including human health problems, vegetation depletion problems viz: plant diseases and species' extinction, and the multiplier effects on socioeconomic conditions of oil-bearing communities. This we now turn to. Consequences of gas flaring on the Niger Delta Region The adverse consequences of Gas flaring on the Niger Delta biosphere can be summarized in this work principally as the production of extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, thereby using up oxygen at a staggering rate; causing an artificial imbalance between production and consumption of oxygen; emitting at least six dangerous greenhouse gases, viz: (i) carbon dioxide, (ii) methane, (iii) nitrous oxide, (iv) sulfur hexafluoride, (v) HFCs, and (vi) PFCs (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1997:1), and as such depletes the ozone layer. Gas flaring therefore is anthropogenic and reduces the protection of human beings, plants and animals from a variety of pulmonary (lungs) and blood-related diseases including lungs cancer, emphysema, tuberculosis, pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, leukemia, cancer of the blood (excess red blood cells), etc (Anyres, 1970; Wikipedia Articles, 2009). Thus, leading to the extra-ordinary rise in earth's temperature (Global Warming), the melting of polar ice, and consequent rise in sea-level, as well as vulnerability to subsidency of the earth (Climate Change) (Khitoliya, 2004; Bellamy, 2007; Asthana & Asthana, 2006). The recent mega flood experienced in many Nigerian states, especially littoral states like Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Kogi, and so on, where many communities were displaced, property worth billions of naira damaged and even loss of lives were recorded, is a clear testimony of subsidency. The implication of the foregoing adverse effects of gas flaring on the Niger Delta region can be summarized as increased mortality rate leading to short life span for humanity and animals, and leafspotting, discoloration and stunted growth for plants and other bodies. This shall be discussed under three broad categories, viz: (a) effect on human beings; (b) effect on vegetation; and (c) effect on materials. (a) Gas Flare-Induced Human Health Problems Gas flaring as a major source of air and water pollutions in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria has many effects on the health of both children and adults. It is a water pollutant also because the noxious gaseous elements emitted into the atmosphere form suspended particulate matter in the air and settle back on the earth surface and water after a period. And the life span of methane is 10 years (one decade) while carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide is 100 years (one century), respectively ( Accessed September 27, 2010). On earth, they will further form carbonate aquifers that produce hard water i.e. water containing relatively high levels of calcium and magnesium. The aquifer is the natural underground water reservoir that constitutes major Page 78

83 supply sources for borehole and well water. A contaminated aquifer, therefore, is a source for typhoid, gastro-enteritis, enteric fever and other water-borne diseases. The aftermath settlement of carbon dioxide and other dangerous gases on stagnant waters in the creeks contaminates not only the water but also poisons the fish we eat. Air and water are fundamental to all living things. They are central to the five essentials for human existence, viz: air, water, food, heat and light. Man breaths nearly 22,000 times a day and inhales approximately 15kg of air per day (Khitoliya, 2004:102). Air is the only free commodity in the world of capitalism, yet it contains a lot of impurities through capitalist activities e.g. petroleum prospecting. Gas flaring on a daily basis pollutes the atmosphere of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria with various contaminants which include particles such as carbons, nitrates, methane, sulfates, etc. These pollutants are suspended on air and finally collapse on earth and rivers. This underscores the fact that air pollution is also water pollution and the attendant effect on the biosphere, generally is phenomenally beyond comprehension. Precisely, on the human side, scientific studies have shown that human exposure to low level of such pollutants from gas flaring will result in symptoms such as coughing, soreness in chests, sore throats and sometimes headaches. On high level exposure (as experienced in most parts of the Niger Delta region in Nigeria), gas flaring pollutants lead to lung problems. The lung contains more than 40 different kinds of cells and each cell is an important component of human health and body fitness. Gas flaring, as a major source of air pollution is capable of changing the cells in the lung by damaging those that are most susceptible and the resultant effect is failure of such damaged lungs to achieve full growth. Asthma is a secret killer and it is also a function of gas flaring. Other diseases include bronchitis, respiratory infections, emphysema, tuberculosis, bronchial pneumonia, pneumonia, leukemia, cancer of the blood (excess red blood cells), etc. Recent studies also unearth that babies exposed to gas flaring pollutants during the maturation of their organs may suffer permanent changes to those organs. Studies using newborn rats showed that carbon monoxide exposure could cause changes in the heart muscle tissue. (See Khitoliya, 2004:105 for details on human effects). This corroborated the results from our observation of cross-sections of inhabitants of the Niger Delta region as such illnesses and infant mortality rate were relatively high in the communities located near gas flares e.g. Imiringi, Otuasega, Oruma, Otuoke, Emeyal 1&2, Elebele communities located around the Kolo Creek Flow Station Gas Flare Site in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayela State; Joinkrama IV (Edagbere), and Joinkrama 1, 2 & 3 communities located around the Edagbere (a.k.a JK IV) Flow Station Gas Flare Site in Ahoada-West Local Government Area of Rivers State; and Ojobo 1 & 2, Bulou-Ndoro communities located around the Beniseide Flow Station Gas Flare Site (near Ojobo) in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State. From medical records of the Otuasega 20- Bed Cottage Hospital that serves the more than seven oil-bearing communities located around the Kolo Creek Flow Station Gas Flare Tack and other neighbouring communities in Abua-Odual LGA of Rivers State, most of the rampant diseases diagnosed belong to the category of air and waterborne diseases. Tables 2 and 3 below depict this fact. Page 79

84 1 4 YEARS Social Science & Law Journal of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., (ISSN: ) Table 2: Monthly statistics of most rampant diseases diagnosed in Otuasega Cottage Hospital (November, 2009) S/ NO DISEASES UNDER 1 YEAR 5-14 YEARS YEARS YEARS 65 AND ABOVE GRAND TOTAL M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T 1. Malaria Hypertension Typhoid Bronchial Pneumonia 5. Gastroenteritis 6. Upper Respiratory Infections 7. Enteric Fever Peptic Ulcer Bronchitis Pneumonia Diarrhea Anaemia Sepsis Sources: Medical records unit, Otuasega Cottage Hospital, Bayelsa State (2009 & 2010); Eseduwo field work (2010). Page 80

85 1 4 YEARS 5 Social Science & Law Journal of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., (ISSN: ) Table 3: Monthly statistics of most rampant diseases diagnosed in Otuasega Cottage Hospital (January, 2010) S/NO DISEASES UNDER 1 YEAR - 14 YEARS YEARS YEARS 65 AND ABOVE GRAND TOTAL M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T 1. Malaria Hypertension Typhoid Bronchial Pneumonia Gastro-enteritis Upper Respiratory Infections Enteric Fever Peptic Ulcer Bronchitis Pneumonia Diarrhea Anaemia Sepsis Sources: Medical records unit, Otuasega Cottage Hospital, Bayelsa State (2009 & 2010); Eseduwo field work (2010). Tables 2 and 3 above show the data collected from the SPDC Cottage Hospital, Otuasega in Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa State. It is observed that most of the rampant diseases in the area as diagnosed in the Hospital within three months (November, 2009 January, 2010) are linked with gas flaring. And these include Bronchial Pneumonia (more than 27 cases in 3 months), Upper Respiratory Infections (more than 24 cases in 3 months), Gastro-enteritis (more than 45 cases in 3 months) Typhoid (more than 16 cases in 3 months), Anaemia (more than 10 cases in three months), Pneumonia (more than 5 cases in 3 months), Bronchitis (more than 4 cases in 3 months), etc. This was further confirmed by a Staff Nurse of the Otuasega Cottage Hospital servicing the Imiringi zone. She enumerated the most common health cases in the area as; (a) aneamia, (b) malaria, (c) pneumonia, (d) HIV (of recent), (e) gastro enteritis, (f) bronchial Pneumonia, (g) hypertension, (i) respiratory tract infections, etc (interview on September 25, 2010 at 5.15 pm in Otuasega Cottage Hospital). According to the staff Nurse, all the foregoing health cases are air-borne, water-borne, and contaminated food-induced diseases. In another special visit to health facilities in sample areas in Rivers State, a Chief Nursing Officer serving in the Joinkrama IV (Edagbere) Cottage Hospital servicing the oil-bearing communities located around the JK IV Gas Flare zone also confirmed some of the rampant health cases in the area thus: In my more than two years service in this cottage hospital, some of the rampant health cases we observe on a daily basis include: (a) gastro enteritis, (b) malaria, (c) typhoid fever, (d) pneumonia, (e) aneamia, (f) hypertension, (g) Bronchial Pneumonia, (h) Respiratory Tract Infections, etc (Interview on September 25, 2010 at 12 noon in Joinkrama IV Cottage Hospital). This is evident in table 4 above. Page 81

86 1 4 YEARS 5 Social Science & Law Journal of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., (ISSN: ) Table 4. S/NO DISEASES UNDER 1 YEAR 14 YEARS YEARS YEARS 65 AND ABOVE GRAND TOTAL M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T 1. Malaria Hypertension Typhoid Bronchial Pneumonia 5. Gastro-enteritis Upper Respiratory Infections Enteric Fever Peptic Ulcer Bronchitis Pneumonia Diarrhea Anaemia Respiratory Tract Infection Sources: Medical records unit, Joinkrama Iv Cottage Hospital, Rivers State (2009 & 2010); Eseduwo field work (2010). Table 4 shows the data collected from the Medical Records Unit of the SPDC Cottage Hospital, Joinkrama IV in Ahoada-West LGA of Rivers State. It is also observed that most of the air and/or water-borne diseases diagnosed in the Otuasega Cottage Hospital, Bayelsa State resurfaced in the Joinkrama IV Cottage Hospital diagnostic results. There are a number of commonalities shared between the two gas flaring areas under study. Some of the commonalities include: (i) both of them are suffering from ground level gas flare sites; (ii) both of them are located in analogous water-log terrains; (iii) both areas are having 20-bed SPDC Cottage Hospitals serving more than seven communities; (iv) both areas are languishing in the same deplorable socioeconomic conditions (we will come to this later); and (v) both areas are inhabited by black people. No wonder the same diseases rampant in one area are equally rampant in the other area. A major pollutant that could result in the foregoing effects on human health is carbon monoxide (CO). Carbon monoxide is a colorless, poisonous and tasteless gas produced when carbon is burnt with sufficient amount of oxygen; used as fuel (Butani's Academics Dictionary of Science, 2006:58). It interferes with the ability of blood to transport oxygen to organs and tissue throughout the body. The resultant effect of this is slower reflexes, confusion and drowsiness. It can also reduce visual perception and coordination as well as decrease the ability to learn (Khitoliya p.116). Khitoliya (2004:116) confirmed that burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, fuel oil, or coal, especially when combustion is incomplete, produces carbon monoxide. The production of carbon monoxide, therefore, is largely a function of gas flaring. Other pollutants from gas flaring include Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Nitrogen Oxides (NO2), Sulfur Oxides (SO2), Page 82

87 Ozone (O), and so on. From a comparative risk analysis, a combination of these gas flare-induced pollutants causes the foregoing human health problems more rampant in communities located around gas flare sites than others and the Niger Delta region is vulnerable to these health problems than other regions in Nigeria. This translated to high infant mortality and attendant low life span in the area. The cost of gas flaring to the Niger Delta region, therefore, is maximum penalty since it involves human life. (b) Gas flare-induced vegetation depletion problems Research suggests that air pollution causes the decline and attenuation of species, rather than their extinction. An ecosystem like the Niger Delta region in Nigeria that receives high doses of air pollution through continuous flaring of associated gas, therefore, is at a very high risk of losing most species of plants and animals. This is because decline can lead to extinction. The effect of gas flaring on the Niger Delta Region vegetation can be investigated under three subheadings, viz: (i) Diseases of plants: We were conscious of the fact that as a result of gas flaring various plant diseases have been emitted due to anthropogenic activities. These diseases according to Raju (1998 as quoted in Khitoliya,2004:106-7) include: (a) Necrosis i.e. the killing of tissues or destruction of leaf tissues or severe dryness; (b) Chlorosis i.e. the reduction of chlorophyll from the leaf, which results in the disappearance of green colour; (c) Epinasty i.e. the curving down of the leaf on the upper surface; and (d) Acute Injury i.e. the injury caused to the plant due to the exposure to pollutants in a high concentration. It was discovered from the field study that most plants around gas flare concentrated areas actually appeared in severe dryness with yellowish leaves. Economic trees such as mango, orange, guava, pawpaw, etc located around gas flare sites suffered short lifespan. Reproduction of fruits was relatively minimal amongst economic trees located around gas flare sites. One of our Special Informants at Ojobo in Burutu LGA of Delta State revealed that the degree of heat the Beniseide Gas Flare is generating is so much that local women now dry their tapioca overnight. They never wait for the sun any more to dry their cassava products. This, according to him is enough to kill plants located metres away from gas flare sites. (ii) Gas flare-induced extinction of species: We also went to the field with the fact that surface waters are sensitive to acid deposition in areas where the bedrock does not easily weather. Such waters become acidified and this is also rampant in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria due to deposits from gas flaring. This has led to the drastic reduction and/or disappearance of some species of food crop like Irish potato, cocoyam, sugar cane, etc, some species of fish like crayfish, eel, golden fish, different spaces of tilapia etc, and other species like water snail. It is recorded that at least 20% of plant and animal species have died out in the 15,000-25,000 European lakes as a result of anthropogenic acid deposition. This is not uncommon in Nigeria since continuous gas flaring leads to acid rain. Our respondents confirmed that prior to the phenomenal increase of flow stations and attendant gas flaring, the several species of tilapia were the most common fish in the creeks whereby even a ten-year old child can also catch, but these days, those colorful species of tilapia are no longer common. A seasoned hunter who was one of our special informants also confirmed that most of the species of monkey that were very common in the Joinkrama IV bush are no longer common. He further narrated his ordeal as thus: In those good days when the bush was dark, noiseless and natural, after a night's hunting, you cannot carry all the monkeys you killed. And since it is a little far away from the village, you cannot go back to carry your games, so you select only the ones you like, especially the bigger ones and leave the rest. Ever since the Shell people lit their unquenchable light in our bush, animals are no longer common in the night. May be they either remain in their hiding places or they have gone very far away, looking for darkness in the night (Special Informant from Joinkrama on September 20, 2010). A female farmer of Imiringi also confessed that she no longer enjoys good harvest on the specie of cocoyam called mamacoco. According to her: The mamacoco was an easy growing food crop that was used for the feeding of mostly children with palm oil. It was very delicious even eaten without fish and/or meat but these days, you plant a plantation of mamacoco as big as 50ft x 50ft and nothing will come out. Sometimes the whole farm will die off as if somebody set the farm ablaze with fire. All the leaves of the units of mamacoco will turn yellow and die gradually (Special Informant from Imiringi on September 22, 2010). Page 83

88 At Ojobo, a fisherwoman confirmed the phenomenal decline of fish in the Ojobo creeks as thus: in those days, during December periods when the waters were drying in the swamps, in the night while you are in the fishing camp, you will hear the sound of fish as if there was night rain and/or storm. In the morning, all the bamboo fish traps (igen, ekou, egogo, etc) are filled to the beam with fish such as (aloumu, agbogide, gbirinki, etc). These days, you will have a trap line of more than fifty traps but in the morning only about twenty traps may catch fish, leaving the rest empty. This low harvest started as from when the Shell people lit their unquenchable fire in Beniseide bush (Special Informant from Ojobo on September 24, 2010). The heat gas flaring generates kills vegetation around the flare area, destroys mangrove swamps and salt marsh, suppresses the growth and flowing of some plants, induces soil degradation, and diminishes agricultural production including fishing, farming and hunting yields (UNDP, 2006:187; Mba, 2000: 223; and Eseduwo Fieldwork, 2010). This also corroborates findings of a study on the Izombe Flow Station in Imo State that clearly linked gas flaring to productivity declines in agriculture. See the data in table 5. Joinkrama and Ojobo communities than other communities not closely located around gas flare sites. This underscores the growing trend of the phenomenal increase in the utility of dark coloured aluminum roofing sheets in the Niger Delta. Studies show that atmospheric pollution is characterized by measuring the effects of sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, and measuring ozone concentrations. Anthropogenic sulfur and nitrogen pollutants caused vast damage to technical constructions and cultural heritages and as such constitute a threat to buildings and infrastructure, generally. Khitoliya (2004:107) was therefore apt in identifying five principal effects which are associated with the effect of pollutants on materials, viz: (1) loss of mechanical strength, (2) leakage, (3) failure of protective coatings, (4) loss of details in carvings, and (5) pipe corrosion. These were evident in zinc roofs, sculptures, window glass stains, organic materials like paints on building walls, marbles on building frontages, etc in communities within our universe of study, the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. In sum, gas flaring has specific negative impacts on human health, natural vegetation (the ecosystem), and infrastructure/materials. The data in Table 6 illustrate this fact. Table 5: Adverse effect of gas flaring on Agricultural activities S/no Distance of Activity from Gas Flare Site Percentage Loss of Yields meters 100 % meters 45 % 3. 1 kilometer 10 % Source: Salau (1993: 19-22); Adeyemo (2002:69); and Eseduwo fieldwork (2010). (c) Gas Flare-Induced Material Corrosion Problems: Research also reveals that with the increasing emission of Sulfur Oxides (SO2) and other pollutants in developing countries, the potential risk to buildings and cultural monuments increases. Results obtained through observation of buildings in communities located around gas flare sites confirm that aluminum roofing sheets suffer corrosion and deterioration in colour within the shortest period as from 12 months. This was more conspicuous on many roofing sheets other than black and dark dove gray colours in Imiringi, Page 84

89 Table 6: Summary of Specific Effects of Gas Flaring on the Niger Delta Biosphere S/NO CATEGORY OF EFFECT OF GAS FLARE POLLUTANT -INDUCED RESULTANT EFFECT ON THE NIGER DELTA BIOSPHERE GAS FLARING 1. HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS Carbon Monoxide Sulfur Dioxide Ozone Depletion Reduction in oxygen carrying capacity of blood resulting in increased human mortality rate. Irritation of eyes, and respiratory system, increased mucus production, cough and shortness of breath, aggravates cardiovascular diseases. Aggravates pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis and emphysema constituting silent killers. Hydrogen Cyanide Excessive inhalation leads to death and increases mortality rate. 2. VEGETATION EFFECTS 3. MATERIALS EFFECTS Acids and Anhydrides Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) Sulfur Oxides (SO2) Ozone Depletion Nitrogen Oxides Carbon Oxide (CO2) Ozone Depletion (O3) Eyes, nose and throat irritation leading to eyesight problems and attendant early blindness. Respiratory Diseases leading to increase in infant mortality. Kills tissues or destroys leaf tissues or causes severe dryness of plants. It harms plants and animals resulting to short life spans. Reduce the yielding of agricultural crops and damage forests or vegetations. Creates acid rain and causes stunted growth in plants and animals resulting to discoloration and short life span. Causes discoloration on materials. Deterioration of rubber products and painted surfaces. Nitrogen Oxides (NO2) Sulfur Oxides (SO2) Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) Deterioration of limestone/marbles and painted surfaces of buildings. Metallic corrosion, deterioration of limestone/marble structures and paint as well as textiles. Sandblasting effect degrades painted surfaces; clog ventilation systems in buildings and vehicles. SOURCE: Khitoliya (2004); Billamy (2007); and Eseduwo field study (2009). Page 85

90 The data on Table 6 corroborate the evidence of adverse consequences of gas flaring on the Niger Delta Region earlier presented. Table 6 confirms the linkages between gas flare-induced pollutants and the attendant human health problems, vegetation depletion, and deterioration of infrastructure/materials. These adverse consequences of gas flaring on the Niger Delta biosphere have excruciating multiplier effects on the living conditions of oil-bearing communities. Let us look at some of such effects. Multiplier effects on socioeconomic conditions of oil-bearing communities It is axiomatic from the above lucid exposition of the effects of gas flaring on the Niger Delta biosphere that gas flaring has some multiplier effects on the socioeconomic conditions of oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta Region. Amidst the foregoing threeprone adverse consequences of gas flaring on the Niger Delta biosphere human health problems, vegetation problems, and material corrosion problems, are there any socioeconomic amenities provided by Nigerian government and its cronies, Petrobusinesses in environmental degradation, commensurate the negative impact of gas flaring on the living conditions of the people? This therefore calls for an assessment of Governments efforts in this regard and Petrobusinesses in the discharge of their corporate social responsibility to host communities. It was observed from our field study that oil-bearing communities who directly bear the brunt of petrobusiness are still grossly lagging behind in social amenities. It was evident that there is only one ill-equipped 20-Bed Cottage Hospital at Joinkrama IV (Edagbere) and one lessfunctional 30-Bed General Hospital at Joinkrama I, serving more than ten communities of an estimated average population of 2,500 each, within that gas flare zone. In the face-to-face interview with the Chief Nursing Officer, it was revealed that the Cottage Hospital was established by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). The Rivers State Government provides the staff; and sometimes SPDC and/or Rivers State Government provide drugs. According to the Chief Nursing Officer, the Hospital is illstaffed with only one medical doctor, nine nurses, one pharmacist, two laboratory technicians, and one medical records' officer. It was gathered also that the Joinkrama IV Cottage Hospital with one medical doctor is even more functional than the Rivers State Government-owned General Hospital at Joinkrama I. The health effects on the teeming rural populace include inaccessibility to medical treatment as at when due, insufficient hospital bed space to admit in-patients and attendant loss of lives. Figure 2 shows the monthly statistics returns of the SPDC-donated 20-Bed Cottage Hospital in Joinkrama. Figure 2: Monthly Statistics Returns of Joinkrama Cottage Hospital (December, 2010) A. Out-Patient Department (a) i. No. of Old Patients = 265 (Male = 91 Female = 174) ii. No. of New Patients = 188 (Male = 79 Female = 109) iii. Total Attendance = 453 iv. Average Daily Attendance = 21 (b) Ante Natal ClinicsInfant Welfare Clinics i. N o. o f O l d P a t i e n t s = Attendance = 250 ii. No. of New Patients = 18 iii. Total Attendance = 123 iv. Average Daily Attendance = 25 B. Emergency/Accidents i. No. of Cases = 115 (Male 50 Female = 65 ii. Nature of Cases = Not Provided C. In-Patient Department i. No. of Admissions = 116 (Male = 47 Female = 69) ii. No. of Discharges = 113 (Male = 45 Female = 68) iii. No. of Deaths = 2 (Male = 1 Female = 1) iv. Cause of Death = Not Provided D. Maternity i. No. of Normal Deliveries = 14 (Male = 8 Female = 6) ii. iii. No. of Still-Births = Nil (Male-Female----) No. of Multiple Deliveries = Nil (Twins Sets ) (Triplets Sets ) (Others Sets ) Source: Medical Records Unit, Joinkrama IV Cottage Hospital; Eseduwo field work (2010) Page 86

91 Figure 2 shows the data collected from the Medical Records Unit of the SPDC Cottage Hospital, Joinkrama IV in Rivers State. It is observed that the total monthly cumulative number of out-patients attended to by the hospital was 453, whilst that of in-patients was only 116. Average daily attendance was 21 patients. We were earlier told that the average population of each of the ten communities relying on this SPDC-donated medical facility is 2,500. Consequently, an average of 25,000 people relies on the Joinkrama IV Cottage Hospital. This exemplifies the about 1,250 persons to one hospital bed appalling situation in an area where there is geometric progression of gas flare-induced diseases. The 20-Bed medical facility donated by the SPDC ostensibly to provide medical service for an average of 25,000 inhabitants of more than ten communities living around Joinkrama IV gas flare site in Ahoada LGA of Rivers State is depicted in Figure 3 below. Figure 3: SPDC-Donated Cottage Hospital at Joinkrama IV (Edagbere), Rivers State Source: Eseduwo Fieldwork (2010) Other socioeconomic amenities provided by the SPDC in Joinkrama IV (Edagbere) include; a 10ft- 4.5 kilometre concrete road linking Joinkrama IV, III, II & I with the East-West road at Mbiama, a 1.2 kilometre internal road network, town hall, electrification/power supply, a sixclassroom primary school building, a four-building market stalls, and a non-functional pipe-borne water. It was observed that Government present in the community is quite invisible. One of our special informants confirmed that Government has nothing tangible in the community except the army-mobile police joint taskforce (JTF) unit that protects the flow station. And that from time immemorial, the community has been using the river water for drinking. This corroborated the evidence on rampant health cases in the area by the Chief Nursing Officer and the medical records that include many water-borne diseases. As earlier observed, recently at the Gbarain- Ubie Gas/Oil Project in Bayelsa State ( May, 2010), when local women protested against the destruction of farmlands and drinkable waters by the SPDC new ground level gas flare site at Tombia, armed soldiers were mobilized by the oil company to scare the women away (see details in chapter Five). Comparatively, While the Justice department voluntarily kick starts the legal process on the gulf oil spill aimed at pursuing a variety of civil and criminal charges, ranging from violations of the Clean Water Act to the Endangered Species Act in anticipation of penalties in the multiple of billions of dollars if violations are found, the BP already has agreed to establish a $20 billion fund to help those affected by the spill which has soiled the shores of every US state on the Gulf of Mexico (Pelofsky, 2010: 4).This explains the hodge-podge attitude of Nigerian government towards environmental concerns and attendant socioeconomic conditions of its citizenry, especially oil-bearing communities; and the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of oilrelated environmental regulatory frameworks and mechanisms in the Nigerian federal state. Unfortunately, despite the putative environmental policy framework theorized in the NPE, successive Nigerian governments have not done much in reality to implement either the NPE or any of the supportive environmental policy Acts (UNDP, 2006: 188). At Ojobo (Delta State), the only tangible thing SPDC has done for the community is a 630 KVA power generating plant and the attendant supply of 30 drums of diesel for the fueling of the plant, monthly. Our special informant recalled that the SPDC-Ojobo community relations have instigated several intra-communal crises. Several lives have been lost in such crises. This corroborates the UNDP Report (2006) that on November 28, 2004, Ijaw youths clashed with soldiers at Beniseide flow station, near Ojobo over breach of memorandum of understanding (MOU). In sum, the continuous environmental degradation principally occasioned by gas flaring with attendant loss of biodiversity human health problems, low agricultural yields, contaminated drinking water, extinction of food crops, fish, collapsing bush meat market, deteriorating infrastructure/materials without corresponding cushioning effect has multivariate socioeconomic effects on the people of Niger Delta. Such cushioning effect would have come from mitigation Page 87

92 projects/programmes like effective gas reinjection technology, proper biological remediation, sizeable and functional health facilities, forest c o n s e r va t i o n, g o o d d r i n k i n g wa t e r, industrialization and attendant job creation, functional school system, functional markets, macadamized road networks, rural electrification, etc. It is a fact that gas flaring has hampered the source of income of oil-bearing communities. The lack of reasonable socioeconomic activities in the region and attendant frustration of the vulnerable groups led to militancy and prostitution. These are the major multiplier effects that have snowballed to oil-bearing states loss of revenue through vandalization of oil facilities by the militarized youth, increase in population, and increase in sexrelated diseases e.g. HIV/AIDs, through the prostitution of jobless women and an escalating poverty in the midst of plenty. This underscores the popular ironical Izon adage of, using saliva to wash face inside the river. The interface of gas flare-induced environmental degradation and poverty is a pointer to a chain of linkages amongst the prevailing unemployment, frustration, militancy, prostitution, HIV/AIDs, illiteracy, and incidence of abject poverty circle. These have also far-reaching implications for sustainable development of not only the region per se but the entire country, Nigeria. In this thesis, the concept of 'sustainable development' refers to a conscious development process that takes into consideration both economic and ecological rationalities for the survival of the biosphere and comfortable living of the present and future generations. The harmonization of economic and ecological principles in petroleum prospecting in the Niger Delta Region through the application of appropriate technologies to ensure the survival of the country's economic nerve centre and the happiness of the aborigines of the oil-rich region, therefore, should constitute the desiderata of Nigeria's vision 2020 for sustainable development. This explains the mono-culture economyof Nigeria and its complete reliance on crude oil for economic survival. The development and attendant survival of the Niger Delta ecosystem through science and technology-induced associated gas re-injection policies and the attendant happiness of the oil-bearing communities therefore represent the microcosm of Nigeria's sustainable development. This also underscores the fact that the Niger Delta peninsula is located within the Nigerian federal state and cannot be extricated from the whole. This means that the effects of gas flaring which deter sustainable development in the Niger Delta Region cannot be localized, as they also threaten the sustainable development of the entire country. No country can be rated developed when a cross-section of its regions is suffering from continuous environmental carnage whereby human mortality rate is high, extinction of plants and animal species is rampant, and the corrosion of buildings/fittings, textiles and other infrastructure persists. Development literature identified education; health care; clean water; nutrition and shelter as constituting the basic needs that provide happiness for mankind (Oman & Wignaraja, 1991, as quoted in Ikpeze, 1997:1). The United Nations Development Statistics (1954, as quoted in Ikpeze, 1997:1)also amongst others identifies health, including demographic conditions; food and nutrition; education, aggregate consumption and saving; transportation; housing, clothing, social security; human freedom; gross natural product; etc as indicators of development. The enjoyment of the foregoing basic needs is highly truncated in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria amidst so much oil revenues that fund the Nigerian nation-state. Absurdly, the royalties for oil-bearing communities are gas flaring and other forms of environmental pollution. The popular paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty has even lost its explanatory currency in the present pungent case of the Niger Deltans of Nigeria. Niger Deltans are subjected to health hazards resulting to an average life span of years; vegetation hazards leading to low harvests from their mono-culture agrarian economy; and loss of material assets buildings, cultural heritages, clothing, local crafts, etc simply because of being oil-bearing people. The piquancy of this commentary, if not reversed, can hardly propel a country into the comity of twenty most developed countries in the world in the next one decade and even beyond. Thus, all the populations of Nigeria are consciously or unconsciously matching towards a catch-22 situation to be declared endangered species, as Petrobusinesses continue to flare gas at more than two billion cubic feet, daily with an annual market value of $2.5 billion. This package of poison and wastage, no doubt, will continue to deprive Nigeria, the giant of Africa from the realization of a homeostatic socioeconomic and political system. Insofar, the perennial problems of development, natural Page 88

93 resource exploitation, environmental degradation and conflicts of security in the Niger Delta are inextricably tied to the nuances of sustainable development in Nigeria. This is not the case in Saudi Arabia, Norway, Venezuela, Britain, United States and other oil-producing countries in the World. All these countries were once major gas flaring countries but today they have come up with new technologies to reduce their gas flaring rates to infinitesimal degrees. The drastic reduction of gas flaring in these countries exception of Nigeria between 1950 and 2008 is presented in Table 7. Table 7: Reduction/Increase in Percentage of Gas Flaring of Oil Production in most Pollutant Countries Country Earlier % of Gas Flaring Present % of Gas Flaring Remarks Nigeria 1963 = 46% 2009 = 75% Increase Saudi Arabia 1967 = 418% 2009 = 20 % Reduction Venezuela 1950 = 351% 2009 = 0.7% Reduction Norway 1970 = 12% 2009 = 0.2% Reduction USA 1950 = 4.8% 2009 = 0.6% Reduction Britain 1990 = 14% 2009 = 0.7% Reduction Algeria 1970 = 97% 2009 = 19% Reduction Libya 1976 = 656% 2009 = 21% Reduction Mexico 1950 = 11% 2009 = 5% Reduction Iraq 1965 = 120% 2009 = 30% Reduction Iran 1955 = 405% 2009 = 35% Reduction Oman 1970 = 680% 2009 = 0.3% Reduction Sources: World Bank (1995:59); Gervet (2007:9); NGDC Flaring report (2009); NOAA (2010); and Eseduwo field study (2010). The data in Table7 is a clear testimony of the fact that something is actually wrong in Nigeria's associated gas re-injection policies. The volume of gas flared in all other countries is reducing while it is increasing in Nigeria, phenomenally. As Nurakhmet (2009:17) aptly remarked: the issue of gas flaring is not a sudden idea for Nigeria. The Nigerian government and oil companies have had more than enough time to evaluate and plan the economic implications involved to this process, which has been on-going since 1969: , companies were required to submit detailed plans on how they intended to reinject or utilize the associated gas; and 1984 the first legislation that prohibited gas flaring except with the permission of the Minister of Petroleum was enacted. However, flaring simply continued unabated in the middle of 1990s, a target was set by both the companies and the government to stop flaring by The Nigerian experience reveals that more time should be taken into account when Kazakh government plans to prohibit flaring and venting of associated gas. Conclusion and recommendations This work examined the socioeconomic and political implications of gas flaring on Nigeria's path to sustainable development. Having comparatively assessed the cost of an average gas reinjection/ domestication facility and the cost of g a s f l a r i n g t o N i g e r i a n n a t i o n a l economy/numerous gas flare-induced adverse consequences on the Niger Delta biosphere, it is h e r e b y a r g u e d t h u s : ( 1 ) g a s reinjection/domestication projects are affordable. (2) the cost of gas flaring to Nigeria outweighs the a t t e n d a n t c o s t t o i n v e s t o n g a s reinjection/domestication/marketing projects. (3) the inability of the Nigerian domestic capitalist state to invest in gas reinjection/marketing underscores the orthodoxy of capitalism i.e. private enterprise. (4) the dependency of the Nigerian satellite economy on Petrobusinesses from the metropolitan economy sufficiently explains Nigeria's underutilization of its petroleum resources. (5) the adverse effects of gas flaring and the attendant multiplier effects on the socioeconomic conditions of oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta region underscores the alien nature of the oil production technology in Nigeria and its unplanned use by the Petrobusinesses from the centre. Thus, until Nigeria's dependency on Petrobusinesses is consciously checked and the required political will is stamped by the ruling class to preserve and develop associated gas reserves towards boosting the economy as well as reducing environmental degradation, sustainable development will remain a pipedream. Thus, the following policy implications are imperative: 1 Nigeria's ruling class should shift from rent collection tradition to entrepreneurial tradition. 2 Deliberate development and utilization of appropriate indigenous technologies towards boosting domestic productive forces. 3 Invest in carbon (CO2) credits and develop the mechanism to reinject associated gas and convert it to gas turbine power generation, domestic gas for cooking, chemicals for industry, and so on. Take a cue from other oil-producing Page 89

94 countries like Britain, Norway, Venezuela, and so on, for possible admission into the international gas market. 4 On-going gas projects should be restructured to include domestication of gas projects for the benefit of oil-bearing communities in the Niger Delta. References Adeyemo, A.M. (2002), The Oil Industry Extra- Ministerial Institutions andsustainable Agricultural Development: A Case Study of Okrika LGA of Rivers State, In Nigerian Journal of Oil and Politics, Vol. 2, No. 1. Anyres, R. U. (1970), Air Pollution in Cities, In Anderson, W. (ed), Politics and Environment: A Reader in Ecological Crisis. California: Goodyear Publishing Company, INC. Asthana & Asthana (2006), Environmental Studies, New Delhi: S. Chand &Company Limited. Bellamy, P. (2007), Dictionary of Environment, New Delhi: Academic (India) Publishers. Butani, D.K. (2006), Academics Dictionary of Science, New Delhi: Academic (India) Publishers. Environmental Watch (2001) Nigerian Court Gives Shell One Year to Stop Gas Flaring. April11, pp.3-5. Eseduwo, F.S. (2010), Politics of Gas Flaring, Global Environmental Protocols and Sustainable Development in Nigeria, In the International Journal of Environment & Sustainable Development, Vol. 3, No. 1. Friends of the Earth International (2010), A Valuable Resource goes up in Smoke, (Retrieved September 24, 2010). Gervet, B. (2007) Gas Flaring Emission Contributes to Global Warming, Report of the Renewable Energy Research Group, D i v i s i o n o f A r c h i t e c t u r e a n d Infrastructure, Lulea University of Technology SE Lulea, Sweden. Ikpeze, N. (1997), Mass Literacy, Grassroots Civic Awareness and Democracy innigeria, A Paper Presented at a Workshop on the Role of Non-Governmental and Community-based Organizations, Held at Ikenga Hotels, Nsukka. Interview with the Chief Nursing Officer, Joinkrama IV (Edagbere) CottageHospital, Ahoada -West LGA, Rivers State on September 25, 2010 at 12 noon. Interview with a Staff Nurse, Otuasega Cottage Hospital, Ogbia LGA, Bayelsa State on September 25, 2010 at 5.15 pm. James, G. (2007), Impacts of Gas Flaring and Policy Issues in the Niger DeltaRegion of Nigeria. Page 90

95 Social Science & Law Journal Of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., (Retrieved November 5, 2009). Khitoliya, R.K. (2004), Environmental Pollution: Management & Control for Sustainable Development, New Delhi: S.Chand Company Limited. Mason, R. (2010), Shell to Cut Nigeria's gas Flaring, City Reporter (Energy), May 20. Mba, C.H. (2000), Environmental Protection and National Development: Towards Optimal Resolution of Conflicting measures and Strategies, In Opukri and Ibaba, Oil Induced Environmental Degradation and Internal Population Displacement Medical Records Unit, Otuasega Cottage Hospital, Bayelsa State (2009), Monthly Statistics of Most Rampant Diseases Diagnosed in Otuasega Cottage Hospital, November. Medical Records Unit, Otuasega Cottage Hospital, Bayelsa State (2010), Monthly Statistics of Most Rampant Diseases Diagnosed in Otuasega Cottage Hospital, January. Medical Records Unit, Joinkrama IV Cottage Hospital, Bayelsa State (2009), Monthly Statistics ofmost Rampant Diseases Diagnosed in Joinkrama IV Cottage Hospital,December. NGDC Flaring Report (2009), (Retrieved September 9,2010). Nurakhmet, G. (2009), Gas Flaring and Venting: What can Kazakhstan Learnfrom the Norwegian Experience?, Republic of Kazakhstan. (Retrieved November4, 2009). Pelofsky, Jeremy (2010) Justice Department Doing Interviews in Oil Spill, www. yahoonews.com, (Retrieved July 12, 2010). Salau, A.J. (1993), Environmental Crisis and Development in Nigeria, Inaugural Lecture University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria. Special Informant from Joinkrama IV, Ahoada- West LGA, Rivers State on September 20, Special Informant from Imiringi, Ogbia LGA, Bayelsa State on September 22, Special Informant from Ojobo, Burutu LGA, Delta State on September 24, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2006), Quarterly Reports. United Nations Development Programme (2006), Niger Delta HumanDevelopment Report, Abuja Nigeria. United Nations (1997), Framework Convention on Climate Change. (Retrieved November 4, 2009). Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia Articles (2009), Key Environmental Issues in theniger Delta Nigeria, ticle (Retrieved October 5, 2010). World Bank (1995), Defining an Environmental Strategy for the Niger Delta.Washington DC. United Nations (1997), Framework Convention on Climate Change. (Retrieved November 3, 2009). (2010), Satellite Observations Show Declining Levels of GasFlaring, Greenhouse E m i s s i o n s, N e w s Re l e a s e N o. 2010/143/SDN. Washington. Accessed, September 9, Accessed on September 9, Accessed on September 27, Page 91

96 THE RELEVANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE THEORIES TO NIGERIA: LESSONS AND IMPLICATIONS GUSHIBET SOLOMON TITUS Department of Economics Faculty of Social Sciences University of Jos Jos-Nigeria Abstract The study reviews the relevance and implications of international trade theories to Nigeria. It examines the importance of external trade in enhancing economic performance in the country. Qualitative method and deductive reasoning were used to analyse secondary information and literature in this paper. It was found that most of the contemporary and new theories of international trade are not relevant in the context of foreign trade in Nigeria. The Heckscher-Ohlin, availability and vent-forsurplus theories were found relevant to Nigeria in terms of primary products. The study also showed that Nigeria is a lagging economy because it does not enjoy a comparative advantage in the export of new, technically advanced products. The dynamic comparative advantage theories are applicable only to certain categories of manufactured goods. The innovation related theories are not yet relevant to Nigeria. They are concerned with science-based, research intensive and high technology industries, and Nigeria is lagging in this area. The paper recommends that government should formulate and implement policies that will promote economic stability, greater market competition, and more effective utilisation of resources. Policies that will strengthen domestic savings, capital accumulation and investment, eliminate budget deficits and reduce capital flight should be promoted to stimulate access to capital and facilitate industrialisation in the country. Government should as a matter of urgency, direct all private sector operators to establish modern, science-based research and development departments in their organisations in order to facilitate innovation and the development of new products. Key Words: Trade, Theories, Comparative Advantage, Manufactures, Relevance Introduction International trade belongs to the sub-field of economics called international economics. International economics deals with the study of international trade and investment, and international finance. The study of the causes and consequences of the international exchange of goods and services, and of the international movement of factors of production comprise the pure theory of international trade (Iyoha, 1995). International trade theories are concerned with the causes and effects of trade between two or more countries. This is because no nation is entirely selfsufficient. This has been the reason why Nigerians drive Japanese cars, Americans buy Nigerian crude oil, and Britons drink French wine. If this was unremarkable, there wouldn't have been a separate branch of Economics devoted to international trade. Why is trade between Nigeria and the United States of America different from trade between Lagos and Kano? Dornbusch and Fischer (1994) advanced two reasons. First, international trade crosses national frontiers and government can monitor this trade and treat it differently with the sole aim of gaining a fair share from world trade. Second, it involves the use of different currencies in effecting international payments often fast-tracked by forces of globalisation. This paper therefore, attempts to provide answers to such questions as: What causes trade among countries? What are the effects of international trade on the Nigerian economy? From the explanation above, the broad objective of the paper is to examine the relevance and applicability of international trade theories to the Nigerian economy. Specifically, the paper would identify the causes of trade between Nigeria and other countries; examine the challenges and effects of trade on the economy; and offer recommendations that will address these Page 92

97 challenges, cushion the negative effects and enhance external trade in the country Methodology and Sources of Data Methodology of the study involves the use of qualitative information and secondary literature as well as deductive reasoning in examining the relevance of international trade theories in the country. The information used was obtained from government publications, Journals, newspapers and magazines, the internet, and other documentary sources. Conceptual framework International trade refers to international transactions and payments between nations of the world through the import and export of goods and services in which one national currency can be exchanged for another in an international market (Dornbush and Fischer, 1994). International trade is the purchase, sale or exchange of goods and services across national borders (Wild, Wild & Han 2006). Similarly, Lipsey and Chrystal (2004) described international trade as sales and purchases of goods and services that take place across international boundaries, with the purpose of achieving economic growth and higher standard of living. As succinctly observed by Case, Fair and Oster (2009), trade has potential benefits for all nations but some countries are likely to lose from freer trade, suffer from a ruinous competition of a rival who apparently works under superior technology and conditions of globalisation, overcoming the plight of production and flooding the international market with products at an increasingly low price. According to them, this could result in dumping in weak economies who believe that they have been subjected to unfair competition. Blanchard (2009) echoed that increase in competition has been a major implication of international trade which constitutes a serious challenge to developing countries including Nigeria. Corroborating this point, Enwabara and Anumihe (2009) warned that Nigeria will remain marginalised in world trade if it continues to depend on oil or raw materials and fails to stop the incidence of dumping. Foreign trade is the engine of growth and an important stimulator of economic development. It enlarges a country's consumption capacities, increases world output, and provides access to scarce resources and worldwide markets for products without which poor countries would be unable to grow (Oviemuno, 2007 and Todaro and Smith, 2003). However, there is high susceptibility of trade deficits in most African economies, including Nigeria (Iyoha, 2003). According to him, this problem arises from extreme volatility in primary commodity prices, high dependence on the exportation of a limited range of primary commodities, over reliance on oil trade, high import dependence on consumer goods, dismal marketing skills, declining terms of trade, low share and falling export revenues. Similarly, Adonri (2011) argued that with trade liberalization, most of bank credits in Nigeria go into financing import trade as domestic manufacturers cannot compete with foreign products. He advised that banks should divert most of their credits to financing domestic product activities instead. Nonetheless, developing non-oil export products to meet international standard could bring stability and resilience to the Nigerian market in world trade (Martin, 1997). In a related view, Okoh and Egbon (1999) expressed fear that non-oil imports are taking an increasing share of the total export earnings with little impact on real growth in the economy. Okoh (2004) contended that Nigeria's non-oil merchandise lost competitiveness as international price benchmarks are below domestic costs. Furthermore, export trade is foreign demand dependent and the capacity of the economy to produce for export, proxied by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is an important determinant of export growth (Yusuf, 2000). No country has ever grown without trade, and Nigeria can only benefit in trade if it addresses the problem of manufacturing sector (Aliyu, 2010). In this study therefore, foreign trade is seen as an economic force that has spurred commerce and investment, promoted technological revolution, encouraged exploration and propelled civilization, which can stimulate growth and induce development to global players that embrace the forces of globalisation. This implies that trade plays a vital role in shaping economic and social performance, and prospects of countries around the world. Theoretical framework International trade theories attempt to explain the causes, structure, and effects of trade between countries. This includes the gains or losses from trade relation. This section discusses some of the broad categories of trade theory. These include mercantilist theory, the classical (recardian) theory, neoclassical (modern) theory, Linder's theory, size Page 93

98 and distance theory, dynamic comparative advantage theory, vent-for-surplus theory, the availability theory, and the theory of strategic trade policy. The mercantilist theory Mercantilism is a theory that proposes that nations should accumulate financial wealth through exports and by discouraging imports. Trade surplus is the overriding influence of trade policy where government intervention and colonization is encouraged. The theory believes that trade surplus was maintained through the colonization of underdeveloped territories for their raw materials. The country would colonize these underdeveloped countries, ship the raw materials needed for export back to the home country and export the finished product around the world. The government intervention occurred when they banned certain imports or imposed a tariff on these imports. At the same time, the government would subsidize their own industries to expand exports. The Classical (Ricardian) theory Iyoha (1995) stated that David Ricardo, the 18th century British economist (famous for his theory of rent), was the first to demonstrate that international trade arises not from differences in absolute advantage but from differences in comparative advantage. Thus, in the context of two countries and two commodities, trade would still take place even if one country was more efficient in the production of both commodities (provided that the degree of its superiority over the other country was not identical for both commodities. Ricardo assumed the existence of two countries, two commodities and one factor of production, labour. He assumed that labour was fully employed and internationally immobile, and that product and factor prices were perfectly competitive. There were no transport costs or impediments to trade. Ricardo postulated that differences in climate and environment tend to result in differences in comparative advantage; differences in comparative advantage lead to trade. In the context of a model of two countries, two commodities and one factor of production, Ricardo obtained the result that a country will tend to export the commodity in which it has a comparative disadvantage. Since comparative costs are the other side of comparative advantage, the classical theory is easily couched in terms of comparative costs. The theory specifically states that a country import the product the comparative cost of which is higher in pre-trade isolation. Given the assumption of constant costs, a country will specialise completely in the production of the commodity in which it has comparative advantage. The basic critique of the classical theory is often centred on three issues: i) The explanation of the reason for intercountry differences in comparative advantage is rather nebulous and is less than satisfactory when applied to manufactures. ii) The assumption of one factor of production, labour, is unsatisfactory. This assumption led Ricardo to use the labour theory of value, which itself is unsatisfactory. iii) Differences in the international pattern of demand are ignored. Thus, the model is supply driven. The Neoclassical (Modern) theory of trade The neoclassical (modern) theory of international trade evolved in an attempt to modify some unsatisfactory aspects of the classical theory. It advanced a more satisfactory explanation for the existence of comparative cost differences between countries, introduced capital as a second factor of production; and allowed for international differences in the pattern of demand. It is thus, a 2 x 2 x 2 model. This implies that it assumes the existence of two countries, two commodities, and two factors of production. The introduction of capital makes the neoclassical theory (and its main variant the Heckscher-Ohlin theory) different in certain fundamental aspects from the classical theory particularly in handling of the relationship between factor allocation, income distribution and external trade. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory of international trade This is the main variant of the modern theory of trade which in the 20th century replaced the classical or Ricardian theory of international trade. According to the modern theory, trade arises from differences in comparative advantage (comparative costs). The absolute advantage theory was the ability of a nation to produce a product more efficiently than any other nation using the same amount or fewer resources. The difference in this Page 94

99 theory is that trade should not be banned or restricted by tariffs but allowed to flow freely according to the demand of the market. This theory also states that the objective be that the people of the country have a higher living standard by being able to obtain goods more cheaply and in greater abundance. The theory measures a nation's wealth on the living standards of the people and not on the money the country has in its reserve. That is, trade occurs from inter-country differences in marginal opportunity costs. The inequalities in inter-country marginal opportunity costs arise from three sources: International differences in relative factor supplies (relative factor endowments), Cross-country differences in production functions, Inter-country differences in the pattern of demand. This theory was advanced by two 20th century Swedish economists (Eli-Heckscher and Bertil Ohlin). The Heckscher-Ohlin theory states that trade arises from differences in comparative costs and inter-country differences in relative factor endowments. It viewed that differences in relative factor abundance are the most important single cause of international differences in price structures. They further modified the modern theory by adding two assumptions, namely: i) Trading countries have identical production functions ii) International differences in demand conditions do not offset the influence of production conditions on costs The general assumptions of the Heckscher-Ohlin theory of trade are: This is a 2 x 2 x 2 model of trade (two countries, two commodities, two factors capital and labour). There is no movement of factors of production between the countries. The supply of factors of production is fixed and the factors are assumed to be fully employed. There is perfect competition in the commodity and factor markets. It assumes the existence of increasing marginal opportunity costs (concave production transformation curves), it assumes also the existence of diminishing marginal utility. There are no transport costs or any other impediments to trade, production functions exhibit constant returns to scale and are identical across countries. There are no strong inter-country differences in the pattern of demand. The theory submits that inequality of relative commodity prices in pre-trade isolation is a necessary condition for the establishment of trade. But in competitive equilibrium, relative prices in each country will equal marginal opportunity costs. According to them, the cause of trade is ascribed to international differences in marginal opportunity costs (comparative costs). Comparative cost differences are based on differences in the relative factor endowments of countries, each country tends to have a comparative advantage in and to export those goods which require the factors in relative greatest supply in the country for their production. In other words, a country's exports use the country's abundant factor intensively. This implies that given that all the above assumptions hold, a country will export or import the commodity which uses more intensively the factor which is relatively more or less abundant in physical terms in that country. This conclusion is referred to as the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem Linder's theory of international trade This is one of the contemporary theories of trade propounded by Staffan B. Linder (Sodersten, 1980). Linder accepts the Heckscher-Ohlin theory with respect to primary products (raw materials) but considers it inadequate for explaining trade in manufactured goods, which he claims is dependent on the domestic market. He posited that a country will tend to export manufactures for which it has a large market. Linder based his argument on three factors: Potential demand in the home market is more visible to entrepreneurs and they are therefore more likely to respond to it. Invention and innovation are more influenced by demand in the home market. The process of adjustment and adaptation is more likely to be intense when it concerns the market. This is because the learning process requires feedback. However, Linder is clearly talking of volume and not composition of exports. Nothing in his theory tells us which country exports what (when the volume of trade is high). Linder's theory, like the classical and neoclassical theories, refers to a world of free trade and subscribes to the principle of comparative advantage. His theory is a response to the perceived inadequacy of the neoclassical theory. Though stimulating and suggestive, the theory is not a complete theory of international trade and therefore cannot replace the orthodox one. The size and distance theory of international trade The size and distance theory takes into account the effect of distance on external trade. It considers transport costs and distance as barriers to Page 95

100 trade. This is relevant to the intensity of trade flows and agrees with custom union theory of regional integration. Custom unions are normally formed among contiguous states. Presumably, ceteris paribus, the nearer the trading partners the higher the flow of trade. A good example is Linnemann's size and distance theory. According to Sodersten (1980), Linnemann and Tinbergen postulated that size and distance are key determinants of external trade. They stated that trade will vary directly with size and inversely with the distance between two trading countries. They empirically tested the theory and found a high percentage of the variation in export trade between countries using variables representing size (population and national income) and distance between the trading countries. However, this theory attempts to explain the volume of trade, but it does not explain the composition of trade. Therefore, while the theory is an interesting and suggestive approach, it is by no means a substitute for the neoclassical theory of international trade. Technological theory of trade This is the dynamic comparative advantage theory. It is a contemporary theory that involves innovation, imitation and product cycles. The theory is applicable to manufactures and it emphasises the role of innovations and technological advances over primary product exports. The theory acknowledges that knowledge and technical ingenuity are also important determinants of trade. A nation may innovate or imitate a product, and Posner (1961) identified the existence of imitation gap as Vernon (1966) recognised innovation gap and product cycle as critical to trade. The basic hypothesis of these theories is that a country which innovates a good will export it, at least for a while before it can be imitated by other countries. The theory of the innovation gap asserts that a country that is a leading innovator will have a comparative advantage in the export of the new, technically advanced products. The theory of the product cycle explains how the export pattern changes as a product mature. There are actually four distinct phases in the product cycle, after a new product is introduced, as a result of some technological advance or innovation. During the first phase, the product conquers the domestic market. During the second phase, it is exported to other countries. With successful exportation and rising demand, the producers may be faced with the need to move production closer to the market (the third phase). Factors responsible for these include: Firstly, the foreign market may now be large enough to permit large-scale production abroad. Secondly, production abroad will cut down transport costs with considerable cost savings. Thirdly, this may be a way to beat a high tariff in the foreign market. Fourthly, the formerly 'new' technology may now be getting rather commonplace with increasing scope for imitation by foreign producers. Fifthly, the cycle would have run its full course when the product begins to be imported into the innovating country. Vent-for-surplus theory The theory suggests that if a country has some 'free' commodity or some unused resources that can be mobilised for export purposes, then it can readily gain by engaging in international trade. This theory has been used to explain how the developing countries (including Nigeria) were drawn into foreign trade. The theory applies to countries producing inside their production possibility frontier (PPF). The new vent or outlet is an opportunity for such countries to utilise their idle resources to enable them move to and produce along the production possibility frontier. This also points to some risks connected with trade for developing countries. Suppose a country's handicraft industry is wiped out as a result of international competition and rapid population increase eats into the exportable surplus of food, then trade might eventually contract and economic development come to an abrupt end. The availability theory The availability theory identifies the existence of some specific commodities or scarce resources as a cause of trade. The theory is easily applicable to the case of oil and mineral deposits. This theory, ascribed to the American economist, I. B. Kravis quoted in Sodersten (1980), essentially says that Nigeria exports oil because it possesses large oil deposits and Chile exports copper because it is sitting on enormous copper deposits. The availability theory could serve as an explanation for trade in certain raw materials like oil or scarce mineral deposits or commodities where production requires very special input factors. Page 96

101 The theory of strategic trade policy This is the new theory of international trade advanced in recent years to explain trade in manufactures, especially in advanced technologies. Contributors to the theory of strategic trade include Krugman (1979), Lancaster (1980), Brendler and Spencer (1983), and Sapir (1993). This theory makes two basic assumptions which are fundamentally different from those found in neoclassical theory: increasing returns to scale and imperfect competition. The neoclassical theory assumes the existence of constant returns to scale (linear homogeneity) and perfect competition in both the factor and product markets. Several assumptions explain the strategic theory: it is dynamic bringing in technology in an essential way; increasing returns to scale; imperfect competition in trade (monopolistic competition and oligopolistic structure) and the existence of product differentiation. The theory is used to explain external trade in manufactured goods and, in particular, intra-industry trade. The high technology industries, whose trade the new theory attempts to explain, are strategic and tend to play a crucial role in the process of economic growth for three main reasons: First, they increase productivity in their own sector. Second, the technological knowledge and innovations which they generate often spill over into other sectors of the economy. Third, they provide better and cheaper inputs for other industries in the economy. Furthermore, because of the nature of these industries, the necessity for large research and development investments, and the existence of increasing returns to scale, the market structure is oligopolistic. Hence, we find a few large domestic and foreign firms jockeying for their share of the market and profits. In addition, national governments are generally interested in the fate of these firms because of their strategic importance. It is easy for such firms to obtain governments' moral, financial, and political support. Politically motivated intervention on behalf of certain strategic firms has indeed become commonplace. The current regionalism in the world stimulated by the success of the European Union (EU) has given an added fillip to the competition for markets and spheres of influence by the multinational giants. Some analysts now fear that the continued growth of these regional trade blocs and the tendency of advancing technology to encourage oligopolistic market structures may spell doom for the long-cherished multilateral system of trade umpired by GATT (Sapir, 1993) as captured in Iyoha (1995). Monopolistic competition in external trade Orthodox trade theory is built on the assumption that factor markets are perfectly competitive; however, markets are not perfectly competitive. As a matter of fact, various forms of monopolistic markets and practices can significantly influence a country's trading pattern. Monopolistic market forms can have a great impact on prices and the volume of trade. It should be pointed out that in modern economies, a large proportion of the products are not standardised, but are differentiated. The presence and occurrence of product differentiation has an important impact on trade flows. Under product differentiation, countries may export and import the same goods (or goods which are close substitutes). This means that with product differentiation, international trade will be larger than it would be if products were completely homogeneous and costs alone determined production pattern across countries. This implies an outcome of this phenomenon, where countries with similar economic structures and similar cultures swap a large volume of substitutable but differentiated products with one another in maximising the returns to scale. Increasing returns to scale imply that the unit cost of production declines as output increases. This can influence production through trade in a significant manner and can lead a country to specialise in one or more lines of production. Overview of Nigeria's external trade The Nigerian economy is open and extremely dependent on crude oil. Oil exports provide over 95 percent of total export earnings and over 80 percent of total government revenue (World Bank, 1987). On the import side, the Nigerian economy is heavily dependent on the importation of capital goods, raw materials, and intermediate goods. Oil boom was experienced in the 1970s marked by quadrupling of world oil prices (consequent on the Arab-Israeli war) in November This facilitated the neglect of agriculture which had been the mainstay of the country. The oil boom unfortunately came to an end with the collapse of world oil prices in 1982 (Iyoha, 1995). Since the economy was not diversified, the collapse of global oil prices led to economic difficulties for Nigeria. The crisis was exacerbated by policy inadequacies during the boom years. In July 1986, the country Page 97

102 was forced to adopt an IMF/World Bank supported structural adjustment programme, as a means of bridging the economy back to the path of macroeconomic stability and self-sustained growth. From the early 1970s to date, growth in the Nigerian economy has been oil-export driven. This, in principle, provides some evidence of the potential effect of export expansion on economic growth in Nigeria. At the same time, it demonstrates the risk of extreme dependence on the exportation of a primary product whose price is beyond the control of the country. This implies that the dependence on primary export could impact potential instability on the economy. Relevance of the Theories to Nigeria Nigeria is a developing economy which depends largely on primary products for export. The exports of manufactured goods accounts for only about one percent of total exports (Iyoha, 1995). This affirms that Heckscher-Ohlin and availability theories of trade are the most relevant to Nigeria. The relevance of Heckscher- Ohlin theory is the fact that the country is differently endowed in terms of relative factor endowments from other countries. However, the weakness of the theory is the fact that it does not emphasise on the poor level of technical knowhow in the country. This implies that the theory is applicable to primary products (raw materials) exporting countries, and is inadequate in explaining trade in manufactured goods. This is relevant to developing countries, including Nigeria. Similarly, the vent-for-surplus theory is quite relevant to Nigeria. It provides an opportunity for the country to utilise its idle natural resources. Also relevant to the economy is the availability theory because it is applicable to countries with oil and mineral deposits. This means that Nigeria exports crude oil because it possesses large oil deposits. Contemporary theories are increasingly concentrating on the explanation of international trade in manufactured goods and high technology products. For example, Linder's theory posits that a country will tend to export manufactures for which it has a large domestic market in the first instance. This theory refers to a world of free trade and subscribes to the principles of comparative advantage. Unfortunately, Nigeria only specialises in primary products. The size and distance theory attempts to explain the volume of trade, but it does not explain the composition of trade. Therefore, it is not a substitute for neoclassical theory of trade. The theory of innovation gap clearly shows that Nigeria is a lagging economy because it does not enjoy a comparative advantage in the export of new, technically advanced products. This has also been the case in terms of imitation gap and product cycle. This implies that the dynamic comparative advantage theories are applicable only to certain categories of manufactured goods, not all manufactures. The innovation related theories are not yet relevant to Nigeria. They are concerned with science-based, research intensive and high technology industries. These are absent in Nigeria. The theories are only applicable to industrialised countries with well endowed research and development departments, and who are on the cutting edge of knowledge like the USA, Japan and EU countries. Paying credence to this point, Finch and Michaelopoulos (1988) opined that international trade policies permit a quicker adaptation to new technologies and a greater flexibility in responding to international economic developments. This means that international trade could enhance the transfer of technical know-how. However, this opportunity has not been significantly utilised in Nigeria because comparative advantage is increasingly founded on superior technology. This suggests that only countries which are adaptable, flexible, willing and able to develop and learn new techniques can reap the full benefits of international trade. This is true, even as the leading industrial centres have tended more and more to displace natural raw materials by synthetic and other man-made substitutes (Sodersten, 1980). Furthermore, the relevance of the theory of strategic trade policy (the new theory of international trade) is limited to trade in manufactured goods, and irrelevant to primary products. It explains trade in a world of imperfect competition and increasing returns to scale. It emphasises the importance of changing technology as an important determinant of foreign trade. This new theory demonstrates the human knowledge, technical ingenuity and managerial acumen as important determinants of trade, apart from capital, labour and land. This means that the theory has not been actually applied in developing countries, including Nigeria. Herein lies the challenge for the country. Conclusion The paper upholds the views expressed in the theories of strategic trade policy, innovation and Page 98

103 imitation gaps, and the product cycles, for enhancing rapid growth and development. This could be supported by appropriate domestic trade policy. The classical and neoclassical theories of trade emphasise the optimality of free trade. They are complete theories of trade in that they explain the cause, volume and composition of trade. The contemporary theories however, are not complete theories of trade, but they take care of particular weaknesses in the classical and neoclassical theories. Therefore, free trade based on comparative advantage and specialisation is a stimulus for economic development. Nigeria must make conscious efforts to derive significant benefits of trade. Based on the foregoing, the following policy recommendations are hereby suggested: Government of Nigeria should ensure adequate inflow of foreign direct investment into the country. This will enhance product development, innovation and the transfer of technical knowhow; thereby promoting the new theory of strategic trade policy. Government should formulate and implement policies that will promote economic stability, greater market competition, and more effective utilisation of resources as well as adapt to changing international developments. Policies that will strengthen domestic savings, capital accumulation and investment should be promoted. This will stimulate access to capital and facilitate manufacturing and industrialisation in the country. Government should also implement appropriate macroeconomic policies that will eliminate budget deficits and reduce capital flight. Government should as a matter of urgency, direct all private sector operators to establish modern, sciencebased research and development departments in their organisations. This will facilitate innovation and the development of new products. Government should diversify the economy. This is to enable it specialise in the production of manufactured or industrial goods. The oil sector should be deregulated to make it unattractive so as to reduce mono-cultural dependency. Developing countries (including Nigeria) should rapidly develop their physical, natural and human resources for the benefit of their people order than accepting and domesticating corruption. Rather, the mix of an active investment strategy, strong human capital accumulation and a broad macroeconomic framework could help to enhance export competitiveness. Deliberate policies that promote competitiveness of the domestic economy, reduce the debt burden and moderate fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate; are urgent steps to improving on the slow pace of growth in the country. This requires major institutional and organisational efforts for Nigeria to become relevant in world trade. Fiscal policy reforms are necessary to restore macroeconomic stability. This should include cutting down on the size of public sector deficits. It is necessary because fiscal crisis usually manifest in the form of large budget deficits, economic mismanagement, external disequilibrium and macroeconomic instability in the country. These, if not checked, could continue to affect the country's trade performance negatively. Page 99

104 References Adonri, D. (2011) AMCON's Intervention will Reinvent Market Boom A Publication of The Nation Newspaper, Vol. 6 No Monday, January 10. Pp Aliyu, A.S (2010) Why US Trade Schemes Fail in Nigeria Daily Trust Newspaper Publication. Vol. 24 No. 45 Monday, June 7. P8 Blanchard, O. (2009) Macroeconomics. Technological Progress, Aggregate Supply and Demand. 5th Edition. New Jersey. Prentice Hall. Pearson Education, Inc. P291. Brandler, J. A. & Spenser, B. J. (1983) International R & D rivalry and industrial strategy. Review of Economics Studues 50. Case, K.E., Fair, R.C & Oster, S.M (2009) Principles of Economics. Ninth Edition. New Jersey. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Inc. Pp 697, 713, 721. Dornbusch, R. & Fischer, S. (1994) Economics. Fourth Edition. London. Bath Press, the McGrawHill Companies. Enwabara, B. & Anumihe, I. (2009) Nigeria Stock Market is a Fraud Says Experts Finch, D. & Michaelopoulos, C. (1988) Development, trade and international organisations. In: Iyoha, M. A. (1995) Traditional and Contemporary Theories of External Trade Selected Papers for the Annual conference of the Nigerian Economic Society. Iyoha, M. A (2003) The Impact of Globalisation on Agricultural Exports and Economic Development in Africa African Notes. Cornell University. Nov/Dec. Iyoha, M. A. (1995) Traditional and Contemporary Theories of External Trade Selected Papers for the Annual conference of the Nigerian Economic Society. Krugman, P. R. (1979) Increasing Returns, Monopolistic Competition and International Trade. Journal of International Economics 9. Lancaster, K. J. (1980) Intra-Industry Trade under Perfect Monopolistic Competition. Journal of International Economics 10 Lipsey, R. G & Chrystal, A. K (2004) Economics. Tenth Edition. New York. Oxford University Press, Inc. Pp 642 Martin, H. P (1997) Global Trap. Globalization and Assault on Prosperity and Democracy. London. Zed Books Ltd. Okoh, R. N (2004) Global Integration and Nigeria's Growth of Nigeria's Non-oil Exports Paper presented at the African Conference, March. Okoh, R. N & Egbon, P.C (1999) WTO, Implications for Agribusiness in Africa in the Next Century Critical Issues in Nigeria's Development. Oviemuno, A.O (2007) International Trade as an Engine of Growth in Developing Countries: A Case of Nigeria ( ) In: http//searchwarp.com Posner, M. V. (1961) International Trade and Technical Change Oxford Economics Papers Sapir, A. (1993) Regionalism and the new theory of international trade. Do the bells toll for the GATT? The World Economy Vol. 16 No.4. In: Iyoha, M. A. (1995) Traditional and Contemporary Theories of External Trade Selected Papers for NES Sodersten, B. (1980) International Economics. MacMillan Press Todaro, M. P & Smith, S. C (2003) Economic Development. Eighth Edition. Singapore. Pearson Education Publishers. Pp 796 Vernon, R. (1966) International investment and international trade in the product cycle. Quarterly Journal of Economics. May Wild, Wild & Han (2006). International business: the challenges of globalization. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Prentice Hall World Bank (1987) World Development Report Oxford University Press. New York Yusuf, S. (2000) Globalisation and the Challenge for Developing Countries Paper Presented at African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) Bi-Annual Workshop Plenary Nairobi, May. P 144 Page 100

105 ASSESSING THE DYNAMICS OF CONTRACT FARMING AS A VEHICLE FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA DR. ABDULLAHI LABO Department of Sociology Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Abstract The deepening food and agrarian crisis in Nigeria has generated a tremendous level of concern that provided a basis for a dramatic policy re-think. Agribusiness intervention in the form of contract growing by commissioned farmers which commenced in the early 1980s and was given impetus by the 1988 new agriculture policy, radically transformed peasant capacity to produce according to specifications which also enhanced their productivity and income. This study, conducted in Kaduna State has shown that subordinating peasants by agro-companies can enhance agriculture and boost farmers' welfare. But serious caution is needed to ensure that the companies operate fairly in their dealings with farmers and to also prevent the contracting scheme undermining food production. Key words: Contract Farming, Agribusiness, Peasants, Agrarian Crisis Introduction Since the early 1980s, the Nigerian state through its policy instruments had promoted the development capitalist agriculture via agribusiness intervention to resolve the agrarian crisis afflicting the nation. The quantitative manifestations of the crisis was depicted by consistent decline of agriculture's contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) coupled with a decline in productivity growth performance. For example, agriculture's share of the GDP declined from 39.1 percent from 1970 to 1974 to 23percent between 1975 and 1979 (FGN, 1988). Between 1980 and 1989, its percentage share fluctuated between 23.3 percent and 37.9 percent (FGN, ibid). This situation created severe unease due to the domino effect it created by negatively affecting the nation's food supply coupled with inflicting poverty in rural areas and a general trend of rural areas and general trend of rural-urban migration, raw material shortages etc. It became obvious that something drastic was called for within policy circles to curtail the situation. State response to address the crisis over the year's hinged on blaming peasant farming for the crisis due to its technical incapacity and declining contribution to the GDP over the years (Nkom, 1987). Government, therefore, began to open its arms to receive agribusiness corporations both from Nigeria and abroad, in order to transform the sector and resolve the crisis. In this respect, the agribusiness concerns came up with a variety of intervention systems among them Contract farming. Under this system, the corporations, instead of owning Land and farming directly, recruit local peasant farmers and sign contracts committing them to use approved farming technologies to produce stipulated quantities of crops to be delivered on approved dates to the companies as the sole buyers. The research problem With the introduction of contract farming in Nigeria as an integral part of the country's agricultural policy in 1988, many Stakeholders in the sector Jubilated. This is due to the view that this new system of production can effectively contribute in transforming the agricultural sector. However, since the introduction of the system, several questions have continued to be asked on Page 101

106 whether contract growing can achieve the desired objective of driving agricultural development in the country. It further became contentious on whether the burden of rural development, extension and input deliveries and guaranteeing of maximum returns to farmers will now be shared between government and agribusiness companies (Labo, 2002). Apart from that, even though contract farming does not involve land expropriation from the hands of the contracted growers, the nature of the contract regime was a source of concern. The inequality of power between the farmers and the companies was regarded as capable of depressing small farmers' income. However, it is also important to consider whether contract farming has now elevated the farmers to the level of recognition by the companies, so that guaranteed prices, inputs and extension have now become factors that make the farmers cling to the companies. An important factor of curiosity is whether contract growing in the study area is capable of making small farmers to move toward production of standard crops that meets the grading and quality requirements of agribusiness given their assumed conservatism. Again, how is peasant food production impacted by this phenomenon? This is important given the hope that the contract between the farmers and the companies would assist their food productivity. Research objectives The general objective of this study is to unearth the nature, dynamics and implications of contract farming as a vehicle for Agricultural development in Nigeria. Specific objectives (a) To establish the kind of relationship existing in the contracting arrangement between the peasant farmers and the agribusiness companies. (b) To identify the extent to which contract growing arrangement between the farmers and the agribusiness affects the socioeconomic statuses of the farmers and its implication on Agricultural development. (c) To identify the impact of contract farming in the study area on food production. Theoretical framework The theoretical perspective deployed in this study is the political economy approach. This framework seeks to understand society in terms of the contradictions, especially those existing among social classes. The wide acceptance of this perspective in social analysis is as a result of this holistic approach in the effort to grapple with social reality [Onimode, 1983]. Political economy is specifically based on the understanding of the significance of the process of production and distribution as the motive forces of social development and social reality in general (Harris, 1975). However, even though economic factor is central in the political economy framework, it by no means suggests that it is the sole determinant in understanding the character and movement in society and its systems. The ultimate determining factor from the stand point of this perspective is the production and reproduction in real life [Engels, 1980]. Production here is spoken in terms of its general significance and position as the foundation of life and human social existence. Thus, as pointed out earlier, for the purpose of this study, political economy perspective is deployed as a framework that has enthroned CLASS as its major analytical category. It is in this context that peasant contracted farmers and their relation with agribusiness and its implication on agricultural development in Nigeria are analyzed. Research methodology This study was undertaken in Kaduna State in the geo-political North West of Nigeria. The State covers 46,053km2 and was curved out from the former Kaduna State (which included present Katsina State) in 1987 and is currently broken into twenty three local government areas. The field work on which this study is based was conducted in Giwa and Soba local government areas of the State. The field survey focused mainly on the contract farmers around nine villages where the Nigeria Tobacco Company (NTC) and UAC seeds have commissioned their respective farmers viz: Kokoki, Tudun Saibu, Tashar Itace, Kwadaro, Gimba and Unguwar Sarki (Soba NTC Production Areas), and Kaya, Kayawa and Kidandan (Giwa UAC seeds production areas). Structured questionnaires were used to collect the necessary information. Altogether, 151 and 252 UAC and NTC farmers were respectively selected using simple random sample for the study. Interviews were conducted with selected farmers and company officials. This report is part of my doctoral research conducted in Page 102

107 Social Science & Law Journal Of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., Major study findings Finding in this study have provide us with a clue on the nature and activities of contract growers and the agribusiness concerns they work with: (i). It has been found that at the time of the survey, a predominant majority of the NTC farmers (91.0 percent) have earmarked only between 1-4 hectares for contract growing. Conversely, the UAC farmers have had a better showing in this respect. Only 47.0 percent of the later are present at this level. The table below summaries this point: Table 1: Distribution of Land devoted to contract farming Size (Hectares) Frequency % Frequency % TOTAL From interactions with the farmers it becomes known that not all farmers' lands are earmarked for contract growing. Many have confessed that the uncertainties associated with the growing business necessitates that they use other portions of their land for non contract food production. ii. It has also been found that the participation of contract formers in a production relationship with the companies has led to their placement in a subordinate position. However, this relationship was not found to have made the farmers miserable. Incomes of the farmers have been relatively high compared with when they were not involved with the companies. The table below gives a clue about this: Table2: Income Earnings From Contract Farming. NTC Farmers Income (N) Frequency % Frequency % 100, , UAC Farmers 150, , , , , , , , , , , , ,001 Above TOTAL Income earnings are significantly higher for UAC than NTC farmers due to differential in crops being produced and the prices being paid. Overall however, contracted peasants have fared better than other farmers in the study area, thus discounting the view that the subordination of small farmers by capital necessarily leads to penury. iii. The high income earnings associated with contract growing is also attributable to relatively significant level of productivity of the contract crops i.e Tobacco for NTC and maize seeds for UAC. The following table summaries this point; Table 3: Quantities of Contract Crops Produced by Growers. NTCfarmers UAC Farmers Quantities (tones) Frequency % Frequency % above Total From the table above, it is obvious that significant tonnages of the contract crops have been produced by the farmers. This is attributable to the corporate planning the farmers are subjected to, coupled with the income incentive being provided by the companies. The farmer's level of productivity of the contract crop has been quite high. The contract farmers in this respect (Unlike the non-contract farmer) go into production as a businessman rather than as a subsistence farmer. iv. Contracted growers were found to have devoted much of their resources and efforts on farming for the companies rather than on food production. For example, up to 23% of NTC growers were found to have devoted between 3 8 hectares of their land holdings for contract farming. In the case of the UAC growers, up to 92% have devoted same land holding for producing for the companies. The NTC farmers were found to have devoted less land in this respect due to pessimism as the company started having fiscal crisis. In the area of food production, only 10.6% of UAC farmers have devoted the 3 8 hectares of their farm holdings for food production compared to the NTC farmers with 33%. Overall however, 83.6% of the both NTC and UAC farmers have indicated that Page 103

108 they use earnings from contract growing to buy fertilizer for their private food production. v. From interviews conducted and field observation, it is obvious that contract farming has been found to have significant impact as a vehicle for rural development in a different way. This is in terms of bringing a new concept in which peasants contract growers play the role of investors and business partners with agro-industrial firms though in a subordinate position. In other words, contract growing is adding to the process of new style capitalist rural development in which government's role is slight, but in which agribusiness re-engineer's peasants away from dependence on official subsidies. Contract farming from the data in the tables above seem to have impacted on food production both negatively and positively. Negatively by diverting the attention of the farmers towards agroindustrial production due to price incentive. Second, and positively, those earnings from contract were found to have assisted the farmers in their private food production through purchase of fertilizers, hiring of labourers etc. They also benefit greatly by using some of the techniques provided by extension staff of the companies in their private food production. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS From the findings of this study, a few policy recommendations are provided below: i. Since contract forming is increasingly being practiced in Nigeria, it is important at both micro and Macro economic policy level to address the possible problems of Monopsony the companies could create. Monopsony in terms of contract farming creating a situation in which there is a single buyer (the companies) in the market arena thus leaving the producers stranded in case they decided not to buy. ii. There is therefore, the need to enact laws on contracting in agriculture as was done in Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Britain and the United States. Such laws have served to level the ground and protect farmers and the companies for smoother production and market relationship iii. Thirdly, a clear policy is required to tap the capacities of the agro-companies in the improvement of farming technologies. iv. Finally, there is a need to balance contract growing with food production. Since the farmers under contract have tended to exhibit a lot of commitment to producing for the companies to the detriment of food production, the firms should be made duty bound to facilitate food growing by the farmers. References Engels, F (1980), Letter to Joseph Bluck of Konigsberg (September 21, 1980) Letters On Historical Materialism Progress Publishers, Moscow Federal Government of Nigeria (1988) Agricultural Policy for Nigeria, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Lagos. Harris, R (ed) (1975) 'Introduction The Political Economy of Africa Shenkman Inc. New York. Labo, A (2002) Contract Farming and Political Economy of Agri-business: A Study Of Farmers Under Contract in Kaduna State, Nigeria PhD Thesis, Bayero University, Kano Nkom, S (1987) The Deepening Food Crisis in Nigeria: Structural Origins, Policy Options and Security Implications Paper presented at International Workshop on Food Crisis and Security in Africa, CODESRIA, Dakar. Onimode, B (1983) Imperialism and Under - Development in Nigeria: The Dialectics of Mass Poverty, Zed Pre Page 104

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110 ASSESSING RETHINKING THE DEVELOPMENT DYNAMICS OF STRATEGIES CONTRACT FARMING OF CONTRACT AS A VEHICLE PROJECT FOR AGRICULTURAL PROCUREMENT DEVELOPMENT FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN NIGERIA SHESHI, KUDIRAT FATI Department of Quantity Surveying, School of Environmental Studies, The Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State. Abstract Since most clients are not used to the nature of rates and contractual requirements of the formal method of procurements particularly the private clients, this has evolved the need for changes in contractual procurement. The informal procurement method has been suggested to achieve macro efficiency in the construction industry with its attendant economic development. CORES is a contractual document that can best accommodate informal contract in line with the Standard Method of Resource Scheduling 1. This research aims to review the usual practice of informal contract in general, and employ the motives and benefits of applying the method in comparison with the formal contract in particular. The study is based on literature review and an industry approach named Multi-disciplinary Approach for evaluating relative motives and benefits associated with informal contract in Niger State. The survey data collected from 25 valid completed questionnaires were analysed using Mean Score ranking technique, Spearman's rank, Correlation test and One-way ANOVA test. The observed benefits were examined and ranked from the perspectives of the client, contractor and consultant. Findings established that the major motives of clients behind their assessment of employing informal contract include: ensuring economic development; ensuring timely and economic of resources; scheduling resources in prices while the most common benefits of applying informal contract are: flexible mode of effecting payments; credit permit; cost control; better time control; improves working relationship. Altogether 25 valid completed survey questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of 25%. Amongst them, 18% (9 nos.) and 15% (15 nos.) of the respondents have executed more than 10 informal projects. Merely 1 out of 25 respondents (4%) had no hands-on practical experience but with sound understanding of informal projects. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the rated 'benefits' was (F statistics=2.536, p=0.000) at 5% significance level. It was found that there were no statistically significant differences between the group of no experience and the group with experience. The major contribution of this paper should be used to direct stakeholders to implement informal method of procurement in construction industry. At last, a case has been presented to show how to apply this approach. Keywords: Informal sector; CORES; Niger State; Sustainability; MDA. Introduction The world over, a vast number of developing countries are trying to achieve sustainable economic growth in every sector and more equitable distribution of the benefits of growth. The international institute for policy review and development strategies development goals has identified key areas for development which also embrace Environment Development. It forms part of its developmental areas aimed at enabling everyone access to cost effective projects without neglecting the privileges of the future. The major problems of achieving these various developments have been lack of implementation. When implementation is lacking, the projects are open to abuse especially in the absence of proper planning and control. Development often manifests as project design and planning construction activates increased in size and volume. In aiming to achieve its objectives goals, the Quantity surveyor is primed to bring to terms all prevailing factors to accomplish a successful project implementation. The Quantity surveyor's role embrace facilities and project management amongst other roles making his role a crucial one endowed with project packaging from scope of work design, cost, funding from its inception to ultimate commission/maintenance, Oforeh (2006). Given this perspective, this research grinned its searchlight on all sectors involved in MDAs especially in Rethinking development strategies for sustainability. The Quantity surveyor was not the only profession relevant to sustainable development but forms an integral part of the process. To enable Nigeria to achieve the MDAs, formal project procurement and identifying why they meet not sustainability for the execution of Page 106

111 Social Science & Law Journal Of Policy Review & Development Strategies, Vol. 3, No.2, Feb., (ISSN: ) private construction projects in Niger State, form what can be done to ensure sustainability in the third world. The world must treat MDAs not as abstract ambitions but as practical policy objectives. If the countries must achieve results, practical steps to achieve the goals in each country can and should be diagnosed, planned, and implemented with the proper focus and actions, combined with suitable support from the international community, (Lepold and Bishop, 1983) Sustainability: formal and informal project procurement processes The construction industry is not fulfilling its potential role in development in developing countries particularly in Nigeria. A lot of private construction projects experience exorbitant and difficulties in execution. Factors like (1) the bills of quantities with their unit rate method have been used to provide an administratively simple but essentially inequitable method of valuing substantial changes, (2) the bills of quantities used in project which use innovative rather than established traditional construction and (3) most clients especially of secondary categories are not at home with the compound nature of rates and in lines with the contractual requirements of the formal sector project procurement, consultants effect rates as tools for planning and controlling of materials, plant and labour with little or no reference to the clients inputs. Primarily, the bills of quantities is needed towards obtaining information on the quantum of work (major elements) considered relevant in the calculation of labour, materials and plant schedules while the bar chart and network diagrams techniques is required for the integration of time needed by each item of work, and by extension, the entire project including the effect(s) of associated delays on each activity and/or critical activities. This attitude is tolerated in the formal sector perhaps, as most clients serve as employers and are compelled by the nature of project finance such as public funds and/or other sources of external project funding, to honour and settle valuation(s)/certificates and hence apparently gloss over their natural desire of dictating the time especially in the purchase of materials, and control of plants and labour contents. Interestingly, this factor seems to explain why some projects procured in this sector suffer interrupted flow of funds leading to abandonment, litigation, cost and time overruns. (Onwusonye, 2006) Source: Toronto and Smith (389, 2004) Source: Emmanuel C Oforeh, fniqs, ppniqs Fig 1: Formal and Informal sectors. Page 107