scholarly journals Amnesty programme and skills training among ex-militants in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
pp. 14-26

Sequel to the realisation that youths champion violence and militancy in the Niger Delta Region, and the resolution of Umar Musa Yar’Aduas’ government to end insecurity, militancy, and youth restiveness in the region, the amnesty programme was declared, with skills training as itsmajor component.This study examined the relationship between amnesty programmes and skills training among ex-militants in the Niger Delta Region, Nigeria. The study used a cross-sectional survey research design. Questionnaires were distributed to 1152 participants purposively selected from communities in Rivers, Delta, and Bayelsa states. Elicited data were analysed using a simple linear statistical tool.The findings of the study revealthat amnesty programmes significantly enabled ex-militant to acquired skills in pipeline installation and repairs. It also showsthat amnesty programmes have apositive impact on the ex-militant acquisition of information technology skills. Further resultindicatesthat there is a significant relationship between amnesty programmes and ex-militant acquisition of automobile servicing skills.The study,therefore,concluded on the need for beneficiaries of the amnesty skills training to be supervised by experts in their field and should be provided with professional advice that would help build their confidence in their chosen career.

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-352
Author(s):  
Oghenechoja Dennis Veta

This study sought to investigate factors militating against community participation in development projects executed under the Micro Projects Programme and how to reduce such factors to the barest minimum in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. A questionnaire, an in-depth interview (IDI) guide and a focus group discussion (FGD) guide were used for data collection. Borehole water, generator-house, health centres, staff quarters and markets were the projects executed. Inadequate devolution of power to the grassroots, among others, was the major problem that hindered involvement of community members in the development process of the Micro Projects Programme in the study areas. To enhance active participation of beneficiaries in the development process of the programme, suggestions are proffered.


Author(s):  
N. C. Okiwe ◽  
O. P. Abu ◽  
K. A. Anele

Aims: To examine the Nigerian Correctional Service Condition and Congestion level in the Selected States in the Niger Delta Region. Study Design: Cross sectional survey design. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in selected states and location of correctional service in Niger Delta Region which include Rivers, Delta and Akwa Ibom States between December 2017 and September 2018. Methodology: Simple random sampling technique was adopted in selecting Three Hundred and Eighty-Seven (387) inmates using the Taro Yarmane Formular from the population of Eleven Thousand Six Hundred and Thirty-Five (11,635). Primary and Secondary data were used for this study. Primary data were obtained through the administration of questionnaire. The set of questionnaires was administered to inmates to elicit information on the facilities and comfortability of the prison and the welfare service available. The secondary source of information that were employed included relevant official publications and records from Nigerian Correctional Service, journal articles, periodicals and internet sources. Frequency, percentage, tables were used in presenting information on Demographic Characteristics of respondents. The hypotheses were tested using the Chi Square Statistical tool. Results: The result of the study showed that the selected prisons are highly congested in capacity as against the actual capacity. Conclusion: The study concluded that the selected prisons are congested and the inmate’s welfare are inefficient and ineffective.


Author(s):  
N. C. Okiwe ◽  
O. P. Abu ◽  
K. A. Anele

Aims: To examine the Welfare and effect of Correctional Congestion amongst Inmates in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Study Design: Cross sectional survey design. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in selected states and location of correctional service in Niger Delta Region which include, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States between December 2017and September 2018. Methodology: Simple random sampling technique was adopted in selecting Three Hundred and Eighty-Seven (387) inmates using the Taro Yarmane Formular from the population of Eleven Thousand Six Hundred and Thirty-Five (11,635). Primary and Secondary data were used for this study. Primary data were obtained through the administration of questionnaire. The set of questionnaires was administered to inmates to elicit information on the facilities and comfortability of the prison and the welfare service available. The secondary source of information that was employed included relevant official publications and records from Nigerian Correctional Service, journal articles, periodicals and internet sources. Frequency percentage table were used in presenting information on Demographic Characteristics of respondents. Results: The major findings of the study revealed that majority have acquired one skill or the other while being incarcerated. They also stated that the most available welfare services provided by the prison system is the library facilities, however they are non-functional. Furthermore, majority stated that they are being fed just once in a day and stated that the major recreational facility present is the football pitch and they indicated that majority of them have been involved in Mid-range Industrial Production training and a major rehabilitation process they have undergone is counselling. On the effect of correctional service Congestion on the Welfare of Inmates Data on the Major Impact of correctional service congestion on welfare of Inmates revealed that majority stated that correctional services congestion has led to death although the number cannot be determined. Majority stated that the untimely death has been one of the consequences of congestion in the prisons and one impact of congestion on their health is getting infection through the toilets. Conclusion: It was concluded that Prisons congestion has led to death as it can be deduced that untimely death has been one of the consequences of congestion in the Correctional service.


Author(s):  
Omosivie Maduka ◽  
Benson C. Ephraim- Emmanuel

Background: Household environmental health indicators have contributed to the quality of life of the populace in regions of the world where they have been made available. This study compared the indicators of household environmental health between oil-bearing and non-oil-bearing communities located in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Methods: An analytical, cross-sectional household survey was carried out among 601 households in six oil-bearing and non-oil-bearing selected communities located within the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Multistage sampling was employed, and an interviewer-administered questionnaire used to elicit data on the household environmental health indicators in the communities. The scores across the six indicator domains were summed and categorized into acceptable and unacceptable status.  Results: Water sources in both oil-bearing 230 (76.4%) and non-oil-bearing communities 177 (59.0%) were sanitary. Sanitary sewage 250 (83.1%) and sullage disposal 210 (69.8%) was practiced by most households in oil-bearing areas. The minority of respondents in both oil-bearing 26 (8.6%) and non-oil-bearing 41 (13.7%) communities practiced sanitary refuse disposal. Households in oil-bearing communities had twelve times greater odds of having a satisfactory environmental health status compared to households in non-oil-bearing communities (Adjusted O.R: 11.70, 95% C.I: 7.75-17.65). Conclusion: Households in oil-bearing communities fared better in all household environmental health indicators. There is a need to address the economic and social determinants of health among households in the Niger Delta to improve household environmental health indicators.


Humanities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abba A. Abba ◽  
Nkiru D. Onyemachi

Scholarship on Niger Delta ecopoetry has concentrated on the economic, socio-political and cultural implications of eco-degradation in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of the South-South in Nigeria, but falls short of addressing the trope of eco-alienation, the sense of separation between people and nature, which seems to be a significant idea in Niger Delta ecopoetics. For sure, literary studies in particular and the Humanities at large have shown considerable interest in the concept of the Anthropocene and the resultant eco-alienation which has dominated contemporary global ecopoetics since the 18th century. In the age of the Anthropocene, human beings deploy their exceptional capabilities to alter nature and its essence, including the ecosystem, which invariably leads to eco-alienation, a sense of breach in the relationship between people and nature. For the Humanities, if this Anthropocentric positioning of humans has brought socio-economic advancement to humans, it has equally eroded human values. This paper thus attempts to show that the anthropocentric positioning of humans at the center of the universe, with its resultant hyper-capitalist greed, is the premise in the discussion of eco-alienation in Tanure Ojaide’s Delta Blues and Home Songs (1998) and Nnimmo Bassey’s We Thought It Was Oil but It Was Blood (2002). Arguing that both poetry collections articulate the feeling of disconnect between the inhabitants of the Niger Delta region and the oil wealth in their community, the paper strives to demonstrate that the Niger Delta indigenes, as a result, have been compelled to perceive the oil environment no longer as a source of improved life but as a metaphor for death. Relying on ecocritical discursive strategies, and seeking to further foreground the implication of the Anthropocene in the conception of eco-alienation, the paper demonstrates how poetry, as a humanistic discipline, lives up to its promise as a powerful medium for interrogating the trope of eco-estrangement both in contemporary Niger Delta ecopoetry and in global eco-discourse.


Author(s):  
N. R. Nwaogu ◽  
V. E. Weli ◽  
M. D. Mbee

Background of Study: Cultism is one of the major sources of violence and causes of death among youths in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. Youths join different cult groups to have more influence and power than their peers. Supremacy of a particular cult group in a community gives its members edge to take control of proceeds and royalties accruing from crude oil production in the area. As a result, many cult groups are at conflict to assume dominance and control. This rivalry among them triggered inter and intra cult violence such as assassination, abduction, clashes, and destruction of properties as well as insecurity and upsurge in criminal activities. Methods and Materials: This study examines the vulnerability of youths to community cultism in the Niger Delta.  It looks at reasons joining cultism, crimes committed by cultists and extent of cult attacks and fatalities in the area. Adopting cross sectional research design, this study was conducted in the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) where amnesty was offered to cultists by government in 2016. The study population was the entire population of the repentant cultists (cultists who embraced the amnesty package) and Taro Yamene’s formula was used in selecting the sample size of 400. Snowball sampling technique was employed in selecting repentant cultists. Data relied on primary and secondary sources, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, weighted means and choropleth maps. Results:  The highest reason youths engage in cultism in communities was for protection. Also, quest for influence/power, money and peer group were other reasons. Fun and desire for political connection were the least reasons. The major crimes committed by cultists were murder/killing, intimidation, kidnapping and political thuggery. Cult attacks were highest in 2018 with 109 cases and least in 2010 with 33 cases while fatalities peaked in 2017 with 92 deaths and lowered in 2010 with 13 deaths. Conclusion:  Youths are vulnerable to joining cult gangs for protection and to exert influence/power over their peers. Re-orientation and sensitization programs are recommended to disabuse their minds and discourage them from engaging in anti-social behaviors.


Author(s):  
I. L. Oboro ◽  
M. Bob-Manuel ◽  
I. N. Chijioke-Nwauche ◽  
O. Maduka ◽  
T. Kasso ◽  
...  

Background: Malaria still remains an overwhelming cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years of age, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Plasmodium parasitemia among children below 5 years of age in Akwa-Ibom, Delta and Rivers States, located in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Methodology: A cross sectional study of 2630 children, selected by multistage sampling from Akwa-Ibom, Delta and Rivers States of Nigeria between April and June 2019. Parasitological diagnosis was by Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2-based malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and microscopy of giemsa-stained blood smears. Demographic information was collected using soft copies of pretested interviewer-administered questionnaires via the Open Data Kit application installed on android phones. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS version 25. Frequency, percentages, and Chi-square test were used to interpret data at a confidence interval of 95% and a p-value less than 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant. Results: A total of 2630 children less than 5 years old were included in the study, 1016 from Akwa-Ibom and 807 each from Delta and Rivers states respectively. Malaria parasitaemia was detected in 230 (8.6%) and 198 (7.4%) children by RDT and microscopy, respectively. RDT used in this survey has high diagnostic accuracy (98.8%) compared to microscopy. Conclusion: The study shows a decline in the prevalence of malaria in children under 5 years. It also demonstrates the reliability of the RDTs in the diagnosis of malaria. The use of RDTs is thus further recommended especially in peripheral centers where the access to skilled microscopists and laboratory infrastructure may be lacking.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William TH Choi ◽  
Dan KS Yu ◽  
Terry Wong ◽  
Tella Lantta ◽  
Min Yang ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Information technology and video gaming have potential advantages in the treatment of schizophrenia. However, information regarding the habits and attitudes related to internet use and video gaming in people with schizophrenia is limited. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the habits and attitudes regarding video gaming and information technology usage and their associated factors in people with schizophrenia in Hong Kong. METHODS In this cross-sectional survey, service users with schizophrenia were recruited from 6 halfway hostels and 7 integrated centers for mental wellness in Hong Kong. A 79-item self-report questionnaire was utilized to explore the habits of internet use and video gaming in these people with schizophrenia. The attitude toward video gaming was assessed using the Gaming Attitudes, Motivations, and Experiences Scales. Of the 148 individuals in a convenience sample who were invited to participate in this study, 110 willingly participated (a response rate of 74.3%). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a two-tailed independent t test, Pearson correlation, and principal analysis with 3 methods of rotation (varimax, equimax, and promax). RESULTS Most participants (100/110, 90.9%) had access to the internet and half of them (54/110, 49.1%) used the internet daily mostly to watch videos (66/110, 60.0%) or read news or books, etc (42/110, 38.2%). One-third of the participants (36/110, 32.7%) used the internet to play web-based games, and most of them (88/110, 80.0%) had played a video game in the past year. The most favorable gaming platforms were cellular phones (43/88, 49%) followed by computers (19/88, 22%) and arcade cabinets (6/88, 7%). The most favorable game genre was action games (34/145, 23.4%). Those who had a bachelor’s degree or higher scored lower in social interaction than those with a lower education level (<i>P</i>=.03). Those who played video games daily scored higher in the category of story than those who did not play daily (t<sub>86</sub>=2.03, <i>P</i>=.05). The most popular gaming category was autonomy and the least popular categories were violent catharsis and violent reward. Two motives, “social playing” and “evasive playing,” were formed to describe the characteristics of playing video games. CONCLUSIONS Our data showed a high internet utilization rate among people with schizophrenia in Hong Kong. Only a few of them used the internet to search for health-related information. Our study also exemplified the unique habits of gaming among the participants. Health care professionals could utilize video games to engage people with schizophrenia and promote coping with stress and provide social skills training to such people with schizophrenia. Identification of the gaming attitudes can contribute to the development of serious games for the schizophrenic population. Further investigation is vital for the promotion of mental health through web-based platforms.


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