OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open access peer-reviewed journal
Challenges of Insecurity and Terrorism in Nigeria: Implication for National Development
Callistar K. Obi
Department of Economics, Delta State University, Abraka
Delta State, Abraka Nigeria.
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 11-18, 2015.
Abstract: Insecurity and terrorism has been a major challenge to the Nigerian government in recent times. The activities of the Islamic sect (Boko Haram) had led to loss of lives and properties in the country especially in the Northern part of Nigeria. Some of these activities include bombing, suicide bomb attacks, sporadic shooting of unarmed and innocent citizens, burning of police stations, churches, kidnapping of school girls and women, e.t.c. Kidnapping, rape, armed robbery and political crises, murder, destruction of oil facilities by Niger Delta militants alongside the attacks carried out by Fulani Herdsmen on some communities in the North and South have been another major insecurity challenge facing the country. Nigeria has been included among one of the terrorist countries of the world. Many lives and properties have been lost and a large number of citizens rendered homeless. Families have lost their loved ones. Many women are now widows. Children become orphans with no hope of the future. This has implications for national development. Government had made frantic efforts to tackle these challenges posed by terrorism and insecurity in the country and put an end to it but the rate of insurgency and insecurity is still alarming. The events surrounding September 11, 2001 and other recent events of terrorism across the globe especially the current wave of terrorism in Nigeria, had focused our minds on issues of terrorism and insecurity. This study therefore, investigated empirically the challenges of insecurity and terrorism on national development in Nigeria. The scope of the study spans from 1990 to 2012. Data used for this study was sourced from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin, Newspapers and related journal articles on security issues. Using ordinary least square method of analysis, the result showed that terrorism and insecurity impacts negatively on economic development. It has made government to divert resources meant for development purposes to security votes. Expenditure made by government on security matters had significantly and positively impacted on economic development implying that expenditure on security matters has helped to ameliorate the negative effect of terrorism and insecurity despite the fact there is a crowding-in effect of security expenditure on economic development. This finding is in line with other studies on different countries of the world. It is therefore recommended that government should declare war on terrorism and seek assistance/advice from international communities who have in the time past faced this kind on challenge and were able to tackle it. The Nigerian Military should be empowered more with arms to fight this insurgency. Government should beef up security in the eastern and southern parts of the country to curb the menace of insecurity. Grazing grounds or/and ranches should be built in all states of the country for Fulani herdsmen who rear cattle.
Keywords: Boko Haram; Insecurity; National development; Nigeria; Terrorism.
Understanding the Causes and Threats of Climate Change in Rural Ghana: Perspectives of Smallholder Farmers
Emmanuel Kojo Sakyi a, Regina A. Lassey b
a,b University of Ghana Business School, College of Humanities, Legon, Accra, Ghana
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 19-38, 2015.
Abstract: This study examines the views of smallholder farmers about the causes of climate change, the effects of human activities on the climate and its implications for farming and livelihoods in three villages in the Adaklu District of the Volta region of rural Ghana. Data were collected from a purposively selected key informants who participated in a carefully organized focused group discussions and semi-structured in-depth interviews. The study participants were drawn from three case study villages of Anfoe, Torda and Wumenu in the Adaklu District. A total of nineteen (19) of smallholder farmers took part in the group interviews. The semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with two key informants who serve as agricultural extension services providers in the district. The study found that smallholder farmers are aware of warmer temperatures and rainfall patterns. The famer groups reported that activities of the farming communities are responsible in various ways for the observed weather changes especially regarding unreliability and unpredictability of the rainfall, intensity and prolonged duration of the dry season. Study participants (.i.e. smallholder farmers) identified charcoal burning, tree-felling, shifting cultivation, slash and burn farming method and indiscriminate bush burning for purposes of hunting and tradition as potential triggers of the changes in the weather conditions. Majority of interviewees believed that there is a link between the coping economic activities of farmers and the weather problem. According to them, embracing mixed-farming methods and livelihood diversification is helping to adapt and cope with the changing weather condition. The smallholder farmers reported that there has not been any education or support service from the local government and/or public institutions aimed to help them cope with the effects of climate change. The study findings support earlier studies which found that climate change and its causes are anthropogenic and directly linked to social and economic activities of humans wherever they live, including small holder farmers. National and local governments would have to device strategies to support farming communities in the form education, construction of dams for all year round farming and introduce them to sustainable alternative livelihood options to help improve adaptive and coping capacity of vulnerable smallholder farmers.
Keywords: climate change; causes; Ghana; perceptions; threats; smallholder rural farmers
Status of Heavy Metal in the Peripheral Rivers around Dhaka City
Shishir Kumar Biswas a, Md. Mafizur Rahmanb, Md. Alim-Ul Bahar c ,
Sharmistha Debnathd
a, d Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Kakrail, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
b Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
c Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 39-46, 2015.
Abstract: Buriganga, Balu, Shitalakhya, Turag and Tongi Canal are the peripheral channels around Dhaka City receive large quantity of untreated sewage, industrial liquid and municipal waste everyday leading to serious surface water contamination. This study focuses on the status of heavy metal in those peripheral rivers and canals. Five different parameters, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn are considered for statistical analysis. The average values of the parameters for the dry season were taken for comparison with the Bangladesh standards. The presence of excess amount of heavy metals including Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni and Zn confirms the chemical contamination of water. Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni and Zn from the selected rivers water reveal that those remain below the allowable limits to discharge into public sewer, inland water and irrigated land. The concentration of lead (Pb) is found higher than the allowable limits and may be harmful for all the three cases. Concentrations of the selected heavy metals are higher than Bangladesh standards for drinking water in most of the cases.
Keywords: Water quality, heavy metal, peripheral rivers, pollution, standard.
Human Rights of The Aboriginals In The Context Of Bangladesh
Mohammad Abdul Hannan
Department of Law, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh.
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 47-68, 2015.
Abstract: Human Rights is one of the most pronounced terms in international and regional arena in recent decades. Rights of the indigenous people or aboriginals (adibasis) occupy a mentionable part of human rights contexts, which is a great concern in present Bangladesh. Historically the Adibasis have often been dispossessed of their lands, or in the center of conflict for access to valuable resources because of where they live, or, in yet other cases, struggling to live the way they would like. Indeed, they are often amongst the most disadvantaged people in this land. The present study provides an idea of the demography and identity issues of the Adibasis of Bangladesh primarily. It analyses the theoretical concepts of the human rights of the Adibasis according to particular documentary legal evidences. In addition, it finds out the facade of the real conditions of the aboriginals through a number of case studies. This study denotes the role of governmental and non-governmental institutions in this historically neglected and marginalized arena. Finally, this work recommends most possible comprehensive suggestions to bring the Adibasis of Bangladesh out to the mainstream socio-economic ways of Bangladeshi people.
Keywords: Human Rights, Aboriginals, Bangladesh, socio-economic
Extrajudicial Killing In Bangladesh: A Murder Of Human Rights
A. Z. M. Arman Habib
Faculty of Legal Studies, South Asian University, Akbar Bhawan, Satya Marg,
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi-110021, India
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 69-80, 2015.
Abstract: Bangladesh’s record for human rights has deteriorated since 2004 after the introduction of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite force added to the existing contingent of the law enforcing agencies. Every day in the getting up or in the fast reading of daily newspapers we watch the issue or occurrence was occurred in any place of Bangladesh that is killing by RAB or police of terror which is known to us as extra judicial killing. It is the duty of the welfare state to secure democracy, rule of law, press freedom and human rights. But it is matter of sorrow that law enforcing agency violate the human right with the knowledge of government of Bangladesh. From the year of 2004 has been continuously going on extra judicial killings by state there. Especially, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is the main state killers in the name of so-called ‘crossfire’ or ‘encounter’ or ‘gunfight’ in Bangladesh. But this cannot be allowed, because every person has some fundamental rights. All of the human rights organizations and concern association criticize this extra judicial killing. Extrajudicial killing is an offence which cannot be condoned by any peace-loving people.
The people of Bangladesh have 23 fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution. The fundamental rights are prescribed in the Bangladesh Constitution Article 26 to 47A. Article 31and 32 of the Constitution of Bangladesh is intended to protect the fundamental rights. It guarantees the right to life and personal liberty and it is applicable to both citizens of Bangladesh and foreign nationals. But, in practice, the government of Bangladesh apparently fails not ensure the right to life or to comply with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Constitution of Bangladesh. Extrajudicial killing has been an ongoing problem in Bangladesh. It’s both a violation of Bangladesh’s constitution and of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But these types of killings still occur frequently in Bangladesh. Despite being a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). According to Article 2 and 6 of the ICCPR, the Bangladeshi authorities have the obligation to ensure the right to life of the country’s people and must provide prompt and effective remedies in cases where any violations takes place. Bangladesh also has the obligation to introduce legislation that is in conformity with the ICCPR, but continues to fail in this regard.
This research work seeks to precisely understand the extent of human rights violation caused by the different instructions in Bangladesh. This research substantiates significantly to the existing popular literature in the field of human rights. The paper emphasizes that extra-judicial killing is an infringement of the citizens’ rights to life and state violation of International Human Rights Charter of which Bangladesh is a signatory. In this paper, an attempt has been made, mainly, to examine and assess the position and status of human rights (right to life) and extent of contradiction of criminal justice in Bangladesh in view of Bangladesh constitution and other related instruments when extrajudicial killing occurs repeatedly. Also deals question relating to protection of life and extent of its infringements by extrajudicial killing. The relevant cases have, therefore, been discussed and analyzed.
Keywords: Due process of law, Extra-judicial killing, Human rights, Presumption of innocence, Right to life
Which is the elixir as a development policy: Washington Consensus Liberalization or the Restrictive Beijing Model? Analytical Review
Dejene Mamo Bekana
Institute of Tax and Customs Administration, Ethiopian Civil Service University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 81-95, 2015.
Abstract: The essay argues that the influential Washington consensus neoliberal economic philosophers assume that market and price mechanisms should be promoted to achieve economic development and calls for economic liberalization undermining the role of policy instruments. On the other hand, the Beijing model development policy advocators pronounce economic liberalization in a closed politics. The success of the Beijing model posed profound challenge to the discipline of economics as the reform paths pursued by Chinese policy makers embarked on centralization of politics and decentralization of economic affairs to sub national governments. The essay challenges the presuppositions of these arguments. It maintains that any development model cannot be universally applicable and realistic development policy should emerge out of the economic, historical, social and cultural experiences of a country while learning from the best practices of developed and emerging nations within the framework of its own practical realities. Development should be local choice and development policy must be interpreted in the historical and social context of the society. It then contends a development policy is neither essentially evil nor good. Development policy is better seen as following from recognitions of its deontological processes and teleological perspectives than dictating single universal path to prosperity.
Keywords: Economic Development, Washington consensus, Beijing model, development strategy, contemporary debate
A glance at rural ICT experience in Iran
Study of the impacts of computer skills on economic power of Educated girls in Gharnabad village
Maryam Nooraie Nezhad
University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 96-111, 2015.
Abstract: The importance of connection of villages to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and expansion of collective points for access of villagers to ICTs is to such an extent that this issue has been accepted by heads of all countries in the world as one of the Millennium Development Goals. Iran, after signing the Declaration of Principles, has also begun the project of connecting ten thousand villages to ICT offices since 2003.
The issue that how the existence of one rural ICT office has affected the lives of girls in one village and even neighboring villages, and in fact what new chances it has provided for rural girls is the main subject of this research and its subordinate forms have been questioned in four fields of individual, family, vocational and socio-cultural impacts on rural girls from their own points of view. Since the Gharnabad is well-known as a successful model of internet village in Iran, the girls of this village and three other neighboring villages, including Shahkooh, Ahangar Mahalle and Chaharbagh, are the study population in this research. Answer to the question that to what extent has this office been able to financially empower the rural girls has been analyzed and investigated by qualitative method and with in-depth interview technique. The results of this research illustrate that rural ICT office in Gharnabad and the rendered trainings have provided various opportunities, including new vocational opportunities, for girls of these villages.
Keywords: Rural ICT office, rural girls, new opportunities, economic empowerment, suggestions based on successful experience of Gharnabad village.
Utilization pattern of community driven development projects (cddp) in southwestern, nigeria
Samson Adeyinka a, , Raphael Adetoso b
a, b, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria.
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 112-121, 2015.
Abstract: Community Driven Development projects (CDDp) is aimed at enhancing the welfare of the people. The study therefore examined patronage pattern of Community Driven Development projects (CDDp) with the view to harnessing a good support of the community development officers at the local government levels in Southwest Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. A total number of 5,106 questionnaires were systematically administered on the household heads in all the eighteen local government areas randomly selected from all the senatorial districts in the six states that make up the Southwest Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria. Data used for this study were analyzed with the use of Principal Component Analysis/Factor Analysis (PCA/FA) and Logit Regression Analysis. The study found that four factors which accounted for 63.86% of the initially extracted seven factors had significant influence on the decision to utilize Community Driven Development projects. Based on the eigen values, these factors assume order of importance as follows: quality (3.125; 29.33%), accessibility (2.776; 26.06%), affordability (2.574; 24.16%) and attitude (2.176; 20.43%). Quality and affordability of Community Driven Development project as obtained from the logit regression is negatively related to the probability of patronizing community driven development project and that as the quality and affordability of community driven development projects increase, the probability of patronizing government owned infrastructures decreases by -0.482 and -0.639 respectively at 1% level of significance. Conversely, attitude of personnel manning community driven development project is also positively related to the probability of patronizing government owned development project and that as the attitude of personnel manning of government owned development project becomes poorer, the probability of patronizing community driven project increases by 0.235 at 5% level of significance. The study concluded that identified Community Driven Development projects have had favorable socio economic impacts on the people and that community development association if given a proper management and administrative skill at the local government level or state could function very well in the provision of amenities for its populace. The study recommended that a blue print and a policy statement should be made at this expense so that activities of all the community associations in the community could be unified and monitored. It also recommended that statutory allocation should also accommodate community development association. Planning rules and regulations should be observed to the latter in the implementation of community-driven development projects. It also advocated that indigenous technology should be always be used so that maintenance cost could be affordable.
Keywords: Community; Community Development; Community Development Association; Community Driven Development projects; Development
Quality of Treatment Relationships between physicians and patients (case study: polyclinic of General Hospital and Private Clinic )
Taghi Azadarmaki
Department of Sociology, The University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 122-134, 2015.
Abstract: The studies and researches applied on the social medicine Mostly considered the role and position of organizational and macro elements in the treatment system: in return ,the relationship between physician and patient as a cultural issue has been focused lower. Due to lack of interaction between physician and patient, the treatment process has got into trouble in Iran . In this paper, in addition to Identification of physician and patients presence ,we intend to explain the pattern enforcing on the diagnosis and treatment flow in Iran by comparing two different environments of polyclinic and private clinic. The main question of this study is to investigate the quality of communication system between physician and patient : if the relationship between physician and patient is unilateral or interactive and continuous? The significance of interactive communication System is in patients collaboration in disease diagnosis and treatment process.
In this study , firstly by means of participant observation method , 60 samples of patients visit by physician and their conversation in the hospital and private clinic have been recorded and categorized in order to provide the requirements for conceptual analysis of findings. To analyze the data, considering the basic assumptions , Habermas communicative action theory and two main concepts of life world and system were used which have been declined to patient s life world and system (medical explanation) in the medical context.
The summary of this field study shows that the enforcement of biomedical and biologic view to the patient is yet continuing among the physician. This type of viewpoint affects the communication between physicians and patients and quality of conversation and counseling and even the diagnosis and treatment , and physicians single-dimensional and merely biological view to the patients leads to inefficiency of medical consultations.
Keywords: Communication patterns, relationship between physician and patient, life world, Medical Explanation, polyclinic, private clinic.
Protecting Existing and Prospective Investors and the Role of Internal Auditors
Md Shoaib Ahmed a, Shubhankar Shil b
a School of Business, Independent University, Bangladesh.
b School of Business, University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh.
Volume 08, Issue 02, Pg. 135-153.
Abstract: In this study we tried to explore the idea of the independence of internal audit committee, independence of finance and accounting departments and the corporate charter followed by the board of directors of an organization and how they protect existing and prospective investors. A multiple regression analysis and analysis of covariance (ancova) 2X2 have been used to analyze the data by using the R i386 2.1 5.1. A strong and positive relation has been found in this study with a highly correlated independent variable. It has been also found that 62% of the investors believed that internal auditors and finance and accounting executives are not independent at their work place. Surprisingly 89% felt that if internal audit committee and executives of finance and accounting departments work independently and effectively, then investors will be highly protected.
Keywords: Internal auditors, audit committee, investors’ protection and corporate governance