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Tackling Cybercrimes in the 5G Era: An Examination of the Readiness and Digital Skills of the Nigerian Police
Get PDFThe study examined the readiness and digital skills of the Nigerian Police in tackling cybercrimes in the 5G era. Consequently, fourspecific research objectives were identified, and three hypotheses were tested in the study. The descriptive correlational research design was adopted for the study and the population comprised all police officers from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and above in the Criminal Investigation Department in Edo State (including the Anti-Fraud Unit). The sample for the study was 35 police officers in the state. The instruments for data gathering was self-designed questionnaire, and the data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. From the data analyzed, it was gathered that significant relationship existed among the readiness, digital skills of the Nigerian Police, and the tackling of cybercrimes in 5G era. The study concluded that the deployment of 5G technology will bring with it a new level of cyber threat, which will truly test the resolve of cyber security in and outside the country
Stance and Evaluation in the First Inaugural Speeches of Lagos State Governors: A Roadmap for the Development of Lagos State
Get PDFSeveral researchers have posited that political inaugural speeches embody several meanings that help the politician connect with their audience as well as convey the new administration’s commitment to leadership. This study argues that inaugural speeches also provide a glimpse into the future trajectory of a country or state. This study used Martin and White’s (2005) Appraisal Theory to investigate stance taking in the first inaugural speeches of the following governors of Lagos State: Bola Ahmed Tinubu (1999-2007), Babtunde Raji Fashola (2007-2015) and Akinwunmi Ambode (since 2015). Findings from the study demonstrate that the speeches not only predict the roadmap of the future of Lagos State or proclaim the actions of the Governors and the supposed effects of their past and future actions, but they also contain attitudinal meanings of affect, judgement and appreciation used to connect and communicate effectively with the audience, and also to present the future plans for the development of the state. These findings portray that stance taking in political inaugural speeches is a mechanism used by politicians to galvanise solidarity and support from state, boast about past performances, pledge allegiance to the positive development of the state and call upon citizens to work unanimously with them. These findings corroborate those of the researchers cited above, explicate the nature of the use of language in inaugural speeches, and also maintain that political inaugural speeches give access to the knowledge of the historical development of a political sphere as a result of the stance embedded in them
Performance Characteristics of a Single-Cylinder Two-Stroke Diesel Engine using Diesel-RK Software
Get PDFThe demand for software that is capable of solving internal combustion engines (ICEs) simulation problems is increasing on a daily basis. Thus, this article presents the application of Diesel-RK in investigating the performance characteristics of a single cylinder two- stroke turbocharged Hesselman’s diesel engine with direct fuel injection. Three different engine operating speed 1500, 2000 and 2500 rpm, respectively were utilized and their effects on certain engine performance parameters were investigated numerically. The highest overall specific fuel consumption and engine efficiency of 0.53342 kg/kWh and 0.1588, respectively were obtained at 2000 rpm. More power was delivered at 2000 rpm as a result of the highest value of engine torque obtained at that speed. The cylinder pressure increases significantly as the engine speed increases at ivc (2.0451 bar), evo (3.7801 bar) and tdc (60.141 bar), respectively. This indicates that the pressure developed when the inlet valve closes increases as the piston translate from bdc to tdc on compression, to the value required for combustion and this value dropped as the exhaust valve opens. However, the optimal values corresponding cylinder temperature increases significantly at ivc (717.24 K), evo (1088.5 K) and tdc (1560.8 K), respectively at a speed of 2500 rpm. Also, the engine speed had appreciable impact on the heat exchange parameters, because the values of those parameters increases as the engine speed increases. The effect of engine speed on the ecological, combustion, turbocharged and gas exchange parameters were also studied using Bosch, Hartridge and Strouhal dimensionless numbers and it is evident that engine speed is significant in the study of engine performance parameters and the best values of those parameters were obtained at 2000 rpm
The Challenge of Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Inclusive Governance in Nigeria
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LL over the world, peace, human
rights and effective governance based
on the rule of law are important
conduits for sustainable development. It is
against this background that Goal 16 of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is
dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and
inclusive societies for sustainable
development, the provision of access to
justice for all and building effective,
accountable institutions at all levels.
Since September 2015, when President
Muhammadu Buhari joined other world
leaders to endorse the 17 SDGs, his
administration has been striving to promote peace and justice as well as
the building of strong institutions in Nigeria as envisaged by SDG16. In this
edition of the SDGs Monitor Journal, we review the implementation of
SDG16 in Nigeria. The review by our consultant, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim,
Senior Fellow, Centre for Democracy and Development, reveals that Nigeria
is not on track with respect to achieving the sub-goals or targets of SDG 16.
For instance, while sub-goal 1 requires all member states of the United
Nations to significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates
everywhere, our review finds that rather, there has been a significant
growth of wanton violence and death in Nigeria in recent years. It also
finds that the country has witnessed the expansion of terrorism, ethnic
militia and rural-based violence that are grouped as Boko Haram terrorism
and farmer-herder clashes.
The country is equally not on course in terms of sub-goal 3, which
demands the promotion of the rule of law at the national and international
levels and ensuring equal access to justice for all. Our review shows that
the criminal justice system in the country has been particularly problematic
because it is characterised by lack of respect for the rule of law and
frequent abuse of the rights of Nigerians, and that these failings are the
direct result of the corrupt nature of the police, the prisons and the courts.
The study finds that certain factors such as the high level of insecurity
in the country, weak judicial system, corruption and lack of strong
institutions appear to be impediments to the actualisation of SDG16 in
Nigeria by 2030. To put Nigeria on the path towards attaining SDG 16, it
recommends that government should strive to significantly reduce all
forms of violence, the judiciary must be truly independent, devoid of undue
executive muzzling, and that all the critical institutions such as the Police,
the Army, the Prison Service, and political parties should be strengthened.
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Isolation and characterisation of nitrilase producing Aspergillus species recovered from solid waste leachates at two dump sites in Lagos, Nigeria
Get PDFAims: Nitrile compounds are cyanogenic intermediates, products, byproducts and waste products of agriculture,
chemical and pharmaceutical industries and fossil fuels degradation. The enzymatic hydrolysis of nitriles to non-toxic carboxylic acids or amides plays an increasingly important role in environment remediation. This study aimed at exploring the potential of Aspergilli in the detoxification nitrile compounds at two selected dump sites in Lagos, Nigeria. Methodology and results: Decomposing solid waste leachate samples (SWL) were randomly collected at two selected dump sites namely Olusosun (Ojota) and Isolo (Oke-Afa). Samples per site were pooled, processed by selective enrichment and screened for the presence of Aspergilli by culture technique and intergenic spacer sequencing (ITS). Biomass generation and pH changes in the culture fluids were monitored at 4-days interval by dry weight measurements. Nitrilase production was determined spectrophotometrically. Two nitrilase producing Aspergillus strains: Aspergillus fumigatus strain WO2 with accession number MF78882 and Aspergillus niger strain WO7 with accession number MH542673 were identified. Growth investigation revealed biomass generations of 17.8 g and 23.8 g dry weight per one liter media for A. fumigatus strain WO2 and A. niger strain WO7 respectively. Progressive pH monitoring showed decline from 7.2 to 4.5 and 7.2 to 6.2 was obtained for strains WO2 and WO7 respectively, during nitrilase production at different yields of 0.0150 and 0.0161 mg/mL/min respectively.
Conclusion, significance and impact of study: This study supports the studied dump sites as important sources of nitrilase-producing A. fumigatus and A niger strains with potentials as cost-effective environmental bioremediation agents in Nigeria
Effects of cadmium perturbation on the microbial community structure and heavy metal resistome of a tropical agricultural soil
Get PDFThe effects of cadmium (Cd) contamination on the microbial community structure, soil physicochemistry and heavy metal resistome of a tropical agricultural soil were evaluated in field-moist soil microcosms. A Cd-contaminated agricultural soil (SL5) and an untreated control (SL4) were compared over a period of 5 weeks. Analysis of the physicochemical properties and heavy metals content of the two microcosms revealed a statistically significant decrease in value of the soil physicochemical parameters (P < 0.05) and concentration of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cr, Zn, Fe, Cu, Se) content of the agricultural soil in SL5 microcosm. Illumina shotgun sequencing of the DNA extracted from the two microcosms showed the predominance of the phyla, classes, genera and species of Proteobacteria (37.38%), Actinobacteria (35.02%), Prevotella (6.93%), and Conexibacter woesei (8.93%) in SL4, and Proteobacteria (50.50%), Alphaproteobacteria (22.28%), Methylobacterium (9.14%), and Methylobacterium radiotolerans (12,80%) in SL5, respectively. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) difference between the metagenomes was observed at genus and species delineations. Functional annotation of the two metagenomes revealed diverse heavy metal resistome for the uptake, transport, efflux and detoxification of various heavy metals. It also revealed the exclusive detection in SL5 metagenome of members of RND (resistance nodulation division) protein czcCBA efflux system (czcA, czrA, czrB), CDF (cation diffusion facilitator) transporters (czcD), and genes for enzymes that protect the microbial cells against cadmium stress (sodA, sodB, ahpC). The results obtained in this study showed that Cd contamination significantly affects the soil microbial community structure and function, modifies the heavy metal resistome, alters the soil physicochemistry and results in massive loss of some autochthonous members of the community not adapted to the Cd stress
Instrumental Investigations studies of green Inhibition Potential (Case Study: Zea mays cobs extracts on mild steel in Acidic Medium)
Get PDFThe inhibitive effects of acid extracts of Zea mays cobs on the corrosion of mild steel in 1M H2SO4 solution were
investigated using spectrophotometric method for determination of phytochemicals, Infrared Measurement (FTIR)
to determine the compound contained, Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) to study dissolution rate and
scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) to study the surface
morphology of mild steel before immersion in acid, after immersion without the presence of inhibitor and after
immersion in the presence of inhibitor. Result of the research shows positive indication that Zea mays cobs contains
phytochemical that can inhibits corrosion caused by the acid. The FT-IR studies revealed the presence of functional
groups such as -NH2, ROR, -C=C-, -COOH, -C=O, and -CONH2 in the extract. The SEM-EDX and AAS result
confirms that the extract reduced the corrosion rate of mild steel, hence, reduced the dissolution rate of the iro
Biodegradation of cyanide in cassava wastewater using a novel thermodynamically-stable immobilized rhodanese
Get PDFStaff PublicationExtracellular rhodanese obtained from Aureobasidium pullulans was employed in both free and
immobilized forms for the biodegradation of cyanide present in cassava processing mill effluent
(CPME). Crosslinking with glutaraldehyde (at an optimum concentration of 5% v/v) before entrapment
in alginate beads resulted in the highest immobilization yield of 94.5% and reduced enzyme
leakage of 1.8%. Rhodanese immobilized by cross-linking before entrapment (cbe) retained about
46% of its initial activity after eight cycles of catalysis compared to the entrapment in alginate
alone (eaa) which lost more than 79% after the fifth catalytic cycle. A cross-examination of
thermodynamic (DG
d, DS
d, DH
d) kinetic (kd, t1=2, D and z values) parameters at 30–70 C
showed that cbe displayed a higher resistance to thermal inactivation when compared to the free
enzyme (fe) and (eaa). The efficiency of cyanide biodegradation from the CPME by the fe, eaa and
cbe were 55, 62, and 74% respectively after 6 h. Biodegradation of cyanide using the cbe was
monitored using FTIR spectroscopy. Rhodanese immobilized via cbe had a higher resistance to
thermal denaturation over other enzyme forms. Hence, this makes cbe adaptable for large-scale
detoxification of cyanide from CPME
Preparation and characterisation of biochars from elephant grass and their utilisation for aqueous nitrate removal: Effect of pyrolysis temperature
Get PDFStaff PublicationBiochar is a solid material obtainable from biomass pyrolysis and useful for pollution alleviation and soil
amendment. In this study, Biochars A and B were produced from elephant grass at pyrolytic temperatures of 400 ◦C and 600 ◦C, respectively, for removal of nitrate ion from aqueous solution. The physicochemical characteristics of the biochars were evaluated. The biochars were also characterised using Fourier Transform Infrared
(FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray Diffraction
(XRD). Operational variables such as pH, contact time, and concentration of nitrate ion were varied and optimum
variables were obtained. Kinetic and equilibrium data were subjected to kinetic (pseudo-first order, pseudosecond order, Avrami fractional order, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion) and equilibrium (Langmuir,
Freundlich, Liu, and Redlich-Peterson) models, respectively, to elucidate the interaction between the nitrate ion
and biochars. The yields of Biochars A and B were 41.40 % and 32.25 %, respectively. The two biochars
possessed good cation exchange capacity, water-holding capacity, carbon stability, and porosity. Avrami fractional kinetic order was the best model that explained the kinetic data. Maximum adsorption capacities obtained
from Liu model (the best equilibrium model) are 140.7 and 237.5 mg g− 1 for Biochars A and B, respectively.
Adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic. There was a decrease in the disorderliness in the nitratebiochar system. Biochar B performed better than Biochar A for removal of nitrate ion from water. In summary,
the biochars produced from elephant grass excellently removed nitrate ion from solution and could be utilised for
water decontamination
Time Biases: Exploring the Work-Life Balance of Single Nigeria Managers and Professionals
Get PDFStaff PublicationPurpose – This study investigates the overarching ideology of work-life balance (WLB) or conflict as predominantly being a work-family affair. Based on a Nigerian study, and using organisational justice as a theoretical lens, it explores perceived fairness in accessing familyfriendly policies by managers and professionals who are single and do not have children – a workgroup conventionally ignored in research on WLB.
Design/methodology/approach – Relying on an interpretivist approach, the dataset comprises of interviews with 24 bank managers and 20 medical doctors working in Nigeria.
Findings – Our findings highlight employers’ misconceptions concerning the non-work preferences and commitments of singles as well as an undervaluation by employers of their non-work time. Conceptualised as ‘time biases', such time is routinely invaded by the organisation, with profound implications for perceptions of fairness. This fosters backlash behaviours with potential detrimental effects in terms of organisational effectiveness.
Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to investigating the WLB of singles in high-status roles, namely banking and medical careers. Future research may examine the experiences of a more diverse range of occupations. The sample comprises heterosexual, never-married professionals, whose experiences may differ from other categories of single workers, such as childless divorced people, widows, non-heterosexual singles, and partners who have no children.
Practical implications – In order to avoid counterproductive behaviours in the workplace, WLB policies should not only focus on those with childcare concerns. Inclusive work-life policies for other household structures, such as single-persons, are necessary for improving overall organisational wellbeing.
Originality/value – The majority of WLB studies have been undertaken in Western and Asian contexts, to the neglect of the Sub-Saharan African experience. Additionally, research tends to focus on WLB issues on the part of working parents, overlooking the difficulties faced by singles