Afe Babalola University Based Journals
Not a member yet
992 research outputs found
Sort by
Implication of Government Health Expenditure for Human Capital Development in Nigeria
Get PDFThe relationship between government health expenditure and human capital development has been widely discussed. It is a known fact that the more the health sector is funded, the more healthy people would be and this would enable them to invest in themselves and increase human capital. However, the health sector’s funding in Nigeria is low and has not helped to improve the development of human capital. It is for this reason that this study examined the impact of government health expenditure on human capital development spanning 1999 to 2023. The data for the annual time series were obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin 2023, and World Development Indicator 2023. The study adopted the vector error correction model (VECM) as an appropriate method of analysis. The results however found that government health expenditure and out-of-pocket expenditure have positive and significant impact on human capital development. Similarly, physician per capita and inflation rate are insignificant and negative with human capital development, meaning these two variables cause decline in human capital development during the period covered in the study. The results of the analysis made this study to recommend that there is the need for the government to increase health sector’s funding to aid the building of state-of-the-art health facilities that would help the development of human capital in Nigeria
The Role of Regional and International Actors in Combating Terrorism in West and East Africa: A Comparative Study of ECOWAS and AMISOM
Get PDFThe rising threat of terrorism in Africa, particularly in West and East Africa, has prompted the increasing involvement of regional and international actors in counterterrorism efforts. This study critically examines and compares the roles of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in combating terrorism in their respective regions. Despite the existence of several state-level and multinational initiatives, terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab continue to exploit weak governance, political instability, and socio-economic grievances. The study addresses the problem of limited comparative analyses of regional counterterrorism responses in Africa and evaluates the extent to which regional organisations have influenced security outcomes. The objectives of the study are to analyse the strategies employed by ECOWAS and AMISOM, assess the effectiveness of regional cooperation in counterterrorism, and identify challenges and lessons learned. Guiding research questions include: What are the main counterterrorism approaches of ECOWAS and AMISOM? How effective are these approaches in addressing terrorism? What are the shared challenges, and what lessons can be drawn for future regional interventions? Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative, comparative case study approach, drawing on document analysis, existing literature, and institutional reports. Findings reveal that AMISOM has been more militarily robust, with notable territorial gains, while ECOWAS has prioritised diplomacy and legal frameworks. Both institutions, however, face structural constraints, funding challenges, limited operational capacity, and over-reliance on international partners. The study concludes that while regional organisations play a critical role in Africa’s security landscape, sustainable counterterrorism requires a balance between military force and political, economic, and social interventions. It recommends strengthening institutional capacity, improving coordination, promoting local ownership, and integrating human rights protections into all regional security frameworks
AI-Driven Assessment of Educational Interventions: Enhancing Midwives’ Competence in using condom-catheter intrauterine balloon tamponade - Review
Get PDFPostpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is still a major cause of maternal death and morbidity globally, especially in areas with limited resources. This emphasizes the urgent need for strong training programs for healthcare professionals as well as efficient therapies. When first-line uterotonic medicines are ineffective, intrauterine balloon tamponade (IUBT) has become a useful, minimally invasive method for treating PPH. However, the ability of healthcare professionals, particularly midwives, to carry out IUBT accurately and effectively is crucial to its successful deployment. Conventional IUBT training approaches, such as lectures, demonstrations, and practical mannequin practice, frequently have drawbacks in terms of scalability, objectivity of evaluation, uniformity, and capacity to offer tailored feedback. These restrictions may make it more difficult to learn and retain critical skills, which may affect patient outcomes and safety. This study explores the revolutionary potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven evaluation methodologies to enhance midwives' competence with condom-catheter IUBT to address the shortcomings of conventional training methods
Improved Correlation of Oil Recovery Factor for Water Driven Reservoirs in the Niger Delta
Get PDFRecovery factor is one of the most important variables for a reservoir engineer as it plays a major role in determining the economic viability of oil and gas projects and by implication what projects to mature. Over the years, many different approaches have been taken to estimating recovery factor of oil and gas reservoirs generally and these include simulations, volumetric method and correlations. All these methods have their high inherent cost except for correlations which are not only easy and quick to use but also low cost. Even though correlations have been developed in the past for the recovery factor of Niger Delta crude, none has employed the data analytics and machine learning techniques. Data from strong water driven crude oil reservoir in the Niger Delta was used in this study. After data cleaning and quality checking, cleaned data was used to train the machine learning model using multiple linear regression algorithms optimized with batch gradient descent method. This was implemented using Python code developed for this work. The model developed had an excellent performance on the training set as the coefficient was about 0.84. The mean absolute error is about 0.018. The results obtained showed better model performance and generalization than any previously existing model
Performance Assessment of Organic Fibre-Reinforced Ceiling Boards for Sustainable Building Applications
Get PDFThis study developed two separate ceiling boards using snot apple fibre and cow hair with coconut shells and epoxy resin binder added in each of the boards in order to produce sustainable, lightweight, and cost-effective ceiling boards from agricultural and animal waste fibres as eco-friendly alternatives to conventional, non-renewable building materials. Natural fibres from plant and animal wastes were treated with sodium hydroxide and characterized by X-ray fluorescence, revealing distinct elemental compositions: coconut shell fibre rich in MgO (33.318%) and SiO₂ (20.044%), cow hair fibre high in SO₃ (54.35%), and snot apple fibre rich in MgO (38.006%) and SiO₂ (21.409%). Composite samples were produced via compression moulding using a Taguchi L9(3)3 design to vary filler, additive, and binder content systematically. Mechanical properties (tensile strength, hardness, impact energy), water absorption, thickness swelling, and microstructure were evaluated. Snot apple fibre-based boards (SAF) showed superior tensile strength (12.51MPa), hardness (79.5HVN), and impact energy compared to cow hair fibre boards (CHF) shows 9.29MPa tensile strength, 73.3HVN hardness, though with greater variability and thickness swelling. ANOVA revealed filler content primarily influenced cow hair boards’ tensile strength and hardness, while coconut shell and binder content were key for snot apple boards. Epoxy resin significantly affected water absorption and swelling in both, necessitating tailored formulations. SEM analysis performed on the optimised samples confirmed microstructural features correlating with performance while thermogravimetric analysis revealed that SAF ceiling boards demonstrates significantly superior thermal stability compared to the CHF composite, making it more suitable for high-temperature applications. Overall, the composites are suitable eco-friendly alternatives for ceiling board applications in building
Gender Taboos and Homophobia in Unoma Azuah’s Embracing My Shadow: Growing Up Lesbian in Nigeria.
Get PDFIn sexual politics, queer is a concept that describes atypical sexualpreferences and descriptive of a minority that do not subscribe to theconventional gender heterosexual identity. The Nigerian society like manyother heteronormative societies is fixated in its delineation and acceptanceof sexuality and gender. Non-conformity by anyone to the same means cansubject you to any form of homophobia. Nigeria has a queer community.However, legislation in Nigeria still prohibits homosexual relations,prescribing as much as fourteen years imprisonment as punishment forthis in Nigeria’s Criminal Code Act. With diverse calls for the respect ofhuman rights across the globe, Nigeria and Africa at large still cringesat the knowledge of a queer identity and treat same as socio-culturallyalien. Thus, this paper examines the emergent concept of queer inNigerian literature and the relationship between queerness and selfhood in Embracing My Shadow: Growing up Lesbian in Nigeria using the Queertheory. The study finds that, Unoma Azuah’s portrayal of queer charactersin her memoir and Unoma’s several attempts at asserting her queerness asa personal identity is consistent with ongoing agitation for LGBTQ rights.It argues that Azuah’s narrative is contextualised within a social space withstructures that challenge queer as an emerging norm of being. The paperhas therefore argued that Nigeria’s queer literature and the possibility ofqueer’s search for selfhood and domesticity in Nigeria is characterisedby taboos and limits that attest to the complexity of the society and itsespoused sexual norms
Arab-Jewish Conflict: An Examination of Its Origin
Get PDFThe Jews believe that the land of Jerusalem is their eternal home. This belief contributed to the rise of a Zionist movement in Europe from the 1800s to the early 1900s. That movement promoted the idea of a Jewish “return” to Palestine. Later, the Law of Return established a legal basis for Jews worldwide to immigrate to and obtain citizenship in the State of Israel. It should be noted that after the British Mandate ended in 1948 and the State of Israel was established that year, there was hope that a democratic Israeli constitution would include non-Jewish citizens. That hope was thwarted as the displacement of Palestinians continued—most notably during the Nakba of 1948 and with further large-scale displacements after Hamas attacked Israel on 7th October, 2023. This paper argues that the Israeli-Palestinian crisis dates back more than 73 years and did not begin on 7th October, 2023. Essentially, the Arab-Israeli conflict has roots extending as far back as the Balfour Declaration, which led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. The core issue between Arabs and Jews was that Zionism, a Jewish movement, became the primary catalyst in the emotionally charged crisis of the region. The role of Western powers and the Arabs’ attitude towards the plight of the Arabs-Palestinians also intensified the ongoing turmoil. The United Nations’ attempts to resolve the conflict by proposing two neighbouring states, Palestine and Israel, failed miserably. The American President, Donald Trump’s declaration to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and his encouragement for Egypt and Jordan to accept Gaza refugees within their borders, further inflamed Arab resentment. This paper, therefore, discusses the origin of the Arabs and Jewish conflicts in its historical unfolding and proposes some conflict resolution strategies involving pan-Arabism and the Zionist agenda within the context of Jewish Israel and the Arabs-Palestine conflict.  
The “Brain Drain” vs. “Brain Gain” Debate: Impacts on Africa’s Development
Get PDFThe migration of skilled professionals from African countries, often referred to as "brain drain," has had a profound impact on the continent's socio-economic development. This ongoing phenomenon has resulted in the loss of human capital, severely affecting critical sectors such as healthcare, education, technology, and infrastructural development. The mass exodus of skilled workers in Africa has created a gap that has disrupted these vital industries, thereby undermining efforts to drive progress and innovation. Conversely, the concept of “brain gain” presents an optimistic view, focusing on the contributions made by African professionals in the diaspora. These contributions– financial remittances, knowledge exchange, and the establishment of transnational networks– have been vital in fostering economic development and enhancing access to expertise in various fields. While these benefits are undeniable, they do not fully counterbalance the negative impacts of brain drain, which continues to hinder the potential growth of African nations. This paper explores the complex relationship between brain drain and brain gain within the context of Africa's socio-economic development. Drawing on the human capital theory, which emphasises the importance of skilled labour in driving economic and social progress, this work investigates the implications of skilled migration on the continent's growth. By examining case studies from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa, this paper highlights the challenges faced by African nations in retaining their experienced professionals and the potential benefits of engaging with Africans in the diaspora. Through a comprehensive analysis of migration trends and policy approaches, this research advocates for the development of strategies that balance the retention of skilled labour with fostering global mobility. This paper seeks to provide practical recommendations that will allow African countries to maximise the positive impacts of skilled migration, while minimising the adverse effects of brain drain and thus ultimately promoting sustainable development across the continent
NaijaTrafficNet: A Custom CNN for Robust Sign Classification under Nigerian Road Conditions
Get PDFIn this study, we propose NaijaTrafficNet, a novel custom Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture designed for robust traffic sign classification under challenging Nigerian road conditions, characterised by poor lighting, occlusion, and non-standard signage. To address data scarcity, we merged two public datasets the Kaggle Traffic Sign Dataset Classification and the German Traffic Sign Recognition Benchmark (GTSRB) resulting in a unified dataset of 12,472 images across 43 classes. Extensive preprocessing, including resizing, grayscale conversion, histogram equalization, and data augmentation, was applied to enhance generalizability. The model was trained from scratch using the Adam optimizer and evaluated on a held-out test set of 795 images. NaijaTrafficNet achieved a test accuracy of 94.72% and a weighted F1-score of 94.48%, demonstrating high performance, particularly for regulatory signs (e.g., stop and speed limits). The architecture is lightweight, enabling real-time inference suitable for deployment in resource-constrained environments. Limitations include misclassification of visually similar signs (e.g., 50 km/h vs. 60 km/h). This work contributes (1) an open-source preprocessing pipeline for African traffic sign data, (2) a novel CNN architecture, and (3) empirical validation of deep learning for non-standard signage. Future work includes comparative benchmarking and synthetic data generation
Effect of Locust Bean (Parkia Biglobosa) Pod Ash and Portland cement on Strength and Durability Properties of Compressed Earth Bricks
Get PDFThe need for locally produced, durable and robust, readily available, inexpensive and environmentally friendly building materials has led to persistent bottlenecks in sustainable housing delivery. "The construction industry is exploring exciting new materials that are eco-friendly and perfect for construction projects." The major problem associated with compressed earth bricks is the high rate of water absorption and lack of durability properties because most soil in its natural condition needs more strength, dimensional stability, and durability, which are required for building materials. The effect of high rate of water absorption and other strength and durability issues make bricks to be soluble in water and limits its use and performance of the bricks. This experimental study assesses the effect of locust bean (Parkia biglobosa) pod ash and Portland cement on compressed earth bricks' strength and durability properties. Compressed earth bricks were tested for density, compressive strength, permeability, water absorption, shrinkage, sorptivity and abrasion resistance. The maximum compressive strength was achieved at 10%C:10%LBPA stabilization with a strength of 2.52 N/mm2 and 2.80 N/mm2 at 28 and 56 days, which shows a 50% and 53.21% increase in strength over the control brick samples, respectively. Bricks produced with cement and locust bean pod ash were less permeable and had high resistance to abrasion, less shrinkage, less porous and less sorptivity than 0% stabilization. In conclusion, cement and locust bean pod ash are good stabilizing agents in compressed earth bricks. The use of Portland cement and locust bean pod ash as a stabilizing material seems to be a feasible solution not only to the problem associated with compressed earth bricks but also helps in the adoption of Indigenous waste material of locust bean pod in the production of bricks which will help reduce the environmental problem. Therefore, this research recommends using cement and locust bean pod ash at 10%C:10%LBPA in compressed earth bricks, leading to robust, stabilized and durable bricks