This paper focuses on the effects of international migration and received remittances on rural households in Edo State, Nigeria. The empirical results are based on a quantitative and qualitative survey of 240 household heads. The findings show that some households in the study received remittances from migrants outside the country in cash and items; the dominant channel for receiving money being Western Union money transfer. The mean amount received by households in the past 12 months was N543,000. Households who received money in the past 12 months used it for the purchase of food items, debt repayment and the education of household members. Data revealed that international migration affected households’ agricultural productive capacity in ways such as a decline in food production and farming activities. There was a significant difference in assets such as plots of land and the number of houses owned after migrants left overseas. Considering the poverty reduction effect that international remittances have, this type of remittances must be encouraged. Moreover, policies to encourage better use of remittance funds could be focused more on small household size, female-headed households and households with elderly heads as they are likely to receive more remittances.
This study examined the pedestrians’ safe and unsafe behaviour before and during street crossing in three cities in South Western Nigeria. 1,214 pedestrians were observed at crossing sites using direct observation approach. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression. In all, 730 (60.1%) of the observed pedestrians were male, and 484 (39.9%) were female. The analysis of the data showed that safe crossing practices were generally high, as over 50% of pedestrians at different stages of the crossing process were categorized as exhibiting safe observation behaviour. In terms of crossing tempo, Chi-square test revealed significant difference between male (65.1%) than female (56.0%) pedestrians (χ2=10.12, d=1, p=0.000). While ANOVA showed significant variation in the risky crossing behaviour among the cities (F (2, 1211) =71.93, P< 0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that adult pedestrians are 0.79 times more likely to exhibit safe crossing behaviour than younger pedestrians and pedestrians are 0.42 times more likely to exhibit safe crossing when vehicles are moving on one side of the road than when there is no vehicular movement. The study suggests measures to enhance safe street crossing behaviour in the sampled cities and other cities in Nigeria.
Nigeria is a resource-rich country and has become extraordinarily dependent on the oil sector, which accounts for over 90 per cent of exports and government revenues, and contributes up to one third of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Evidences have shown that Nigeria’s resource wealth has not translated into meaningful development. For example, while other countries realised positive outcomes from mineral-based developments, Nigeria’s poor state of development is assumed to be a product of the pathologies that are collectively known as the ‘resource curse’. This paper examines various literatures about the resource curse thesis by focusing on the experience of Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil and gas producer and exporting country. The result shows that corruption, government complacency, the Dutch disease, lack of public accountability, neglect of education and excessive external debt/borrowing overhang are all hampering the development goals of the country. Whilst the measurements that support this conclusion were made at the national level, this paper opined and called for the Nigerian resource curse measurements to be looked at from the local scale (communities), where the resource economy hits the ground.
Nigeria is currently harmonising plans for the exploitation of oil sands in southern part of the country. The findings from a case study suggested that investment and subsequent production in oil sands could have positive outcomes, but could also affect the lives of people in the surrounding communities. The current approach which excludes the communities in the planning process may only lead to trepidation of the crisis which has bedevilled the oil producing region of the country. There is the need to have an all-inclusive involvement of the affected communities in decision making process from initial conception through to the various stages of the mining cycle.