The Burden of Obesity in Nigeria

Background and Aims: Over the years, obesity has become a global health concern. According to the World Health Organization, as at 2016, the world has experienced over four-fold increase in obesity within four decades. This public health crisis has taken its toll in Nigeria with a reported prevalence of 14% as at 2020. This review thus seeks to assess available evidence on the burden of obesity, associated co-morbidities, risk of non-communicable diseases, and available management strategies in Nigeria. Methods: This narrative review was conducted on research articles retrieved without date restriction. The databases assessed were PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases, as well as reference lists of relevant articles. The search terms used were “obesity in Nigeria”, “burden of obesity” “obesity co-morbidities”, and “obesity care.” Results: Studies have indicated that sedentary lifestyle, poor nutritional choices as well as genetic alterations are some of the causes of obesity in Nigeria. With the increasing prevalence of obesity, its associated co-morbidities, the current economic situation of the country and low accessibility to affordable healthcare services, it is currently a burden to healthcare professionals and the country at large. Conclusions: There is a need for the Nigerian government to focus more on healthcare development to cater for the increasing population and mitigate obesity occurrence. Moreover, there is a need for national orientation and sensitization on predisposing factors to obesity.

Analysis of 3Vs of Big Data from Fake News and Nigerians’ Consciousness towards National Unity in Times of Uncertainties

Fake news seems to be the monster of the century affecting continents of the world. From Africa to Asia, America to the Himalayas, the impact of fake news on national unity and regional cohesion remains debatable among scholars and experts. Like other countries on the African continent, Nigeria has tasted and is still having share of the consequences of fake news, especially politically-driven ones, which has been researched by scholars in the media and emerging technologies spaces. This study joins the conversation within the journalism and fake news discourse using big data that emerged from selected political, security, health and religious fake news reported by selected Nigerian newspapers. Adopting Computational and Quantitative Content Analyses with the specific use of Data Logging Approach for data collection, the study investigates the extent to which the Nigerian public consume and spread the select news at the expense of promoting national unity and regional cohesion expected of citizens, as established in the Nigerian constitution and existing rules guiding public communication in the country. The emerging results point towards the need for the establishment of Media Literacy Commission to complement the efforts of ministries saddled with the responsibility of re-orientating journalists, media establishments and citizens on national consciousness and unity. The outcomes of the study also indicate the need for overhauling of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) towards balanced and connected promotion of national values and norms.

Religion and Development: An Exploration of the Basis of Wholistic Education in Universal Basic Education Programme in Nigeria

Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme in Nigeria was launched in 1999, with the goal of providing “free, universal and compulsory basic education for every Nigerian child aged 6-15 years”. The scope of UBE among others include the initiation for the acquisition of functional literacy, numeracy and life skill for adults and special programmes of encouragement to all marginalized groups (girls, women, nomads, out-of-school youth and Quranic students). Religion has been destructively criticized largely due to the sufferings and devastating situations humanity has and is passing through over the years in Nigeria and based on these, religion is seen as being pervasive and it continues to weaken the moral fiber of UBE programme implementation. Therefore, any developmental tool that is effective and can drive home development must be such that is particularly viable in tackling the problems of religion. Thus, in a bid to revitalize a society already bedeviled with various degenerating ills, religious education which is wholistic in nature should become everyone’s focus. This paper described the importance, the curriculum and technique for teaching wholistic religion education for religious tolerance and sustainable development in UBE. The paper concluded that no known religion is devoid of moral and ethical principles and religion is a force which has mostly influenced the character of mankind. This paper maintained that development can be enriched by the insights offered by religion, faith, spirituality and values. Based on these, the paper recommended that religion should be carried along in making policies, the study of moral education should be made compulsory in all categories of learning and the National Orientation Agency should also include it in their plans and school curriculum should be more of reflective thinking.

FARMERS-HERDERS CRISIS AND FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA: CAUSES AND IMPLICATIONS

The paper examines Farmers-Herders crisis and food security in Nigeria: Causes and Implications. It viewed that Farmers-Herders crisis in Nigeria threatens food security, peace and sustainable development of the nation, Nigeria. The work maintains that the incessant crises occasioned by Herdsmen and Farmers in Nigeria, has claimed so many lives and property, and displaced so many, with attendant socio-economic consequences on sustainable development of the nation, Nigeria. Using Resource Access Theory (RAT), the work explains that the crisis between Herders and Farmers can be understood as the problem of access to land for economic survival, which as a result, has caused economic, political and environmental tensions in Nigeria, especially in the middle belt and southern parts of Nigeria since the return to democracy in 1999. The theory argues succinctly that the inability of the Fulani Herdsmen to have unhindered access to land for grazing, is to a significant extent responsible for why they often go into conflict with the host communities and farmers in Nigeria as access to the resource is the main cause of the conflict and violence. With this thriving crisis and violence of Farmers and Herders in Nigeria without proper steps by the Nigerian Government to tackle it to a standstill, the work posits that it portends grave implications for Nigeria’s food security, peace and national development. Therefore, in order to create an enabling environment for food security, peace and sustainable development, the paper suggests among others that there is need for the Nigerian Government to come up with a proper re-orientation programme that will breed good and social interaction, irrespective of religious and ethnic background. Government at all levels should be firm and fair in its resolution and implementation decision so as to tackle the crisis to a standstill. There is need for the Federal Government of Nigeria to invest on national orientation programme that will make herdsmen to see the need to value human lives and property in Nigeria, even as the Government should also strengthen its security apparatus and make it fully independent. The paper also recommended that there should be border policing to guide against illegal entry and possession of illegal arms and ammunitions for peace and development of the nation, Nigeria. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0871/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Social media and the spread of COVID-19 conspiracy theories in Nigeria

Background: Amidst the recent outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, there seems to be an avalanche of conspiracy theories that abound on social media platforms, and this subject attracted a lot of research interest. This study aimed to examine the "social media and the spread Covid-19 conspiracy theories in Nigeria" in light of the above. Methods: The study adopted a qualitative design in order to explore the subject matter thoroughly. Thirty-five participants were conveniently sampled, and interviews were conducted to retrieved data from the participants. Results: Findings of this study revealed that there is a prevalence of conspiracy theories that have saturated social media ever since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was also found that ignorance, religious fanaticism, lack of censorship, and insufficient counter information on social media platforms are some of the possible factors that aided the spread of Covid-19 conspiracy theories among Nigerian social media users. Conclusion: This study recommends, among other things, that there is a swift need to curtail the spread of conspiracy theories through consistent dissemination of counter-information by both individuals and agencies like the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Nigerian Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC).

Dimensions of expansion for configuring learning spaces in global work

Purpose Technological innovation and the flexibilisation of labour markets have expanded the pool of workers engaged in globally distributed work. This paper aims to propose an analytical framework to understand and support the productive professional learning of those engaged in global work. Drawing on the theory of expansive learning in the cultural-historical activity theory tradition the study aims to stimulate and enrich the conceptual notion of work as a learning space in the discussion of workplace learning particularly in global work. Design/methodology/approach Iteration between theory and data is applied to identify the dimensions of expansion for the configuration of learning spaces in global work. Data are drawn from the experiences of 10 professionals selected by purposive sampling in Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Singapore. Findings Six dimensions of expansion are identified as challenging and potentially empowering for professionals’ configuration of learning spaces in global work: social-spatial, material-instrumental, moral-ethical, political-economic, personal-professional and temporal-developmental. Originality/value The conceptual framework for the dimensions of expansion of learning spaces provides the broad strokes for reflexive curricula that democratise the learning and development of professionals in global work, who are currently underserved given the national orientation of vocational education and training and professional development ecosystems.

Expressive and Pictorial Language and the National Orientation of Creative Experiements of the Lviv Artists in the 1980s: L. Medvid, M. Yagoda, M. Bezpalkiv

The article addresses expressive and pictorial means in the works of Lviv artists of the 1980s L. Medvid, M. Yagoda, M. Bezpalkiv, who were iconic and famous figures of the second half of the twentieth century in the artistic life of Lviv, Ukraine, and abroad. Their works differ significantly against the background of the artistic context, the paintings operate deep spiritual and moral and aesthetic values, images from Ukrainian mythology, and are marked by professionalism and unique style. The aim of the research isto view the 1980s paintings by L. Medvid, M. Yagoda, M. Bezpalkiv in the context of the expressionist vector of development. Research methodology includes art analysis, comparative method, method of analysis and synthesis, formal analysis ofstylistic features of the authors’ styles. In the process of complex research, the socio-cultural, artistic and political preconditions that led to the emergence and formation of expressive features in the works of L. Medvid, M. Yagoda, M. Bezpalkiv were clarified. It was discovered that the painting of Lviv-based artists in the 1980s significantly influenced the present-day art of Lviv

The lyric-philosophical beginning in the small literary genre as a determinant of culture

The author considers the formation of lyrical and philosophical beginning in literature as an internal determinant of the culture of the Russian people and proves that the lyrical feeling as a philosophical aspect of creativity, restoring the individual’s ability to perceive the world and self-cognition, is a succession factor. In the archetype of creativity the author finds the expression of the national identity of the Russian writer, accumulating cultural memory. The solution of socio-cultural problems, encoded in the system archetype — image — symbol, is illustrated on the example of Y. Bondarev’s miniatures. The author believes that the translation of spiritual values of life from the writer to the readerin the lyrical miniature is the antagonist of the loss of personal and national orientation in the technogenic world.

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF COMMUNAL CRISES AND THE ACHIEVEMENT OF FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF THE TIV-JUKUN CRISES IN TARABA STATE

Nigeria’s quest for achieving food security is under threat by incessant communal crises. Among several violent crises, the frequent Tiv-Jukuncrises in a widely acclaimed foremost agricultural producing area constitute a threat to the integrated Agricultural Transformation Action Plan, (IATAP) for achieving food, and cash crops security in Nigeria. Descriptive and exploratory designs were used, relying on both quantitative and qualitative evidences for examining; these crises, strategies for managing it, and its implications on food security. This study is critical for national orientation, the achievement of national integration and cohesion among the people, and for peaceful agriculture. Reviews and analytical techniques revealed that the crises centered on socio-economic and political factors. Governments’ strategies for handling communal crises were devoid of both preventive, and effective management, as approximately 10% annual slack in food supplies due to the crises could significantly be accountable for Nigeria’s inability to achieve food security. The constitution, national integration and food programmes reviews are imperative.

Philosophical and pedagogical views of T. I. Filippov

Introduction. The paper analyses the ideas of T.I. Fillipov, a representative of the Slavophil school of thought. Fillipov’s commitment to the Slavophil doctrine formed the distinctive features of his philosophical and pedagogical beliefs. The present paper is aimed at examining these features and revealing Fillipov’s role in the cultural and educational development of Russia.Materials and Methods. The original works by T. I. Fillipov serve as the material of the present study. For achieving the research goal, a number of traditional methods were used: analysis, interpretation, generalization, description, the comparative method. Besides, the historico-logical method proved to be particularly important for embracing the meaning of Filllipov’s activity to the Russian philosophy and enlightenment.Results. The key ideas of T. I. Fillipov were identified. In the field of religion the scholar proposed to renovate the principles of sobornost as a means to overcome the faith crisis. He was also a proponent of the traditional values in education and culture. To preserve these, T. I. Fillipov suggested to enhance the national orientation in education and undertake measures to safeguard the folk culture. The present paper also makes a special emphasis on the scholar’s attention to the still relevant problem of the relationship between Russia and the Slavophilism. Discussion and Conclusion. The contribution made by T. I. Fillipov to the Russian philosophy and pedagogy is acknowledged. The scholar’s ideas concerning the unique role of the orthodox Christianity, Russia’s mission in the world history, the value of the country’s folk culture remain acute today. T. I. Fillipov’s belief in the pedagogical value of the humanitarian disciplines shaping citizens’ patriotism is also very up to date. It is evident that Fillipov’s works – both published and archives - are worth further studying.