Terver T I T U S Udu

The practice of dramatizing aspects of Nigerian traditional theatre has received very little attention by indigenous writers, especially those of Tiv origin. This article highlights the rich cultural resources and dramatic culture of the Tiv people and tries to reawaken the interest of the indigenous playwrights to explore this rich dramatic culture citing evidence from the Tiv kwagh-alom tales. The authors argue that instead of recycling foreign themes, these rich cultural resources will reasonably enhance the quality of plays and will also help the various ethnic nationalities to regain their values and cultural practices. The article, therefore, recommends that Tiv folktales should be preserved using Information and Communication Technology tools for future generations, as this will not only revive the dying folk art but will also open widows of economic opportunities for both youths and adults, at the same time facilitating the process of formal research into this area.

The study investigated widows’ perception of widowhood hardships in patriarchal society. The study was conducted in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria; and adopted survey design. Two research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. A sample of 210 widows, comprising 123 widows each with male children, and 87 widows with only female children, was selected randomly. The instrument was developed by two professionals, one in Sociology of Education and another in Measurement and Evaluation. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS IBM version 20. Research questions were answered using means and standard deviations, while the null hypothesis was tested at P<0.05 level of significance, using t-test. The study found that widows are often accused of practising witchcraft and for being responsible for the killing of their husbands. Widows are among the most neglected set of people, and are deprived of their husbands’ incomes. In addition, they are ejected from t...

This article concerns itself with the teaching and learning of English language and literature in English in contemporary Nigeria. It provides an in-depth explanation on the conditions that encourage language learning and teaching, while examining the interdependence between language and other aspects of human life. A distinction among First Language, Second Language, Indigenous Language, and Official Language is made but more attention is on English as a second language. The article identifies and discusses language-induced, learner-induced, teacher-induced, and policy-induced conditions as the major challenges of English language teaching and learning, after which suggestions are made based on these challenges.

This survey investigated the barriers to equitable access to basic education in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State and pointed out the implications for human capital development. The survey took place during the 2016/2017 academic session and involved both parents and head teachers. Data were collected mainly through a 26-item questionnaire developed by the researchers and validated by two experts. Its reliability coefficient using Cronbach's Alpha yielded 0.81, meeting Pallant's (2005) recommendation. A total of 32 head teachers and 400 parents volunteered to provide opinions, which constituted the data for the study. By using the convenience sampling procedure, it was possible to get only those respondents who were available and willing to participate in the study. A total of 432 copies of questionnaires were returned for analysis. Result of the analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics showed that in the 2016/17 session alone, 2,286 out of school chil...

This study determined which topics in the English language curriculum for senior secondary school are perceived by students and teachers as difficult. It also examined difficult topics vis-a-vis English language achievement. Seven research questions were answered using descriptive statistics and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test statistics. The study involving twelve English language teachers and one hundred and eighty seven students was carried out in Makurdi Township, Benue State, Nigeria during the second term of 2015/16 academic session. A self-developed questionnaire with closed-ended items was used to elicit data. Since the researcher relied on the opinion of the respondents for data collection, survey design was chosen as method of research. The results of the analysis showed that out of the 35 topics selected from the SSCE syllabus and prescribed textbooks for English at that level, teachers perceived 14 as difficult topics, while students...

Less research has investigated students’ and class teachers’ perception of teaching effectiveness even as the practice is very old and arguments favour it. The present research therefore utilized descriptive survey design and purposively selected 162 secondary school students, 6 English language teachers and 6 teaching practice supervisors to complete three sets of teaching practice evaluation questionnaires that provided data for analysis.  The questionnaires were validated by two experts in measurement and evaluation from Benue State University, Makurdi, and their reliability coefficient using Cronbach’s alpha yielded 0.83 (students’ Questionnaire), 0.85 (teachers’ questionnaire) and 0.81 (supervisors’ questionnaire). Results of the study using multiple regression analysis showed a high positive correlation among students, teachers and supervisors’ indicating multiple predictions of teacher effectiveness.  It was concluded that the practice of seeking diverse views of stakeholders...

This article examines the interdependence between English language and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and explores the role of ICT in boosting wealth creation. Nigeria is noted for her over-reliance on revenue from oil, a situation which has made even the government of Nigeria to ignore other sectors of the economy that can equally foster wealth creation. In this article, ICT provides that avenue and is seen as a good revenue base for government, for encouraging import and export, promoting self-reliance by creating jobs for the army of youths and paving way for competitive language education. The article decries the near absence of effective electricity supply in the country which is a major challenge of ICT and suggests that government should explore alternative sources of energy supply rather than depending on hydro-electricity. It also advocates for the subsidy of ICT facilities so as to pave way for the average Nigerian to purchase computer systems—a necessity i...

This article presents a literary analysis of Georgie Iotema’s play,  Night Duty , which portrays a negative image of the Nigeria Police. The constitutional duty of the Nigerian police is to maintain public safety and public order. In practice, many members of the Nigeria Police are lawbreakers. There are many instances of these law enforcement agents caught fighting, demanding and accepting bribe, killing indiscriminately, and raping women, etc. Disturbed by this development, Georgie Iortema takes a swipe on the Nigeria Police in the book Night Duty , where he reveals artistically the obnoxious and nefarious acts of the men and officers of the Police Force who commonly trample on the rights of the citizens. The present article highlights the negative life of the police that depicts moral bankruptcy, depravity, desperation and misery both in their domestic and public life. The message is poignant and full of moral lessons. Keywords: image, Night Duty, Nigeria police, drama

This study determined which topics in the English language curriculum for senior secondary school are perceived by students and teachers as difficult. It also examined difficult topics vis-à-vis English language achievement. Seven research questions were answered using descriptive statistics and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test statistics. The study involving twelve English language teachers and one hundred and eighty seven students was carried out in Makurdi Township, Benue State, Nigeria during the second term of 2015/16 academic session. A selfdeveloped questionnaire with closed-ended items was used to elicit data. Since the researcher relied on the opinion of the respondents for data collection, survey design was chosen as method of research. The results of the analysis showed that out of the 35 topics selected from the SSCE syllabus and prescribed textbooks for English at that level, teachers perceived 14 as difficult topics, while students ...

This survey investigated the barriers to equitable access to basic education in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State and pointed out the implications for human capital development.  The survey took place during the 2016/2017 academic session and involved both parents and head teachers. Data were collected mainly through a 26-item questionnaire developed by the researchers and validated by two experts. Its reliability coefficient using Cronbach’s Alpha yielded 0.81, meeting Pallant’s (2005) recommendation. A total of 32 head teachers and 400 parents volunteered to provide opinions, which constituted the data for the study. By using the convenience sampling procedure, it was possible to get only those respondents who were available and willing to participate in the study. A total of 432 copies of questionnaires were returned for analysis. Result of the analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics showed that in the 2016/17 session alone, 2,286 out of school children we...

The study investigated widows' perception of widowhood hardships in patriarchal society. The study was conducted in Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria; and adopted survey design. Two research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. A sample of 210 widows, comprising 123 widows each with male children, and 87 widows with only female children, was selected randomly. The instrument was developed by two professionals, one in Sociology of Education and another in Measurement and Evaluation. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS IBM version 20. Research questions were answered using means and standard deviations, while the null hypothesis was tested at P<0.05 level of significance, using t-test. The study found that widows are often accused of practising witchcraft and for being responsible for the killing of their husbands. Widows are among the most neglected set of people, and are deprived of their husbands' incomes. In addition, they are ejected from their matrimonial homes, and also forced to marry their husbands' brothers. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended that Government should enact laws that prevent the male counterparts from falsely accusing widows of witchcraft practices and for being responsible for the killing of their husbands. Also, the national government, non-governmental organizations and wealthy individuals should provide widows with economic support to alleviate their sufferings.

This study examined the readability characteristics of Nigerian science textbooks as a factor of students' achievement in three subjects: Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Participants were 428 Senior Secondary Two (SS2) students purposively selected from three school types (government-owned, mission-owned and private) within the same science discipline in Makurdi Township of Benue State, Nigeria. Readability of the three selected science textbooks was estimated using Simplified Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) and Cloze methods while MOCK/SSCE results from four of the selected schools were used to measure achievement in these subjects. Results obtained from the SMOG formula revealed a mean readability grade level of 12.99 for Biology, 12.88 for chemistry, and 10.11 for physics, while the Cloze readability calculations showed that overall, 38.8% of the students read at the frustration level, 31.6% at the instructional level, and only 29.6% read at the independent level. The Physics textbook was found to be the most readable of the three science textbooks (independent level = 53.3% for Physics, 25.9% for Chemistry, and 9.6% for Biology). Pearson Correlation results showed a weak but positive correlation between readability of combined science texts and achievement of students (r=0.259). ANOVA results showed that, on the whole, there was a significant difference among students of the same discipline in the different school types (p=0.003). Based on these results, we concluded that majority of the students who participated in the study read at the frustration level, a situation which could have a negative effect on their achievement in science since the ANOVA results has shown that a positive relationship exists between students' reading level and their achievement in science. It was therefore, recommended that for the studied textbooks to be more helpful to the students, the books need to be revised as soon as possible and the difficult words be replaced with much simpler words to facilitate reading comprehension.

This article concerns itself with the teaching and learning of English language and literature in English in contemporary Nigeria. It provides an in-depth explanation on the conditions that encourage language learning and teaching, while examining the interdependence between language and other aspects of human life. A distinction among First Language, Second Language, Indigenous Language, and Official Language is made but more attention is on English as a second language. The article identifies and discusses language-induced, learner-induced, teacher-induced, and policy-induced conditions as the major challenges of English language teaching and learning, after which suggestions are made based on these challenges.

The significance of telephone has continued to attract more and more subscribers. Unfortunately, many subscribers know little about telephone code of conduct and the school curriculum has not given this vital area of study the desired attention. The purpose of this study therefore, was to determine whether undergraduate students of Benue State University, Makurdi were aware of telephone etiquettes and whether they comply with these etiquettes. Using purposive sampling method, one hundred and forty two (66 male and 76 female) B.A.(Ed.) English students on the programme were selected for the study during the second semester of 2014/2015 academic session. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire developed by the researchers. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions while Chi-square and t-test statistics were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Data analysis showed that students of Benue State University, Makurdi have very high awareness levels of telephone etiquettes. Compared to girls, it was noticed that boys " telephone awareness levels was a bit higher but the difference of 0.129 was not considered statistically significant. It was also found that even though the students have high awareness levels of telephone etiquettes, they hardly comply with them. It was recommended that during language and communication skills lessons, teachers should emphasize the need for students to learn and abide by telephone etiquettes.

This article contains innovative ways of teaching and learning English spelling at the primary school level, which English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and learners could find very useful. It discusses in depth the relationship between spelling and writing and the need to give spelling sufficient attention to serve as a foundation for successful writing during and outside the school. It has been observed that poor spelling skills constitute a major hindrance to good writing. The article highlights the causes of poor spelling skills at the primary school level. Finally, the articles suggests the use of puzzles, scrabble tiles, codes, dismantling technique, dictation, extensive reading, and writing exercises as strategies for improving the teaching/learning of spelling.

Abstract: This article examines the interdependence between English language and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and explores the role of ICT in boosting wealth creation. Nigeria is noted for her over-reliance on revenue from oil, a situation which has made even the government of Nigeria to ignore other sectors of the economy that can equally foster wealth creation. In this article, ICT provides that avenue and is seen as a good revenue base for government, for encouraging import and export, promoting self-reliance by creating jobs for the army of youths and paving way for competitive language education. The article decries the near absence of effective electricity supply in the country which is a major challenge of ICT and suggests that government should explore alternative sources of energy supply rather than depending on hydro-electricity. It also advocates for the subsidy of ICT facilities so as to pave way for the average Nigerian to purchase computer systems—a necessity in ICT.
Keywords: Information and communication technology; English language; Wealth creation.

This article presented a practical guide on how a descriptive essay can be taught using concept map structures among Junior Secondary School Two (JSS II) Students in Benue State, Nigeria. The experimental concept map and lesson plan recommended for use were devised by the researcher based on many years of teaching experience. The concept map in particular was devised using Cmap Tools, software that allows individual to design, create concept maps easily and express various ideas graphically. Through it, the language teacher could take JSS II students through the stages of descriptive composition in a novel and interesting way.

This article featured a literary analysis of Georgie Iortema's play, Night Duty, which portrays a negative image of the Nigeria Police. The constitutional duty of the Nigerian police is to maintain public safety and public order. In practice, many members of the Nigeria Police are lawbreakers. There are many instances of these law enforcement agents caught fighting, demanding and accepting bribe, killing indiscriminately, and raping women, etc. Disturbed by this development, Georgie Iortema takes a swipe on the Nigeria Police in the book Night Duty, where he reveals artistically the obnoxious and nefarious acts of the men and officers of the Police Force who commonly trample on the rights of the citizens. The article highlights the negative life of the police that depicts moral bankruptcy, depravity, desperation and misery both in their domestic and public life. The article recommended among other things that the National Orientation Agency should make video clips of the play text as a resource material in its campaign to the public on the ills of immorality and social and financial corruption.

Abstract
This article examined the complementary role of English language in the effective teaching of science at the secondary level of education in Nigeria. It noted that interest in science is growing globally as science teaching and learning is one major means of developing skills and competencies for solving man’s numerous challenges and helping him to get an in-depth knowledge of the physical environment. Nigeria has also keyed into this movement but science teaching in Nigeria is hampered by many factors, which the paper identified to include the preponderance of competent science teachers who are lacking ability in English, low readability of science textbooks, poor prior knowledge and poor propensity for science on the part of learners. The paper suggests teacher collaboration, the use of effective teaching methods and carrying of readability tests on science textbooks as ways of improving science achievement.
Keywords: English language, science, textbook readability, scientific method,  passive voice

Language gives identity to a people and makes them a speech community, thereby defining their culture.  It is their means of initiating and propagating development; it therefore means that without language that is peculiar to a people, it becomes difficult for them to forge ahead with the development of their society.  However, because language communities co-exist and their strengths and numbers are not equal, some languages that are stronger than others begin to dominate them when they come into contact or co-exist.  This dominance could gradually lead to language endangerment and possibly extinction of the weaker language. This is the case between the Hausa language and the Tiv language in the middle belt region of Nigeria, where Tiv language speakers tend to borrow lexical items from the Hausa language.  The current study involved oral interviews with adult native speakers of the Tiv language, as well as reviewed reports, journal articles and books written on the subject matter under study.  The study explored the extent of lexical borrowing by the Tiv language from the Hausa language and discovered that the Tiv language has borrowed lexical items significantly from the Hausa language.  The borrowing is based on the fact that the Tiv language has no lexical equivalents of the borrowed words in its lexicon, or that the speakers of Tiv language have over time adopted such Hausa words because of their knowledge of Hausa language.  The danger here is that borrowed lexical items from Hausa have come to replace some Tiv words, making them to gradually go extinct, thereby endangering the Tiv language.  The study concludes that the trend of Hausa words gradually replacing Tiv words is worrisome, and calls for intensified studies to ensure that the Tiv language is protected from domination by the Hausa language, to prevent extinction of the language in the future.

Abstract
In this study, the researchers examined the effects of peer tutoring instruction and lecture methods on SS1 students’ achievement and retention in literature in English in Makurdi township of Benue State. Two research questions were formulated and answered using descriptive statistics and two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study adopted pre-test posttest control group design. As for study sample, it  made use of seventy eight SS1 students who were offering Literature in English during the 2019/2020 academic session. The study demonstrated that peer tutoring led to improved students’ achievement and retention of content learnt in literature in English more than lecture method.  Although improvement was noticed in the scores of students who belonged to both groups, further analysis showed that the post-test mean gain of students taught literature in English using peer tutoring was far higher (14.47) than those who belonged to the group taught using lecture method (6.43). This led to the conclusion that peer tutoring is a more effective method of teaching literature in English than lecture method. The study recommended that  peer tutoring method, which allows small group formation and pairing of students for interactive learning should be encouraged by teachers of English as a second language at the senior school level of education.
Keywords: peer tutoring, lecture, literature in English, achievement, retention

The theme of this year’s conference addresses a longstanding debate in the field of social sciences. For long, both Nigerians and people of other nationalities have raised concerns about voter apathy in general elections, the high incidences of abuse of the rule of law, insecurity, and the rising ethnic divisions in the land.  I therefore, commend the organisers for choosing such a germane topic that addresses the issues of the time. But the topic has as many as four variables. So,  let me warm you from the onset  that a lengthy topic deserves a lengthy discussion. All the four variables in the topic must be addressed satisfactorily for a meaningful discourse.  I accepted the invitation as a keynote speaker enthusiastically. Part of my letter reads that I was selected based on “merit, adjudged pedigree, experience and high-profile contributions in the field of social sciences.” Thank you indeed for the compliments. But the task is also challenging in the sense that the topic is sensational, volatile, pervasive and susceptible to varying intellectual viewpoints. Another challenge is that I have been asked to lead a discussion in an area that I command very moderate expertise.  But I accepted the challenge. In the field of academics, we learn every day. I also consider it as part of learning to attend this conference to be listened to and to listen to other scholars and gain new knowledge in the field of social sciences. As a keynote speech, my paper bears the torchlight of the Olympic Games. The games are not in the torchlight, but they the torchlight is part of the games.  The paper contains the most basic of the ideas on the topic only to provide leadership for intense discussions to follow.  It is organized in sections, in accordance with the order of the variables of the topic.