Religion and politics are two very important aspects of human society anywhere in the world. Whil... more Religion and politics are two very important aspects of human society anywhere in the world. While religion addresses and conditions man's spiritual balance, politics shapes the practice of religion and determine who gets what, when, and how (Lasswell, 1958) in any given political setting. The belief in the supernatural can make people resist any perceived attempt to distort one's religious belief. An attempt to sustain one's religion, on the other hand, can determine the way one acts in the electoral process. In other words, the notion that a favorable polity guarantees the liberty to exercise freely one's religious rituals can influence the attitude and the way people act in deciding who should govern them. Religion and politics have come to be inseparable in man's quest for political power. In some societies, religion has been exploited to promote ascendancy to state power. This study assesses the relationship between religion and voter behavior in Cross River State, Nigeria, and whether religious consideration influenced the voting direction of electorates in 2011, 2015 and 2019 general elections. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism and segregate Pentecostalism in Nigeria's religious behavior justifies this study. The research hypothesizes that religious inclination tends not to have a significant effect on the voting pattern in Cross River State. Data was collected through a questionnaire from Christian churches and mosques in five locations in the state. A respondents sample size of 1,000 was got from the five locations covering the three senatorial districts. Data generated were analyzed with frequency count, percentages, and bar charts. The results show that respondents voted along religious lines in 2011, 2015 and 2019 general elections. Factors such as adherence to religious principles, pressure from religious superiors, denominational considerations accentuated this behavior. The study recommends, among others, that voter education should be intensified by civil society organizations on the danger of voting along with religious considerations.
Efforts to address gender inequality emphasises several measures to achieve women's empowerment a... more Efforts to address gender inequality emphasises several measures to achieve women's empowerment and involvement in all spheres of national lives. Education has been observed as a means of achieving women empowerment. Advocates view education as a springboard to employment and economic independence. It also provides the critical foundation from which further empowerment takes off. While women have experienced significant gains in literacy and educational attainment, the inequality in public sphere is still very pronounced and the opportunities for economic enhancement in terms of access to resources especially within the urban existence is still slim. The problem is; could education condition the economic behaviour of the woman at the rural area? What role does the level of education of women at the rural locales play in the rate of resource exploitation? The objective of this study therefore, is to examine the extent to which the educational levels of the rural woman accentuate her rate of resource exploitation. By resource exploitation we mean the extent to which the rural women make a living by utilizing the natural resources around them. This study argues that the higher the level of education of the woman at the rural area, the greater their involvement in resource exploitation. I offer the social capabilities based approach as a theoretical foundation of the study. Data were collected through interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The choice of interview and FGD was to guarantee effective participation since greater percentage of the respondents was of little or no formal education. Data collected were analysed with simple percentage and polemics as well as tabular and graphic expressions. The analysis revealed that women with basic and intermediate education exploited forest resources more for commercial purposes with the aim of generating adequate revenue for economic empowerment while women with limited or no formal education exploited forest resources more for subsistence. The study recommends among others the reintroduction of adult and non formal education at the rural areas of Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Efforts to address gender inequality emphasize several measures to achieve women's empowerment and improvement in national activities. Education has been one of such measures considered to be a driving factor to women's empowerment and stability. Investment in women education has been considered a viable project to ensure the emancipation of women from the shackles of poverty and vulnerability.
Providing healthcare services to public service workers in Nigeria has not been an easy task. Wit... more Providing healthcare services to public service workers in Nigeria has not been an easy task. With fixed and low income, majority of the public service workers cannot boast of meeting their basic medical needs. They are daily confronted with the condition of high cost of drugs and medical services which are not easily affordable. Besides, there is the general lamentation on the inability of public servants to access adequate and effective healthcare arising mainly from poverty occasioned by meager monthly emolument, the dearth of trained medical personnel, infrastructural decay, and poor funding of the medical system. This appalling condition prompted the federal government in Nigeria to introduce the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in order to address this situation. Unfortunately, NHIS seems unable to provide the expected healthcare services due to a number of challenges. This paper identified these challenges ranging from poor public conception of the scheme, corruption, cultural dementia to excessive bureaucratization among others. As a pathway to its success, the paper suggests among others an act for a special trust fund and mandatory participation.
Productivity is a core consideration in the development equation of countries that strive for eco... more Productivity is a core consideration in the development equation of countries that strive for economic strength, increase in national revenue through foreign exchange earnings and overall improvement in the standard of living of its citizens. It has therefore become a core concept for development planners and institutions. Any country that exhibits a lackluster attitude to productivity is consciously inviting poverty. This paper examines the sanctity of productivity change and competitiveness as a sin qua non to national development and hypothesizes that effective resource diversification to productivity change and competitiveness could reposition Nigeria on the path of national transformation. Basic data for the paper were through literature search. The paper outlines the determinants of productivity change and the place of policy in changing the production direction of Nigeria. It observes that Nigeria productivity is conditioned by a mono resource (Oil). It concludes that a conscious policy direction on resource diversification will place Nigeria in the direction of productivity change. To achieve this, the paper recommends effective collaboration between the state, academia and the industry in the development of knowledge base economy
Debates globally rest on the conclusion that the environment is witnessing rapid climate change. ... more Debates globally rest on the conclusion that the environment is witnessing rapid climate change. The confirmation of this conclusion is manifest in the dimensions of devastations witnessed all over the world. From the Tsunami through the hurricanes of debilitating magnitude to drought with desert feature, the occurrence remains the same the world over. In 2012, Nigeria witnessed the worst flooding ever having swept over twelve states. Emphasis is placed on mitigating or adapting to climate change in Nigeria. The question is; how aware are public officials of climate change to guarantee appropriate mitigation and adaptation policies? The study therefore, assesses the climate change awareness level of public office holders in Cross River State, Nigeria. The study assumes that there is an inextricable link between the level of awareness by public officers and eco-policy formulation to address climate change. The study adopted the survey design method and collected data through Climate Change Awareness Test (CCAT) questionnaire and was analyzed through frequency counts and bar charts. 266 public office holders split into 133 each for political office holders (politicians) and career civil servants constituted the respondents for the study. Results suggested that climate change awareness level of public officials was low with variation in awareness level among the two categories of public office holders. Career civil servants seem to be more aware than the political office holders. The study recommended among others a rigorous sensitization of public office holders on the prevalence and dangers of climate change through consistent seminars and workshops. Citation: Agbor, Uno Ijim ; Public officials, climate change awareness and eco-policy formulation for appropriate mitigation:
As a compulsory payment exacted from the people for government use, tax proceeds are expected to ... more As a compulsory payment exacted from the people for government use, tax proceeds are expected to manifest basic social values for the citizens as well as representative as possible. The Nigerian context depicts infinitesimal applicability of tax revenue to the provision of social services in Nigeria. This performance crisis manifests in the absence of basic infrastructure, the tendency to evade tax payment and the impoverishment of the Nigerian people. The paper therefore, addresses fundamentally the implication of non-applicability of tax revenue to manifest social welfare concerns of citizens to show why tax evasion is common in Nigeria. It assumes frankly that fiscal administrators have deliberately lost track of the primary mission of taxation owing largely to personal interest, evidenced in corrupt practices. Obviously, we need therefore, to re align taxation to its primary objective. The starting point, the paper suggests, is the evolution of tax policy regime that is humanistic and grossly oriented towards providing social infrastructure for public benefit in Nigeria. Introduction In the history of modern political systems the world over, provision of essential social services has never been the sole sponsorship of government. As government harnesses the resources of state, (both human and material) it does so with the primary aim of providing social services and amenities for the enhancement of the citizens' welfare. Such services and utilities are provided through government expenditure. Expenditure however, depends on the level of income available to government. Governments in Africa and especially in Nigeria often complain of limited income hence they advocate the provision of adequate social services through the joint effort of the government and the citizens. What is therefore, common is the emphasis on the payment of taxes by the citizens to ensure uninterrupted provision of social amenities among others. The Nigerian tax system comprises of at least 39 taxes, levies and fees, including 8 Federal, 11 State and 20 Local Government taxes and levies as specified in the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Decree No. 21, of 1998 (www.isbr.org). The issue of taxation therefore, is common knowledge to Nigerians rights from the colonial period. People are sometimes cajoled and in other times harassed to pay taxes of all sorts to governments for such reasons as the provision of pipe borne water, electricity, good roads, hospitals, better educations and other basic social needs of the people. They are not far from it. This is because ideally, funds provided through taxation have been used by states and their functional equivalents through history to carry out many activities which include among others expenditures on public order, economic infrastructure such as roads, enforcement of contracts, etc, public works and social engineering. In modern states, most governments rely also on tax revenue to fund social welfare and public services such as education, healthcare unemployment benefits, neighbourhood security and public transportation, etc. The aim of this study is to show why tax evasion is common in Nigeria. The critical questions are; to what extent does government use tax revenue to fund social amenities in Nigeria? In practical terms, could it be averred that the enormity of taxes exacted is commensurate with social services provided in Nigeria? Is adequate security provided for the businesses of those who pay tax dutifully and painstakingly? They paper attempts to provide answers to these questions. It is the assumption of the paper that tax is criminal in Nigeria. This assumption leans on the conviction that tax revenue does not correspondingly reflect on the social utility and infrastructure facility in Nigeria. It is held that fiscal administration in Nigeria shows limited concern on applying taxes collected to providing adequate social amenities. Therefore, it is projected unequivocally that the level of social services in Nigeria does not justify government collection of taxes.
The phenomenon of poverty has always occupied the central discourse of many organised polities es... more The phenomenon of poverty has always occupied the central discourse of many organised polities especially given its attendant consequences in a society where it is dominant. Scholars and practitioners have in various ways debated profusely on what causes poverty and its reduction process. While some hold the profound view that the causes of poverty are largely exogenous, others submit that the causes of poverty are endogenous. They largely ascribe poverty to government corruption with limited attempt at isolating the elements of this corruption. The aim of this paper therefore, is to interrogate the contribution of the relationship between the state and academics to the accentuation of poverty and how such relationship can provide a vent for effective poverty reduction in Nigeria. It is a modest attempt at identifying a new approach towards understanding the poverty scourge and viable reduction schema. Data for the study was collected through primary and secondary sources with greater reliance on participant observation and interview methods. Data analysis was by qualitative method using simple qualitative analysis. The study submits that overlapping relationship of mutual interdependence between the state, academia and industries in stimulating research into science and technology development is a more sustainable poverty reduction strategy.
Religion and politics are two very important aspects of human society anywhere in the world. Whil... more Religion and politics are two very important aspects of human society anywhere in the world. While religion addresses and conditions man's spiritual balance, politics shapes the practice of religion and determine who gets what, when, and how (Lasswell, 1958) in any given political setting. The belief in the supernatural can make people resist any perceived attempt to distort one's religious belief. An attempt to sustain one's religion, on the other hand, can determine the way one acts in the electoral process. In other words, the notion that a favorable polity guarantees the liberty to exercise freely one's religious rituals can influence the attitude and the way people act in deciding who should govern them. Religion and politics have come to be inseparable in man's quest for political power. In some societies, religion has been exploited to promote ascendancy to state power. This study assesses the relationship between religion and voter behavior in Cross River State, Nigeria, and whether religious consideration influenced the voting direction of electorates in 2011, 2015 and 2019 general elections. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism and segregate Pentecostalism in Nigeria's religious behavior justifies this study. The research hypothesizes that religious inclination tends not to have a significant effect on the voting pattern in Cross River State. Data was collected through a questionnaire from Christian churches and mosques in five locations in the state. A respondents sample size of 1,000 was got from the five locations covering the three senatorial districts. Data generated were analyzed with frequency count, percentages, and bar charts. The results show that respondents voted along religious lines in 2011, 2015 and 2019 general elections. Factors such as adherence to religious principles, pressure from religious superiors, denominational considerations accentuated this behavior. The study recommends, among others, that voter education should be intensified by civil society organizations on the danger of voting along with religious considerations.
Efforts to address gender inequality emphasises several measures to achieve women's empowerment a... more Efforts to address gender inequality emphasises several measures to achieve women's empowerment and involvement in all spheres of national lives. Education has been observed as a means of achieving women empowerment. Advocates view education as a springboard to employment and economic independence. It also provides the critical foundation from which further empowerment takes off. While women have experienced significant gains in literacy and educational attainment, the inequality in public sphere is still very pronounced and the opportunities for economic enhancement in terms of access to resources especially within the urban existence is still slim. The problem is; could education condition the economic behaviour of the woman at the rural area? What role does the level of education of women at the rural locales play in the rate of resource exploitation? The objective of this study therefore, is to examine the extent to which the educational levels of the rural woman accentuate her rate of resource exploitation. By resource exploitation we mean the extent to which the rural women make a living by utilizing the natural resources around them. This study argues that the higher the level of education of the woman at the rural area, the greater their involvement in resource exploitation. I offer the social capabilities based approach as a theoretical foundation of the study. Data were collected through interview and Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The choice of interview and FGD was to guarantee effective participation since greater percentage of the respondents was of little or no formal education. Data collected were analysed with simple percentage and polemics as well as tabular and graphic expressions. The analysis revealed that women with basic and intermediate education exploited forest resources more for commercial purposes with the aim of generating adequate revenue for economic empowerment while women with limited or no formal education exploited forest resources more for subsistence. The study recommends among others the reintroduction of adult and non formal education at the rural areas of Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Efforts to address gender inequality emphasize several measures to achieve women's empowerment and improvement in national activities. Education has been one of such measures considered to be a driving factor to women's empowerment and stability. Investment in women education has been considered a viable project to ensure the emancipation of women from the shackles of poverty and vulnerability.
Providing healthcare services to public service workers in Nigeria has not been an easy task. Wit... more Providing healthcare services to public service workers in Nigeria has not been an easy task. With fixed and low income, majority of the public service workers cannot boast of meeting their basic medical needs. They are daily confronted with the condition of high cost of drugs and medical services which are not easily affordable. Besides, there is the general lamentation on the inability of public servants to access adequate and effective healthcare arising mainly from poverty occasioned by meager monthly emolument, the dearth of trained medical personnel, infrastructural decay, and poor funding of the medical system. This appalling condition prompted the federal government in Nigeria to introduce the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in order to address this situation. Unfortunately, NHIS seems unable to provide the expected healthcare services due to a number of challenges. This paper identified these challenges ranging from poor public conception of the scheme, corruption, cultural dementia to excessive bureaucratization among others. As a pathway to its success, the paper suggests among others an act for a special trust fund and mandatory participation.
Productivity is a core consideration in the development equation of countries that strive for eco... more Productivity is a core consideration in the development equation of countries that strive for economic strength, increase in national revenue through foreign exchange earnings and overall improvement in the standard of living of its citizens. It has therefore become a core concept for development planners and institutions. Any country that exhibits a lackluster attitude to productivity is consciously inviting poverty. This paper examines the sanctity of productivity change and competitiveness as a sin qua non to national development and hypothesizes that effective resource diversification to productivity change and competitiveness could reposition Nigeria on the path of national transformation. Basic data for the paper were through literature search. The paper outlines the determinants of productivity change and the place of policy in changing the production direction of Nigeria. It observes that Nigeria productivity is conditioned by a mono resource (Oil). It concludes that a conscious policy direction on resource diversification will place Nigeria in the direction of productivity change. To achieve this, the paper recommends effective collaboration between the state, academia and the industry in the development of knowledge base economy
Debates globally rest on the conclusion that the environment is witnessing rapid climate change. ... more Debates globally rest on the conclusion that the environment is witnessing rapid climate change. The confirmation of this conclusion is manifest in the dimensions of devastations witnessed all over the world. From the Tsunami through the hurricanes of debilitating magnitude to drought with desert feature, the occurrence remains the same the world over. In 2012, Nigeria witnessed the worst flooding ever having swept over twelve states. Emphasis is placed on mitigating or adapting to climate change in Nigeria. The question is; how aware are public officials of climate change to guarantee appropriate mitigation and adaptation policies? The study therefore, assesses the climate change awareness level of public office holders in Cross River State, Nigeria. The study assumes that there is an inextricable link between the level of awareness by public officers and eco-policy formulation to address climate change. The study adopted the survey design method and collected data through Climate Change Awareness Test (CCAT) questionnaire and was analyzed through frequency counts and bar charts. 266 public office holders split into 133 each for political office holders (politicians) and career civil servants constituted the respondents for the study. Results suggested that climate change awareness level of public officials was low with variation in awareness level among the two categories of public office holders. Career civil servants seem to be more aware than the political office holders. The study recommended among others a rigorous sensitization of public office holders on the prevalence and dangers of climate change through consistent seminars and workshops. Citation: Agbor, Uno Ijim ; Public officials, climate change awareness and eco-policy formulation for appropriate mitigation:
As a compulsory payment exacted from the people for government use, tax proceeds are expected to ... more As a compulsory payment exacted from the people for government use, tax proceeds are expected to manifest basic social values for the citizens as well as representative as possible. The Nigerian context depicts infinitesimal applicability of tax revenue to the provision of social services in Nigeria. This performance crisis manifests in the absence of basic infrastructure, the tendency to evade tax payment and the impoverishment of the Nigerian people. The paper therefore, addresses fundamentally the implication of non-applicability of tax revenue to manifest social welfare concerns of citizens to show why tax evasion is common in Nigeria. It assumes frankly that fiscal administrators have deliberately lost track of the primary mission of taxation owing largely to personal interest, evidenced in corrupt practices. Obviously, we need therefore, to re align taxation to its primary objective. The starting point, the paper suggests, is the evolution of tax policy regime that is humanistic and grossly oriented towards providing social infrastructure for public benefit in Nigeria. Introduction In the history of modern political systems the world over, provision of essential social services has never been the sole sponsorship of government. As government harnesses the resources of state, (both human and material) it does so with the primary aim of providing social services and amenities for the enhancement of the citizens' welfare. Such services and utilities are provided through government expenditure. Expenditure however, depends on the level of income available to government. Governments in Africa and especially in Nigeria often complain of limited income hence they advocate the provision of adequate social services through the joint effort of the government and the citizens. What is therefore, common is the emphasis on the payment of taxes by the citizens to ensure uninterrupted provision of social amenities among others. The Nigerian tax system comprises of at least 39 taxes, levies and fees, including 8 Federal, 11 State and 20 Local Government taxes and levies as specified in the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Decree No. 21, of 1998 (www.isbr.org). The issue of taxation therefore, is common knowledge to Nigerians rights from the colonial period. People are sometimes cajoled and in other times harassed to pay taxes of all sorts to governments for such reasons as the provision of pipe borne water, electricity, good roads, hospitals, better educations and other basic social needs of the people. They are not far from it. This is because ideally, funds provided through taxation have been used by states and their functional equivalents through history to carry out many activities which include among others expenditures on public order, economic infrastructure such as roads, enforcement of contracts, etc, public works and social engineering. In modern states, most governments rely also on tax revenue to fund social welfare and public services such as education, healthcare unemployment benefits, neighbourhood security and public transportation, etc. The aim of this study is to show why tax evasion is common in Nigeria. The critical questions are; to what extent does government use tax revenue to fund social amenities in Nigeria? In practical terms, could it be averred that the enormity of taxes exacted is commensurate with social services provided in Nigeria? Is adequate security provided for the businesses of those who pay tax dutifully and painstakingly? They paper attempts to provide answers to these questions. It is the assumption of the paper that tax is criminal in Nigeria. This assumption leans on the conviction that tax revenue does not correspondingly reflect on the social utility and infrastructure facility in Nigeria. It is held that fiscal administration in Nigeria shows limited concern on applying taxes collected to providing adequate social amenities. Therefore, it is projected unequivocally that the level of social services in Nigeria does not justify government collection of taxes.
The phenomenon of poverty has always occupied the central discourse of many organised polities es... more The phenomenon of poverty has always occupied the central discourse of many organised polities especially given its attendant consequences in a society where it is dominant. Scholars and practitioners have in various ways debated profusely on what causes poverty and its reduction process. While some hold the profound view that the causes of poverty are largely exogenous, others submit that the causes of poverty are endogenous. They largely ascribe poverty to government corruption with limited attempt at isolating the elements of this corruption. The aim of this paper therefore, is to interrogate the contribution of the relationship between the state and academics to the accentuation of poverty and how such relationship can provide a vent for effective poverty reduction in Nigeria. It is a modest attempt at identifying a new approach towards understanding the poverty scourge and viable reduction schema. Data for the study was collected through primary and secondary sources with greater reliance on participant observation and interview methods. Data analysis was by qualitative method using simple qualitative analysis. The study submits that overlapping relationship of mutual interdependence between the state, academia and industries in stimulating research into science and technology development is a more sustainable poverty reduction strategy.
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