FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition of the pivotal role that women play in driving sustainable development at the grassroot level. Empowering women not only enhances their socioeconomic status but also fosters community development. However, despite numerous empowerment initiatives, women in Oredo local government area, Benin city, continue to face multifaceted challenges that hinder their full participation in development process. This study investigated women empowerment and grassroots development in Nigeria: A case study of Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. The study adopted descriptive research survey design in building up this project work. The sample size was made up of 100 respondents. The data collected was analyzed using frequency count and simple percentage. The study revealed that some of the ways to improve women empowerment to enhance their contribution to grassroots development include access to education, economic empowerment, political participation, legal reforms and protection and access to microfinance and credit facilities. It was concluded that there is a significant impact of women empowerment on grassroots development in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. The study recommends among others that that the government design and implement targeted capacity-building programmes focusing on providing women with relevant skills, knowledge, and resources to actively participate in economic, social, and political spheres within their communities.

This study critically examines gender politics and women's participation in Nigerian politics, focusing on the 2020 governorship election in Edo state. Through four key research objectives, the project aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing women in Nigerian politics. Firstly, it analyzes historical trends in women's political participation, spanning from pre-colonial eras to the present day. Secondly, it explores the socio cultural, economic, and political barriers that inhibit women's empowerment in Nigeria, including patriarchal norms and institutional biases. Thirdly, the study evaluates existing strategies and policies aimed at promoting women's political participation, such as affirmative action and gender quotas. Finally, based on these analyses, the project proposes recommendations to enhance women's political empowerment in Nigeria, encompassing
legislative reforms, institutional changes, and grassroots mobilization efforts. Through this research, the study contributes to the scholarly discourse on gender politics and women's empowerment in Nigeria, offering insights to inform policy-making and advocacy initiatives toward achieving gender equality in the political sphere. This research utilizes a quantitative data collection method. A well-structured questionnaire was used to obtain information from 164 respondents. Findings revealed that women's participation is still at a lower level during the 2020 governorship election in Edo State. The results highlight the persistent gender disparities in political representation and engagement, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to promote gender equality and increase women's political participation. The findings contribute to the ongoing discourse on gender and politics in Nigeria, emphasizing
the importance of addressing the systemic barriers that hinder women's full participation in the political sphere.

The study focused on the impact of internet service on students’ academic performance in the University of Benin, to make this possible, three research question were raised to assess the extent does students’ usage of internet service impact their academic performance, For what purposes do students use the internet service and if there gender difference in the student’s usage of internet service? Descriptive survey research design which is a non-experimental method was adopted for the study. Convenience sampling technique was used to select one hundred (100) accessible respondents for the study. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire; it was a self-designed instrument, built around the research questions and was validated by the researcher's. Its reliability value was established as 0.69, indicating that the instrument was reliable. The data collected for the research question was analyzed using simple percentage and mean. The study concludes that there are many reasons why students use internet service platform and sites. In this study, the most common reasons in the order of their popularity include; to share knowledge and information with other people, to stay in close touch with family and maintain valued relationships with other people and for entertainment purposes and also there is no relationship at all between internet service usage and student academic performance among students in the University of Benin. Finally With internet access currently available on mobile devices owned by almost every student in universities, it is recommended that a similar study be conducted VIII focusing on how students use current advancement in technology available to them to satisfy their information needs.

This study investigates the impact of infrastructure investment, with a specific focus on the electrical sector, on industrial production in Nigeria from 1981 to 2021. Utilizing an Error Correction Model (ECM), the research examines both short-term and long-term dynamics between infrastructure development and macroeconomic outcomes. The findings reveal that increased investment in electricity infrastructure significantly boosts industrial production, underscoring the crucial role of enhancing electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. A positive relationship between electricity generated and industrial output further highlights the importance of expanding electricity generation capacity. Conversely, electricity consumption shows an unexpected negative, albeit statistically insignificant, relationship with industrial production, indicating the need for optimizing consumption patterns. The study also finds that higher interest rates positively influence industrial output, while the impact of consumer price index changes remains statistically insignificant. These results emphasize the necessity for policies that prioritize electricity infrastructure investment, promote energy efficiency, and support regulatory reforms to foster sustainable industrial growth in Nigeria.

This study examined factors responsible for child abuse and neglect by parents in Egor Local Government Area, Edo State, with detailed objectives that identify the factors that are responsible for child abuse and neglect among parents; determine the consequences of child abuse and neglect in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State and examine the factors that protect a child from risk of abuse or neglect in the study area. The study population for the research comprised individuals residing in Egor Local Government Area, which has a total population of over five hundred and two thousand, seven hundred (502,700) people (Citypopulation.de, 2022). To select a representative sample, a stratified random sampling method was employed, and 150 respondents was chosen from the population of Egor Local Government Area in Edo State. The method employed for the research was the simple statistical method such as the simple percentage to deduce the effective and interpret the further necessary discussions. When data are collected and put in numerical form they do not seem meaningful until they are summarized in tables, percentages grouped into frequencies and so on. The findings note a level of awareness and recognition of the factors contributing to child abuse and neglect, the consequences of such maltreatment, and the importance of preventive measures. However, there is some diversity in perspectives, particularly in terms of preventive strategies, highlighting the need for comprehensive awareness campaigns and community education. The findings underscore the importance of continued efforts to prevent child abuse and protect children in the study area.

The study employs yearly data from 1980 to 2021 to analyze the Balance of Payments in Nigeria. Its primary objective is to explore the long-term determinants of Nigeria's Balance of Payments. The investigation employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL). The long-run ARDL regression findings indicate a negative exchange rate effect, while the short-run results show a positive value. Furthermore, the coefficients for FDI, GDP growth, interest rates, and crude oil prices are all positive and statistically significant. The research suggests a compelling case for government intervention to stimulate economic productivity. To foster economic growth, capital investment and expenditure are crucial. The government should entice foreign investment by providing incentives to potential foreign investors. Additionally, the government should enhance security and establish a sense of belonging in the Niger Delta to promote peace and ease of operations in the oil industry

This study empirically examined the impact of external debt burden on infrastructural growth in Nigeria from 1981-2018. Being a time series data, and to avoid spurious regression result in our model, a test for stationary of the data using Augmented Dickey-Fuller unit root test was carried out. The variables; infrastructural growth, domestic debt, external debt, exchange rate, and interest rate were found to be stationary at their first differences. Then, an ARDL Bound Co-integration technique was used to establish if the stationary variables are co-integrated in the long-run. The finding indicates that the variables were found to be co-integrated in the long run. Further, an ARDL was employed to obtain long run coefficients of the respective
regressors. The ARDL result revealed that Domestic Debt (negative impact), Exchange Rate (negative impact), and Interest Rate (positive impact) exerts a
significant influence on infrastructural growth while External Debt (positive impact) was found to be insignificantly related to the growth of infrastructures in Nigeria. It recommends amongst others, that the government should as a matter of priority create more favourable institutional policy and regulatory framework to meet up these challenges. On the whole, there is need for the policymakers to adopt policy framework consistent with availability of external finance that is credibly maintained. Conclusively, infrastructure growth is one of major elements of structural reforms in
developing economy like Nigeria because of its expected large economic and social impact.

The issue of insecurity in Nigeria election is getting worse to the extent that the turnout of voters in an election as reduce drastically. The quest for power among political actors and the actions they take towards gaining power is unfriendly. This actions taken by them which are unfavorable is discovered to have affect the smooth running process of an election which undermine a free and fair election. The 2023 presidential election saw the use of various form of violence to the extent that voters were
unable to vote in a safety condition. Citizens are no longer confident on the capability of INEC to run an election without insecurity prevailing. This therefore raises serious concerns as to the capability of INEC in conducting and delivering a free and fair
elections to Nigerians. The acts of violence such as beating, forcing or threatening voters ,sporadic gun shot by unknown gun men as well as killing of ad hoc and permanent staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during an
election is due to lack of security which makes the polling unit unsafe for voters to vote. In view of this , the study examines the politics behind the insecurity that occur at the polling unit in Nigeria election particularly in the 2023 presidential election in Edo State. Compelled by the challenges faced by INEC in election day due to insecurity ; this research sought to provide solution on the phenomenon of insecurity in relation to its impact on voter’s turnout in Nigeria election. The study adopt both qualitative and quantitative approach to accomplish its specific objectives. The research study concluded that insecurity reduce voter’s turnout in an election and undermine a free and fair election. Thus, if nothing is done to curb insecurity from prevailing in an election it will result to low voter’s turnout in elections to come.The research study concludes that addressing the issue of insecurity in an election requires the input of all security agencies and INEC . The action is not only for INEC to undertake it requires the aid of security agencies because the problem of insecurity in an election can be successfully curb by joint force.

This study empirically examined the impact of external debt burden on infrastructural growth in Nigeria from 1981-2018. Being a time series data, and to avoid spurious regression result in our model, a test for stationary of the data using Augmented
Dickey-Fuller unit root test was carried out. The variables; infrastructural growth, domestic debt, external debt, exchange rate, and interest rate were found to be stationary at their first differences. Then, an ARDL Bound Co-integration technique was used to establish if the stationary variables are co-integrated in the long-run. The finding indicates that the variables were found to be co-integrated in the long run. Further, an ARDL was employed to obtain long run coefficients of the respective regressors. The ARDL result revealed that Domestic Debt (negative impact), exchange Rate (negative impact), and Interest Rate (positive impact) exerts a significant influence on infrastructural growth while External Debt (positive impact) was found to be insignificantly related to the growth of infrastructures in Nigeria. It recommends amongst others, that the government should as a matter of priority create more favourable institutional policy and regulatory framework to meet up these challenges. On the whole, there is need for the policymakers to adopt policy framework consistent with availability of external finance that is credibly maintained. Conclusively, infrastructure growth is one of major elements of structural reforms in developing economy like Nigeria because of its expected large economic and social impact

The relevant of this study is that it will raise awareness about the social workers in community, reducing stigma around seeking help. Educates the public on the supportive roles social workers play, therefore fostering a more supportive environment for survivors. Informs policy makers about the critical roles of social worker, advocating for better resources and support. Encourages the creation of policies that support the training and employment of more social worker specialized in handling sexual violence cases.