FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

This study examines the impact of external debt on Nigeria economic performance using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag ( ADRL) approach. The analyses covers key macroeconomic indicators such as GDP growth, debt servicing, and external borrowing over a selected period of time. findings reveal that while external debt has the potential to support economic growth , excessive debt accumulation and high debt servicing costs have had a negative effect on Nigeria's economic performance in the long run. the ARDL results confirm both short and long term relationships between external debt and economic performance . The study recommends improved debt management strategies and efficient utilization of borrowed funds to ensure sustainable growth.

The study examined the effect of rehabilitation programmes on prison inmates. The main objective of the study is to examine the impact of correction institutions in the rehabilitation of female inmates in Benin City. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 60 female inmates in both Oko Prison and Benin Prison. It was discovered that the rehabilitation programmes were not very successful due to lack of fund, inadequacy of rehabilitation equipment, lack of trained personnel, lack of manpower and poor management of rehabilitation programmes among others. The findings show that prisons have not successfully achieved their objective according to the Nigerian Prison Act of (2001) which is to reform and rehabilitate offenders to be good and useful citizens. Therefore, rehabilitation programmes in the prisons are not as effective as expected. Based on the findings of the research, it was recommended that the prison authority should provide earning schemes to female inmates to enhance their
effective reintegration and rehabilitation into the society; rehabilitation programmes should not be left in the hands of prison officials alone. Social workers, NGOs and others should be fully involved in rehabilitation of inmates, government should consider a form of compulsory savings scheme for convicts involved in prison work. A matching grant or a percentage of the amount saved should be given to a prisoner when due for release. This will assist in resettlement of the ex-convicts with the skills acquired while in prison amongst other things.

This study investigates how the general public views child labour and how it affects the social welfare of young children in Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State, Nigeria. Child labour still affects children's rights and social development, making it a serious problem. This study employs qualitative research method, such as questionnaires to examine community attitudes and perceptions regarding child labour practices and their impact on children's overall welfare. The community is quite concerned about child labour, as the results indicate that it negatively impacts children's physical, mental, and academic health.
Child labor practices are perpetuated in part by cultural norms, poverty, and limited educational opportunities. In order to prevent child labor and advance the social welfare of young children, the study emphasizes the critical necessity for government action as well as community-based programs. To effectively address this widespread issue, recommendations include putting comprehensive policies into place, improving access to education, and increasing public awareness.

The study empirically examined the relationship between poverty and maternal mortality rate. The Augmented Dickey Fuller unit root test was employed to test for the order of integration of the series. It was found to be stationary at first and second differences. Then the Johansen Co-integration technique was employed to determine if there is long run relationship between the dependent and independent variables of the model. Furthermore, the Vector Error Correction Mechanism technique (VECM) was used to estimate the regression coefficients and to correct for any disequilibrium between the short run and long run dynamics of the model. The short run and long run version of the model were specified. Results showed that, poverty was correctly signed and was statistically significant. The study therefore recommends, among others, that measures should be taken to curb maternal mortality and alleviate poverty.

This research study investigated government and development in South-Southern Nigeria: an evaluation of Edo State and Delta State (2019-2023). The study aimed to evaluate the impact of government policies on development outcomes in Edo and Delta States, assess the effectiveness of government initiatives in promoting economic growth, infrastructure development, and human capital development, and identify challenges to effective governance and development in both states. Anchored on structural functionalism theory as the theoretical framework of the study, qualitative research methods and interview to obtain information and employ thematic analysis to analyze data. The research unveils that government initiatives such as scholarships have improved the rate of youth participation in higher education, while vocational training has improved youth economic empowerment, the study established corruption as a major cause of project failure which in turn hinders good governance and most of the political leadership in the region is corrupt and this has serious implications for development. It was suggested that NDDC should increase the number of their development programmers and projects, particularly in such areas as physical infrastructural development, school and capacity building, economic empowerment employment, and environmental protection and stiffer penalty should be carried out against corrupt officials of the interventionist institutions, based on trial and conviction.

his study sought the Correlates of Broken Homes and the Undergraduate Students Academic Performance in the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State. The major institution for humans is the family, also known as the household or home. Using a survey research method approach, this study investigates the major causes of broken homes among undergraduate students in the university of Benin, challenges they faced, coping strategies they employ to deal with the challenges and the institutional establishments available to help them. The findings of this study reveal that divorce or separation and prolonged parental absence are the major causes of broken homes. It also found that while both students from broken and intact homes face challenges, it is often more intense on those from broken homes. A majority ofthe respondents indicated that participating in study groups with their peers has helped them cope with some of the challenges. The study also found that institutional establishments are in place to help the students to cope with their challenges, although some are unaware of them. The study recommends that better programs should be established to help the students and also awareness programs to inform them the availability ofthe programs in the University of Benin. The study contributes to the literature on the impact of family structure on academic outcomes.

The problems of Small and Medium Scale Industries (SMIs) in Nigerian cannot be understated
as a number of factors tend to limit their growth potentials. They’re still faced with the issue of
large capital outlay and to overcome this problem, external borrowing has become inevitable. Commercial banks appear to be the most likely source of funds. Thus, the overall objective of
this research is to identify ways and means by which the vibrancy of small and medium scale
industries will be sustained so that they can play the expected role as one of the engines for
growth in Nigeria’s economic development effort. While a descriptive statistics research design
was adopted in the investigation. Outcome of the study indicates that, there exists an inverse
relationship (though not statistically significant) between the amount of domestic credit made
available to SMI’s and the output of SMI’S in Nigeria. This trend has shown the poor attitude of
commercial banks towards the granting of loans to SMI’s in Nigeria. Conclusively, the inability
of our commercial banks to grant effective loans to SMI’s have translated to low level of output
of SMI’s to GDP. This in turn has impacted negatively on average capacity utilization. While
commercial banks are expected to come to the rescue of SMI’s, the truth must be said, that these
institutions are profit oriented and may not be in a vantage position to give long term loans with
depositor funds that are predominantly short tenured. Based on the findings of study, this paper
recommends that, the intervention programs put in place to reduce the problems of the SMI’s
should be strengthened. Lastly, the Bank of Industry (BOI) should be properly positioned in its
mandate of providing financial assistance for the establishment of large, medium and small
projects as well as the expansion, diversification and modernization of existing enterprises and to
rehabilitate the ailing ones

The study explored the idea of the farmers herders conflict in Nigeria and analyzed the
central point liable for the conflict in Nigeria. Likewise, it examined the role of government
in addressing to the conflict and identified gaps in government reactions to the farmer
herders crises. These were with the end goal of figuring out the justifications for why
conflict management strategies employed by the government in response to the farmersherdsmen crisis have not resulted in the end of the crisis.
The study made use of both primary and secondary method of data collection. Secondary
data was sourced from course books, diary articles, the web, magazines, commission
reports and papers. For the primary data, the survey method was used which includes
investigating through the use of the questionnaire.
The result showed that environmental change, encroachment on areas of land reserved for
grazing by farmers and encroachment on farms by breeders, the proliferation of small arms
and crime in rural areas etc. are triggers of the farmers-herdsmen crisis in Nigeria. It
additionally showed that the federal government and the state government in states where
instances of the conflict have been recorded have singularly and in joint effort concoct
various explanations, approaches and activities, for example, the organization of safety
agents to networks where conflicts have happened, the introduction of a few councils fully
intent on thinking of suggestions to end the contention and the detailing of strategies
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expected to end the conflict like the prohibiting of open brushing in certain states. At last,
discoveries uncover that the disappointment of the public authority to think of preventive
measures to check the contention; unfortunate execution of figured out approaches;
nonattendance of strict resistance and political avoidance are holes in government the
executives methodologies of the farmers herders struggle in Nigeria.
The study concluded that the management structures, processes and strategies of
government in addressing the farmers-herdsmen crisis are inadequate to the extent that they
are more reactionary than preventive or proactive, have implementation lapses and are
bedevilled by political exclusion.

This study investigated domestic violence and other sexually related crimes amongst
students in tertiary institutions; investigating its effect on society, using the University of
Benin as a case study. The study adopted descriptive research survey design in building
up this project work. The sample size was made up of 150 respondents. The data
collected was analyzed using frequency count and simple percentage.
The study revealed that there is a high level of domestic violence experienced by
undergraduate students in the University of Benin. It was concluded that domestic
violence have a negative impact on students’ academic performance in the University of
Benin, Benin City.
The study recommends that government should ensure that the perpetrators of domestic
violence are severely punished so as to serve as deterrent to others. It was also
recommended that the University of Benin school management should implement
comprehensive awareness campaigns against domestic violence, sexual harassment, and
related crimes.

This study investigated the incidence of open defecation in Benin City using Egor Local Government Area as a case study. The survey research design was employed for the study. A total of 400 questionnaires were administered systematically to generate data from household heads, heads of motor parks, operator of public toilets and heads of cooperate bodies, while personal observation was done to see the availability of toilet facilities and clean water to residents in the area. Results showed that lack of toilet facilities, water and high cost of sinking borehole accounts majorly for the menace of open defecation in Benin City. Also, the study indicated a strong correlation between the outbreak of water borne diseases and open defecation in the place with a significant level of 0.05. It was also revealed that work places, markets and motor parks do not have adequate toilet facilities and this has increased open defecation in the study area. This study recommends that government should collaborate with NGOs and individuals to sustainably address the menace of open defecation through the provision of toilet facilities, public toilets and clean water in the area.