Asian Journal of Advanced Research and Reports

Rapid urbanization and uncontrolled population growth in the city of Akure create a huge generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) and waste management authority has not been able to manage it properly. This has led to inefficient waste collection methods, insufficient coverage of the collection system and improper disposal of solid waste. This paper investigated municipal solid waste management practices in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling was used in selecting 392 respondents within the eight districts in the study area. Information was collected on socio-economic characteristics of the respondents; nature and compositions of municipal solid waste and solid waste management practices in the study area. The study showed that female respondents (58.2%) were more than male (41.8%) in the study area. Also, a larger proportion of the respondents earned above N40,000 per month. More than one-third of the respondents (37.8%) created squander from vegetable and food remains, next to this were plastic (19.1%), paper (8.2%) and metal waste (6.6%). Further findings showed that the majority of the respondents (66%) do not segregate waste before disposal while the wastebasket was commonly preferred to collect waste due to its affordability. The study concluded that despite the establishment of waste management authority, most of the wastes collected was not sorted before disposal while the majority of the respondents preferred to burn their waste. The study recommended that government and non-governmental organizations should pay much attention to the issue of waste management in the area as waste was not properly managed.

Background: Social networking has become integral to the intellectual, emotional and social lives of the young. The often-unrestricted access to sexually explicit content on the social media and associated adverse sexual health among this group, constitute key outcomes in public health research.

Aim: To determine social media use and the effect on sexual practices among undergraduate students in a private university in Southern Nigeria.

Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional survey among 300 undergraduate students of Madonna University Nigeria, Elele campus, was conducted between June and November, 2019. Respondents were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data were obtained using self-administered semi-structured questionnaires. Data analysis employed statistical package for social sciences version 22.0. Chi-square test was used to determine statistically significant associations between variables at p values < 0.05.

Results:  Out of a sample size of 300, all were returned and analysed, giving a response rate of 100%, and a mean age of 21.85+ 2.63years. The awareness of social media was 97.9%, with commonest 237 (79%) from friends/peers. The reasons cited for its use include: 208 (72.7%) access to news, 182(63.6%) academics, while 173 (60.5%) accessed social media for sexually explicit content. The mean age at sexual debut was 17.44 + 2.63 years. There were associations between use of social media for sexually explicit content and [the sexually active (p=0.000); type of sexual acts practised (p=0.003) and number of sexual partnerships (p=0.000)] respectively.

Conclusion: This study found an association between use of social media for sexually explicit content and risky sexual practices. No association was found between ever had sexual act and gender. We recommend behaviour-change interventions that control social media use for sexually explicit content and not compromise access to sexual health education among them.

The study examined the effect of monetary policy on financial intermediation in Nigeria. Secondary data were collected from Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletin spanning from 1988 to 2018.The research work selected Nigeria as its sample and used the VECM to test the effect of the explanatory variables (Monetary Policy Rate, Cash Reserve Ratio, Loan to Deposit Ratio and Liquidity Ratio) on the dependent variable (Total Domestic Bank Credit).The findings from the study revealed that monetary policy has insignificant effect on intermediation in Nigeria. The granger causality test also shows a unidirectional causality between monetary policy and intermediation in Nigeria. The results suggest that lending interest rate is still high while deposit rate is low and this discourages savings and borrowing in the country. The study recommends among others that monetary policy should be reviewed in order to lower the cost of borrowing (lending rate) so as to encourage investors to borrow more. Commercial banks should try to increase its deposit rates which will help them to mobilize more deposits, as this will enhance their lending services. Financial infrastructure in the country should be improved upon as this will help banks in deposit mobilization especially the unbanked in the country.

The study assessed the environmental health problems of internally displaced persons in Maiduguri camps. The study covered three selected IDPs camps in Maiduguri. The objective of the study was to determine the condition of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Maiduguri on sanitation, overcrowding and the physical structures. Survey research design was adopted in conducting the research with a target population of 23,432 and sample size of 377. Data was collected from adult respondents using purposive sampling technique and a total of 377 copies of questionnaire was administered to the adult Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of the three selected camp; 350 (92.8%) copies were retrieved and found valid for analysis. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency distribution and percentage counts. The result revealed that a majority of the respondents strongly disagreed that the sanitary, overcrowding and the condition of physical structures of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Maiduguri, Borno State was satisfactory. Thus, the study recommends the involvement of Borno State Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) in waste management within the camps. It also recommends that Government and Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should implement policies and programmes that will enhance environmental health awareness for IDP’s based on their gender and age.

The study assessed facilities-based activities of illegal oil bunkering and its spatial trend, hotspots across Delta state. Secondary data was obtained from Landsat imageries of 2013 and 2018, National Oil Spill Monitor and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). The images were classified using supervised classification method, and the coordinates of illegal bunkering sites were overlaid and analyzed using the Differentiate Weighing Technique to express the magnitude of illegal bunkering activities that occurred across space while the coordinate were imported and overlaid on the administrative map of the study area to enable the appreciation and understanding of the trend in facilities-based activities of illegal bunkers across space. Findings revealed that between the years of 2013 through 2018, 162 oil spills was recorded and were spills recorded as a result of illegal bunkering in Delta state. Oil pipeline accounted for over 50 percent of targeted facilities by the operation of the illegal bunkering. Also, there is a noticeable decrease in the area covered by mangrove and fresh water forest in the tune of 68 and 60 percent respectively. This decrease can be attributed to the impact of spill oil on vegetal cover and health. Thus, the study recommends that communities sensitization programs should be encourage educating the host communities on the extent of self-inflicted impacts on the environment by the activities of locals.