Child Soldiers in the Republic of Congo

The deadly conflicts experienced by the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries caused numerous negative consequences resulting in the severe social crisis in the country. The Second Congo War that started in 1998 has become one of the most dreadful armed conflicts of the second half of the twentieth century (McMullen, O’Callaghan, Shannon, Black, Eakin, 2013).Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Child Soldiers in the Republic of Congo specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Recruitment of child soldiers is one of the practices often used by official and nonofficial armed forces in the country. Such practice presents a serious threat to the life and psychological health of children as the experience gained in the army leaves irreversible changes in their social attitudes and psyche. Finding an effective solution to the problem of child soldiers in C ongo is necessary for ensuring the healthy environment for the population of the country. Though numerous actions were taken to demobilize the child soldiers after the official end of the war, a certain number of children is still recruited by military groups. The process of demobilization of child soldiers is complicated by the fact that many children do not find support in the society and do not consider themselves a part of it. Investigating the social and ethnic background of former child soldiers can contribute to the success of prevention of future recruitment. The aim of this paper is to answer the questions related to the social and ethnic identity of demobilized child soldiers. The research is aimed at checking if the hypothesis that most soldiers come from the same social and ethnic group is true to life. Confirming or refuting the hypothesis are of vital importance, as the identification of a certain group of children most vulnerable to being recruited by the army will he lp to prevent further recruitment by encouraging proper institutions to focus on providing appropriate preventive activities for this group. The Overview of the Research Design As the purpose of the study is to answer the questions about the background of the child soldiers in Congo, descriptive research design seems to be the most appropriate one. A good description is â€Å"fundamental to the research enterprise† as it contributes to the knowledge of the nature of the society (What is research design?, n.d., p. 1). The specifics of descriptive research fit the purpose of the study, as such research helps to obtain the information that is crucial for devising hypotheses and proposing associations (Monsen Van Horn, 2008). As description â€Å"paves the way to prediction†, the chosen research design will help to predict the association between the social and ethnic background of children and their inclination to participate in the Army (Mitchell Jolley, 2013, p. 272). Advertising Looking for proposal on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Quantitative research, as a type of descriptive studies, appears to be suitable for the study, as it will help to collect data about the issues discussed above and organize it into valuable descriptive statistics (Monsen Van Horn, 2008, p. 5). The choice of data collection and analysis methods should correspond to the chosen research design. The Data Collection Methods Gathering data about the social and ethnic background of former child soldiers in Congo can be done by using survey methods. As the researcher is learning French, which is the first language in Congo, it will be relatively easy to use such method of data collection as focus group interviews. Focus groups will include family members of demobilized child soldiers and the members of civil society. Each of the group will consist of 5-9 people (Kwok-to Choi Chan, 2013). Such surv ey data collection technique as constructing necessary questionnaire will be used to create an appropriate basis for the interviews. Each group will be requested to answer a certain number of questions during an-hour-long sessions. The participants will be asked to share their views on the discussed issue, and the appropriate records will be made. Monitoring of narratives of demobilized children in Congo will also be used as an additional method of obtaining data for the study. The narratives will be selected based on careful analysis to identify certain features related to social and ethnic background common among child soldiers. Analysis Methods The collected data will be analyzed by reviewing the answers of the participants and identifying if they reflect common social and ethnic patterns typical of child soldiers in Congo. The detailed statistical analysis of obtained information will be conducted to demonstrate if certain social and ethnic groups prevail among former child sold iers. Descriptive statistics analysis will suit the purpose of the study and help the researcher to find the association between the investigated factors and the willingness to participate in the army. Descriptive statistics will help to describe the basic features of the data obtained during the study and provide summaries about the sample (Trochim, 2006). Such statistics will enable the researcher to describe what the data shows. Two variables, social background and ethnic origin of former child soldiers, will be analyzed. As it is rather difficult to calculate the statistics when there two or more variables, appropriate statistics program should be used. The data will be put to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program to get the appropriate table of results.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Child Soldiers in the Republic of Congo specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A Sampling Scheme A random sample will be used to ensure that the results can predict the features common to the whole population. A sample frame will be defined to determine a complete list of the population from which the sample should be selected. The creation of sample frame database will enable the researcher to conduct random number selection. The necessary information about the families of former child soldiers will be attained from appropriate institutions, and ten families from different parts of the country will be chosen based on the method of probability sampling. Ten groups of the members of civil society living in various regions of the country will also be chosen randomly. Such method of sampling will help to prevent inaccuracy and ensure that the identified patterns refer to all child soldiers. The written narratives for analysis will also be selected randomly from the database of appropriate institutions located in different regions of Congo. The total number of chosen narratives will be twen ty. The assessment of the selected sample will be conducted to eliminate the risk of missing certain groups of population and getting subjective results. Sample validation will be carried out to ensure that the selected participants truly represent the whole population. Strengths and Weaknesses of the Research Design The main strengths of the research design include its suitability to the purpose of the study. The chosen research design enables the researcher to answer the initial research questions and check the hypothesis. Besides, such research design enables the researcher to ensure that the data obtained during it is objective, and the results can be applied to the whole population. The objectivity of the results is of vital importance, as it lets the researcher make well-grounded claims and encourage further research based on already gained relevant information on the issue. Usage of group based interviews will help to monitor a big number of the people living in Congo in a re latively short period. On the other side, the absence of individualistic approach in group interviews can be defined as a weakness of the research design. However, careful and friendly communication with the individuals included in the groups will help to eliminate the risks related to lack of individualistic features of the survey.Advertising Looking for proposal on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Descriptive statistics analysis will help to analyze the collected data and draw certain conclusions. The researcher will be able to find the correlation between certain social and ethnic groups and the level of children’s participation in military groups. The usage of SPSS software will help to prevent any possibility of making mistakes while calculating the statistics. Usage of random sampling gives numerous benefits to the research, as it helps to ensure that the results are appropriate for being considered typical for the whole population of Congo. Though such sampling requires more time and effort, careful communication with appropriate institutions will help to overcome these challenges. The chosen research design has numerous benefits and will enable the researcher to answer vital questions about the nature of the phenomenon of child soldiers in Congo. The gained results will help other specialists to suggest the appropriate strategy for combating children’s inv olvement in military organizations in Congo. References Kwok-to Choi, M., Chan, K. (2013). Online dating as a strategic game: Why and how men in Hong Kong use QQ to chase women in mainland China. Berlin: Springer Heidelberg. McMullen, J., O’Callaghan, P., Shannon, C., Black, A., Eakin, J. (2013). Group trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy with former child soldiers and other war-affected boys in the DR Congo: A randomised controlled trial. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(11), 1231-1241. Mitchell, M., Jolley, J. (2013). Research design: Explained (8th ed.). Belmont, California: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Monsen, E., Van Horn, L. (2008). Research: Successful approaches (3rd ed.). New York: American Dietetic Association. Trochim, W. (2006). Descriptive Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/statdesc.php What is a research design? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nyu.edu/classes/bkg/methods/005847ch1.pdf This proposal on Child Soldiers in the Republic of Congo was written and submitted by user Cali Howell to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Anti-Federalism essays

Anti-Federalism essays The adoption of the U.S. Constitution created a centralized authority giving a great amount of power to the federal government. I think that the governments powers should be reduced and more equally divided among its branches. With such things we could have specific limitations on the government's taxation and commerce powers as well as many other things that would make our society better for the people. I feel that the Articles of Confederation work, they just need amending. This new found liberty is something that shouldn't be given up on so easily. At the Constitutional convention in which George Washington was elected President many key people were absent from the meeting; Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were away on foreign affairs and Patrick Henry refused to attend the meeting because he "smelt a rat". Patrick Henry's suspections were correct being that James Madison who had been behind the formation of the meeting had in mind the creation of a powerful central government and the subversion of the authority of the state legislatures. With the meeting being held without the presents of some of the country's major political leaders, decisions were not made to their greatest potential. In their absence some ideas were proposed such as Madison's idea that called for the near annihilation of the State legislatures and the creation of an implied empire. Other ideas came about like Alexander Hamilton's statement that the British government was above all others and had a plan to appoint lifetime executive officials - a Monarchy. The reason most Anti-Federalists oppose to the Constitution is that the republic must remain in the states, it must be geographically small in order to meet the needs of the people. With such a large demographic, the interest of the people would be too diverse and should be kept divided for individual control. SUch large districs ...

Autism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words - 1

Autism - Essay Example This estimate have risen in recent years due to more awareness about Autism. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), also known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) along with the developmental disorders that fall under its umbrella are disorders are characterized by deficits in social and communication skills. The Autism Spectrum Disorders include: Asperger’s Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), Autism Disorder, Child Disintegrative Disorder and Rett Syndrome. In recent years, diagnoses of Autism have increased both in breadth and in depth. The increase in the prevalence of this developmental disorder to 1 in 88 children has become so alarming that many parents and practitioners have been more diligent in knowing more about it. Zalla et al. (2006) has encapsulated the definition of Autism as follows: It is â€Å"a complex developmental disorder characterised by severe difficulties in communication, social interactions, and executive functions. Social and communication disturbances are generally explained in terms of a defective neurocognitive mechanism responsible for the attribution of thoughts and feelings to oneself and to others† (p. 527). The many symptoms presented by individuals with Autism have been inconsistent in pointing to just one disorder that is why it had to be spread out to various disorders within the Autism spectrum. Although there are overlaps of symptoms, there are also categorical clusters that belong to one disorder that can be differentiated from another disorder. Under the umbrella of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) exists the highest functioning Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) subtype called Asperger’s Syndrome (Kurita, Koyama & Osada, 2005). This is characterized by several deficits in age-appropriate social interactions and restricted,

Loyal Nine or The Sons of Liberty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Loyal Nine or The Sons of Liberty - Essay Example 1765:-The beginning of our activities first unfolded by the group hanging an effigy of Andrew Oliver on a tree along Newbury Street. Oliver was the one who was to commission the stamps for Massachusetts. Alongside the effigy, there were large boots with a kind of a devil picture hanging out of it. The whole idea of the group was to show that public that Oliver was deeply associated with the Stamp Act. The outcome of this act was disastrous to Oliver and everything that belonged to him. 1766:-It was an open secret that the group ruled the entire Boston by end 1766...all the Sheriffs kept it low. We had a common purpose, that was to force all the Stamp Distributors to Resign. All the Merchants who declined to cooperate with our idea to â€Å"Non-Importation Act† had pressure applied to them to do so or face our wrath. It was a great success. 1768:-Lucky enough a good number of our members were printers and publishers. This made it easy for us to employ what we simply call â€Å"newsprint propaganda† especially in 1768. Where our achievement and activities were made known to all readers. By the time the Stamp Congress had concluded their business we had developed into a very large organization and it was not easy to just brush us off like a simple militia group. 1770:-We had succeeded in attacking most symbols of the British Authority like the Custom's officers, Gentry, and Companies. During this active Decade of operation, we made sure that all the Stamp Officers in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey underwent a lot of intimidation and had either resigned or if they persist they would be seized and burned. 1775:-We had a well-organized group at this time. All the way we operated with great confidence and Loyalty to our officials with high hopes that parliament would yield to the pressure and repeal the tax.  

Study On The Objectives Of Micro Finance Institutions Finance Essay

Study On The Objectives Of Micro Finance Institutions Finance Essay A sustainable economic growth and development has its foundation on economic agents access to financial services (credit, savings, pension funds etc). Studies have shown that there has been a failure of both the government and financial institutions to provide access to loan able funds to the grass root level of the economy (GCAP, 2010; Sundaresan, 2008), for this reason it has become increasingly fashionable for national economies to set up Micro-finance Institutions to meet the need of these groups of people. Microfinance is becoming widely accepted especially in the developing countries and it is now playing a major role in reduction of poverty and the economic development in the world. This essay seeks to analyse both theoretical and empirical evidence with the view to ascertaining whether MFIs have lived up to their objectives as key drivers of economic growth and development. In addition, the essay will look at the impact of MFIs in Nigeria in relation to poverty eradication wi thin the following perspectives: Provision of Financial Services Access to Finance and Regulatory and Legal Framework for access to finance Nigeria Financial Services Sector is made up of the commercial banks, the Microfinance Banks, Discount houses, Cooperative societies, Insurance sector and Pension funds, Savings and Loans, Leasing companies etc. The essay will focus on those financial institutions that are licensed to take deposits and create loans. Microfinance is defined in terms of the services they offer; the provision of a wide range of services including deposit taking, advancement of loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance services to the low income members of the economy (ADB, date). Microfinance can simply be seen as the provision of quality financial services to the poor. The theory of Microfinance dates back to 1975 to Mohammed Yunus, an Economics University lecturer in Bangladesh. In his classic research project he designed a credit and delivery system to provide banking services to the rural poor (Hulme et al, 2009). The research gave birth to what is known today as the Grameen bank; that has grown both in assets and operations (Grameen, 2009). The provision of financial services within the Nigeria context has been an abysmal failure. Recent survey by the FinScope found some staggering fact about the level of banking participation in the economy FinScope (2008). According to the study 74% of the adult population have not been banked, 15% of women at the time of the survey have no bank account and 86% of rural adults are not unbanked (FinScope, 2008). A comparison of the level of access to financial services particularly the deposit money bank done amongst four countries in African including; Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania found that Nigeria has the second largest number of non-banking population see Fig. 1 (Isern et al, 2009). The level of financial services illiteracy amongst the adult population is equally very low according to the survey (FinScope, 2008). See Fig 3. The close proximity of Microfinance banks to the rural population offers them a great advantage to reach the nonbanked populace unfortunately; emp irical studies showed that only 3 percent of adults use Microfinance as their main bank (Bun et al, 2007). The Small and Medium Enterprises have been identified as the engine room of growth and development in most economies (Malik and Teal, 2008). However, this very important sector of every developed and developing economy has been very dormant in Nigeria. A World Bank study in 2008 (World Bank, 2008) have identified access to finance amongst others as one of the top constraints of the development of SMEs in Nigeria. In a study that compared the Sectoral contribution to GDP, it was observed that Nigeria SME sector was much smaller than that of other developing countries; according to the study, the SME accounted for about 50% of the nations GDP very little when compared with the 80% of the other developing economies. To improve on this the country need a well funded and operationally strong Microfinance institutions, it is arguable though whether the MFIs operating in the country have lived up to their expectations. For instance, a study done by Malik and Teal (2008) showed that only 5% of firms have received loans from Microfinance Institutions even when 80% applications were received from the SMEs. See Fig.4. The study showed the extent to which access to and cost of financing are a problem for Nigerian SMEs. Access to loan able funds was seen as a function of size; according to the survey, about 59% of small firms faced varying degrees of difficulties in accessing finance compared to 35% of medium firms and 11% of large SME firms. A world comparison of access to and cost of credit done on India, China, South Africa, Indonesia and Brazil saw Nigeria closely following Brazil as countries with the highest impediments to access to credit see Fig 5 (ICA 2008). The study of Isern et al (2009) showed that households, rural populace and SMEs are not very interested in accessing investment funds from MFIs. Part of the reasons adduced for this lacklustre attitude include high interest rates (cost of funds), collateral requirements, maturities mismatch etc. However, the study done by ICF in 2008 showed that cost of funds is cheaper in Nigeria relative to the other 5 countries surveyed. The supply of Microfinance services has a very long history in Nigeria, although this was frequently done in informal ways. A study done by Food and Agricultural Organisation in 2004 estimated that 25% of Nigerians accessed some informal sources of financing (FAO, 2004). USAID in 2005 carried out a survey that estimated that a majority of funding for Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises came from personal savings, informal lending schemes known as esusu and gifts from family members (USAID, 2005). The FinScope survey in 2008 equally revealed that 24% of SMEs used informal sources of funding for their businesses. Various forms of Non-Governmental Organisations NGOs which are not for profit oriented micro-credit schemes have been in place since the 1980s. For instance Ford Foundation began supporting households and SMEs in 1993 and as 2004 have provided capacity building grants to 123 organisations worth $180,000 US dollars at the 2000 exchange rate, and the Foundation have refinanced loans to 241 organisations to the tune of $1.7 million (Isern et al, 2009). The study noted that majority of the NGOs used Grameen solidarity groups model to provide loans to small groups of people. The 2005 Microfinance framework made provision for traditional community banks that were operating in the country to be re-licensed as microfinance institutions with a minimum capital base of NGN 20 million (CBN, 2005). The community banks operating in the country before the re-licensing were privately held companies licensed to take deposits from the public as well as provide credit services. CBN reports showed that these banks became very successful in deposit mobilization but failed in their functions as lenders to the rural households and SMEs within the communities that they operated (CBN/OFID Reports, date). As at July 2008, about 125 Microfinance licenses were processed by the Central Bank of Nigeria and most of these licenses were for internationally experienced Microfinance organisations such as ACCION International which is a partnership between Citibank-Nigeria, Ecobank, Zenith bank, IFC and SME manager. Other international organisations like K-REP (Kenya), BRAC (Bangladesh), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have provided both funding and technical expertise to MFIs. The traditional commercial banks were not left out of the Microfinance arrangements as most of them opened subsidiaries that undertook the functions of MFIs (CBN reports, 2008). The growth of MFIs in Nigeria was encouraging. See Fig 6. The international capital flows as well as the technical expertise helped to build the much needed confidence that was lacking when the banks operated as community banks. However, the growth and concentration of MFIs may become too risky; as majority of them are serving the same market. CBN data showed that 100 of MFIs were operating in Lagos State alone and 16 in Abuja the Federal Capital. Reports from the CBN showed that as at the end of October 2008, a total of 724 MFIs were fully licensed and in operations, with 607 of them being community banks that were re-licensed as MFIs, about 86 MFIs have been given approval in principle during the period under review (CBN, 2008) Again another important source of risk is from the very low capital base that is required for the MFIs and poor regulatory and supervision framework. The CBN in their current reforms are taking some major steps to mitigate these risks; with the proposal of merging and consolidations within the sector. If the various reforms pull through, the country may see more financial strong MFIs that are able to perform their functions as key drivers of national growth and prosperity. Despite the rapid growth of the MFIs in both size magnitude and operations; lending to rural households and SMEs has continued to stagnate. The growth in MFIs have failed to translate into easy access to investment funds, SMEs and households have continued to bedevilled by high cost of funds and collateral requirements. Adverse selection within the financial services sector has continued to persist as a result of information asymmetry. Information asymmetry in the sense that the MFIs have no way of fully guiding and protecting their loanable funds to the public, as a result of this; higher risk premia are demanded to provide financial services which excludes high quality borrowers. The table showed the low reliance of SMEs in the country on capital from financial institutions; clearly borrowed funds from the banks including the MFIs have remained very low, largely as a result of the factors mentioned before. The result is even worst when compared with that of other developing economies like Brazil, South Africa, China, India, Indonesia and Kenya. Source: ICF Survey (2008) the result showed is for short term financing as in the case of long term financing firms depend entirely on personal funding. Table 8 clearly shows that only 4% of SMEs have access to lines of credit/loans while 8% have access to various forms of overdrafts. MFIs account for a very low percentage of financial services funding in Nigeria, largely because of loan ceiling that is active within that sector. Microfinance institutions operating in Nigeria are mandated to keep 60% of their loan portfolio below the NGN 500,000 (US$4310) loan threshold. Central to the Microfinance regulatory framework is the CBN guidelines for licensing of microfinance banks (MFBs). The guidelines provide two licensing options; unit MFBs that are licensed to operate within the local government area in which they are registered with a minimum capital base of NGN20 (US 172,000) million naira. The unit MFBs according to the guideline may expand their operations subject to the NGN20 million capital requirement per branch. State MFBs are licensed to operate in all parts of the state in which they are registered and are subject to a minimum capital requirement of NGN 1 billion (US $8.6 Million). For the state registered MFBs to raise additional funds and open more branches; they are required to have covered at least two-thirds of the state and raise additional NGN 20 million to open a branch in another state. The prudential regulations of MFIs are designed to manage credit risks that are part of the Microfinance operations; the capital adequacy ratios of the MFIs are set with the notion that the institutions will be engaged in mostly unsecured credit financing, the capital adequacy ratio is set at a risk-rated 10:1 ratio (CBN2005). In addition, there are strict guidelines setting up reserves and dividend pay-outs. Microfinance prudential regulations are designed to reduce risk concentration by putting a cap on the amount of credit an individual and groups can access. The Microfinance prudential regulation is designed to reduce risk concentration by putting a ceiling on individual loans (1% of unimpaired shareholder funds and 5% for group borrower), a 100% provisioning is required for loans over 90 days in arrears or restructured (Isern 2009). Microfinance deposits up to NGN 100,000 (US $862) are protected by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Fund (CBN 2008). The Supervision of microfinance is based on both on and off-site supervision, box 2 shows a summary of the regulatory and supervision principles of microfinance institutions in Nigeria. Interest Rate policy of Microfinance institutions in Nigeria ranges above 20-30% for loans, advances, overdraft facilities and other types of lending services (Isern, et al 2009). The interest rates charged by the MFIs are quite high when compared to that charged by the conventional money deposit banks see Table 13. The high rates of interest reflects the high risk premia of the targeted audience that the MFIs are designed to serve. The high rate of interest rate has been identified as one of the key factors that limit rural households and businesses from access to credit through the MFIs (Philips 2002). This imposes distortion in the flow of credit as companies that cannot afford the high cost of borrowing look for informal sources which are marred by risks and uncertainties. The review of the operations of Microfinance Institutions in Nigeria has clearly revealed that there should be a trade-off between high cost of funds on one hand and provision of financial services on the other hand. From what they are designed to achieve, they are supposed to provide some sort of lose collateral lending and as such have a higher risk than the conventional commercial banks. Microfinance Institutions in developing economies like Nigeria faces some challenges both in their operations and in the environment in which they operate. One of these challenges as noted by Cerven and Ghazanfer (2008) includes some cultural practices that discriminate against women such as specific cultural, familial and personal circumstances other important considerations to women empowerment in Nigeria are religious issues like Purdah: (seclusion of women) which is rampant in Northerner Nigeria. Technical know-how and in-adequate regulation has been identified as one of the internal and external factors that militate against the growth of MFIs in Nigeria (Campion 2002). Microfinance been in a somewhat embryonic stage; developments and regulations are still evolving is expected that the sector could face some hiccups before stabilizing. Microfinance Institutions have enormous growth opportunities in Nigeria as a result of most of the factors highlighted in this essay; the nature of their operations and the Acts establishing them makes them a better preferred choice for consumers of financial services. However, this comes with a high cost to both the MFIs and their customers. To the MFIs the potential for high loan defaults are present; this may if not managed properly lead to financial fragility in the sector. To their customs; the high cost of interest and cumbersome application process that they have to face is a big challenge; there is an irony in the interest rate charged by MFIs in Nigeria, a country that has a forecasted average growth rate in GDP of between 5-6% per annum, has a cost of fund of between 20- 30%, this presupposes that businesses should grow more than the countrys GDP. Despite all the challenges of the MFIs in Nigeria, they remain substantial to the growth and development of any economy; and in Nigeria in particular the MFIs have large un-tapped markets and are set for long-run profitability if the relevant infrastructures are put in place. Fig 3 Percentage of adults who have never heard of the listed services and products

Cancer :: essays research papers fc

Cancer My friend, Matt, was diagnosed with cancer in May 2002. I was shocked when Matt’s girlfriend, Amber, told me that he had cancer, because Matt was only twenty-three years old when diagnosed. The type of cancer Matt has is called Leukemia, which is cancer of the white blood cells. This cancer starts in the bone marrow but can then spread to the blood, lymph nodes, the spleen, liver, central nervous system and other organs. Cancer affects many people each year including my grandmother who had cancer and now one of my close friends.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The type of Leukemia Matt has is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), which causes his body many problems. Matt’s first symptoms of Leukemia started with him filling weak and fatigued, looking pale faced, and vomiting on occasion. Matt’s mother is a nurse at the Aiken Hospital, ambling her to know that something was seriously wrong with Matt. Matt’s mom took him to the Aiken Hospital where he was later diagnosed with Leukemia. Matt’s family and friends were shocked to find out he had this disease because of his young age. This is a disease that occurs most commonly in young children, but also affects adults. The doctors have no idea how Matt became infected with cancer. Some risk factors for some cases of cancer are smoking, exposure to massive amounts of radiation, and drugs used for the treatment of other cancers. Leukemia cells in the Acute Leukemia grow rapidly and require therapy right away (Veritas Medicine). This type of disease i s hard on the body because it affects the blood cells. Bone Marrow is the soft, spongy, inner part of bones (American Cancer Society). All of the different types of blood cells are made in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is made up of blood-forming cells, fat cells, and tissues that aid the growth of blood cells (American Cancer Society). The two types of blood cells are white and red blood cells. White blood cells (leukocytes) help defend the body against germs—viruses and bacteria (American Cancer Society). Red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to all other tissues of the body(American Cancer Society). They also carry away carbon dioxide. Matt began to have a shortage of red blood cells, which caused his weakness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since Matt had this type of disease that grows rapidly his mom had to take him to a hospital in Charleston, South Carolina immediately.

Consequences of Ethnicity in Nigeria

EFFECT OF ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA CHAPTER 1 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Nigeria  is  by  far  the most populated of Africa’s countries, with more than one-seventh of the continent’s people. The people belong to many different ethnic groups. These groups give the country a rich culture, but they also pose major challenges to nation building. Ethnic strife has plagued Nigeria since it gained independence in 1960. Officially known as the ‘Federal Republic of Nigeria’, she has  a  federal form of government and is divided into 36 states and a federal capital territory.Lagos, (formerly the capital of Nigeria) is the economic and cultural center located along the coast, and inhabited majorly by the Yoruba-speaking tribe. It is also the country’s largest city (in terms of population). The government moved from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 in the hope of creating a national capital where none of the country’s ethnic groups would be dominant. The  land size area  of Nigeria is approximately 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi).It was home to ethnically based kingdoms and tribal communities before it became a European colony. In spite of European contact that began in the 16th century, these kingdoms and communities maintained their autonomy until the 19th century. The colonial era began in earnest in the late 19th century, when Britain consolidated its rule over Nigeria. In 1914 the British merged their northern and southern protectorates into a single state called the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. Nigeria became independent of British rule in 1960.After independence Nigeria experienced frequent coups and long periods of autocratic military rule between 1966 and 1999, when a democratic civilian government was established Nigeria is very rich in raw materials like crude oil, tin, iron etc but is almost solely dependent on crude oil which is a major source of income for the country. While oil wealth has financed major investments in the country’s infrastructure, Nigeria remains among th e world’s poorest countries in terms of per capita income. Oil revenues led the government to ignore agriculture, resulting in dependence on food importation.Fig 1. 1 MAP OF NIGERIA SHOWING THE 36 STATES 1. 1 The people of Nigeria Nigeria's diversity, both in â€Å"tongue† and â€Å"tribe† makes it a very difficult region to subject to precise classification. This has led to the tendency among many scholars to focus on the three major ethnic or geographic zones in the country viz the Hausa-Fulani (Northern Nigeria), the Yoruba (Western Nigeria) and the Igbo (Eastern Nigeria). These geographic zones are not in any way solely occupied by the three ethnic groups. A plethora of smaller socio-ethnic groups may be located in these zones.The  highest  population densities are in the Igbo heartland in south-eastern Nigeria, despite poor soils and heavy emigration. The intensively farmed zones around and including several major cities of the Hausa ethnic group especi ally Kano, Sokoto, and Zaria in the north are also densely populated. Other areas of high density include Yorubaland in the southwest, the central Jos Plateau, and the Tiv homeland in Benue State in the south central region. Densities are relatively low in the dry northeast and in most parts of the middle belt.Ecological factors, including the prevalence of diseases such as sleeping sickness, carried by the tsetse fly, and historical factors, especially the legacy of pre-colonial slave raiding, help explain these low densities (Encarta, 2009). Table 1. 1: Statistics of Nigeria Population| 138,283,240 (2008 estimate)| Population density| 152 persons per sq km 393 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate)| Urban population distribution| 48 percent (2005 estimate)| Rural population distribution| 52 percent (2005 estimate)| Largest cities, with population| Lagos, 11,100,000 (2005 estimate) Ibadan, 3,570,000 (2007 estimate)Ogbomosho, 861,300 (2007 estimate)| Official language| English| Chief rel igious affiliations| Muslim, 50 percent Christian, 40 percent Indigenous beliefs, 10 percent| Life expectancy| 47. 8 years (2008 estimate)| Infant mortality rate| 94 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate)| Literacy rate| 70. 7 percent (2005 estimate)| Source: Encarta Encyclopaedia (2009) 1. 2 Social issues Wealth  and  power  are  distributed very unevenly in Nigerian society. This is due to several factors including corruption, political instability, and unemployment, amid others.The great majority of Nigerians, preoccupied with daily struggles to earn a living, have few material possessions and little chance of improving their lot. Meanwhile, chiefs, rich merchants, politicians, and high-ranking civil servants often accumulate and flaunt massive wealth, which to a degree is expected and accepted in the Nigerian society. Most of these elite maintain power through networks of patronage: They secure and distribute labour and receive political support in return.The syste m allows for some redistribution of income because patrons often pay for things such as school fees and marriage costs for relatives, community development, and charity work. Economic  inequality  has a severe effect on health, especially for children. One-fifth of Nigerian children die before the age of five, primarily from treatable diseases such as malaria, measles, whooping cough, diarrhea, and pneumonia. Less than one-half of infants are immunized against measles, and malnutrition affects more than 40 percent of children under the age of five.Adults are equally affected, although with less deadly consequences. Only 20 percent of rural Nigerians and 52 percent of urban Nigerians have access to safe water. One-third have no access to health care simply because they live too far from clinics or other treatment centres. Many others cannot afford the fees charged by clinics. While  average  incomes are higher and death rates lower in cities, urban poverty is as pervasive as rural poverty. Secure, well-paying jobs are scarce, even for those with considerable education. Food is typically expensive.Housing, too, is costly despite its rudimentary quality, prompting the poor to build basic houses in shantytowns. Sewage disposal systems in most cities are also basic or primitive, with polluted streams, wells, roadside drains, and other bodies of water increasing the risk of infectious disease. Industry, automobiles, and the burning of fuel-wood further pollute air and water. Crime  in  Nigeria  rose in the mid-1990s as a result of unemployment, economic decline, and social inequality, which are abetted by inefficient and corrupt police and customs forces.More than half of all offenses are thefts, burglaries, and break-ins, although armed robberies are also prominent. Nigeria is a major conduit for drugs moving from Asia and Latin America to markets in Europe and North America. Large-scale Nigerian fraud rings have targeted business people in other part s of the world. Nigeria  has  been  wracked by periodic violent clashes between ethnic and religious groups since the 1990s. The reasons behind these clashes have varied from local political disputes to conflicts between fundamentalist Muslims and Christians or moderate Muslims.In many cases, local civic or religious leaders have manipulated these conflicts for political gain. 1. 3 Ethnicity: The Ethnic Composition of Nigeria Ethnicity is a term not easily defined and for proper understanding of the concept related terms requires description; an ethnic group is regarded as an informal interest group whose members are distinct from the members of other ethnic groups within the larger society because they share kinship, religious and linguistics ties (Cohen, 1974). Ethnicism is another related concept used to denote ‘ethnic loyalty’ (Pepple, 1985).The concept of loyalty here indicates willingness to support and act on behalf of the ethnic group. Subsequently, ethnic loyalty or ethnicism usually involves a degree of obligation and is often accompanied by a rejective attitude towards those regarded as outsiders i. e. members of other ethnic group (Salawu and Hassan, 2011). Thus the term Ethnicity can be defined as the interactions among members of many diverse groups (Nnoli, 1978). It is a commonplace fact that Nigeria is a society with different ethnic groups, religions, languages, cultures and institutional arrangements.As a heterogeneous society of several ethnic groups, Nigerians are thus characterized by groups, desires, beliefs, values, customs, fears etc. These diversities in national life manifest in several ways including; music, language, culture, dance, beliefs, religion etc. The fact that over three hundred identified language groups exist in Nigeria has created some confusion as one may equate each language group with an ethnic group (Adejuyibem 1983) and thereby arrive at over three hundred ethnic groups.As Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997 ) and Anugwom (1997) have argued, however, languages and ethnic groups do not necessarily coincide. One language may be spoken by more than one ethnic group and one ethnic group may have linguistic variations of the same root language. Moreover, while language may be one of the important factors for defining an ethnic group, some ethnic groups in Nigeria may have lost their original linguistic roots, while retaining their identity, as a result of intense interaction with larger socio-ethnic groups.In the same vein, many ethnic groups may use the same language to case communication, as is the case of the smaller ethnic groups in the North of Nigeria, where Hausa has become more or less a lingua franca. Therefore, it has been proven that there is no direct relationship between language and ethnic group in Nigeria. Thus, the 56 ethnic groups identified by Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) as the existing ethnic groups in contemporary Nigeria are adopted. It is important to note that the ethnic groups in Nigeria may exceed this number by far, though these 56 groups are both visible and easily identifiable.The 56 ethnic groups are presented in the table below. Table 1. 2: Ethnic group in Nigeria 1. Hausa-FuIani| 29. Buri| 2. Igbo | 30. Balta| 3. Yoruba | 31. Kanuri| 4. Edo| 32. Margi| 5. Bassawa| 33. Delta Minorities| 6. Igala| 34. Gwadara| 7. Idoma| 35. Chamba-Daka| 8. Ora| 36. Mambila| 9. Ijo| 37. Katang | 10. Isoko| 38. Berom| 11. Urhobo| 39. Kadara| 12. Itshekiri| 40. Kurama| 13. Baatonum| 41. Mada| 14. Karnbari| 42. Alago| 15. Dulawa| 43. Migili| 16. Kamaku| 44. Eggon| 17. Ebira| 45. Bokyi| 18. Nupe| 46. Ekon| 19. Gwari| 47. Agoi| 20. Tiv| 48. Efik| 21. Jukun| 49. Ibibio| 2. Chomo-karim| 50. Annang| 23. Jarwa| 51. Mumuye| 24. Angas| 52. Waja| 25. Yekhee| 53. Busa| 26. Karekare| 54. Dendi| 27. Eloyi| 55. Buduma| 28. Gade| 56. Shuwa| Source: Iwaloye and Ibeanu (1997) Nigeria is known for its cultural diversities but while these diversities have been positively harnessed for greatness by other nations of the world the opposite is regrettably the case in Nigeria despite the efforts of heroes past in ensuring that these diversities are harnessed for development; rather they have served as the bane of social, economic and political development.Consequently, Nigeria as a nation has been besieged by an array of social, economic and political problems; these include corruption, tribalism, lack of patriotism, political gangsterism e. t. c (Nduka, 2004 and Omo-Ojugo et al. , 2009). 1. 4 Ethnicity and Marginalisation Before the advent of colonialism, the area now referred to as Nigeria was a large landmass occupied by un-unified people of diverse ethnic groups but for administrative convenience they were fused and merged together by the olonialists. For the duration of colonial rule, the ‘marriage’ of the diverse ethnic groups was maintained and the diversities were united without any problem. With the exit of the colonialists, things started f alling apart resulting in marginalisation and ethnic conflict thus adversely effecting the development of the budding nation. Ethnic conflict has been rightly defined as one of the greatest obstacles to meaningful development in Africa.The ethnic factor did not diminish with the advent of independence; rather, it became a yardstick for measuring contribution to the national development effort and especially for allocating and distributing power and national resources and eventually resulted in the 30- month slaughter in the Nigerian civil war (1967 to 1970) which was anchored on ethnic rivalry. The history of present day Nigeria is rife with cases of ethno-religious conflicts. Since the annulment of the 1993 elections, there have been increased demands and counter-demands for marginalisa1ion by various ethnic groups in the country.Marginalisation stems from a people's perception of their treatment in the allocation or distribution of power and resources. A classic example is made fo r the Ogoni, who despite â€Å"having provided the nation with an estimated $30,000 million in oil revenues, their people had no pipe borne water or electricity, and lacked education, health and other social facilities: it is intolerable that one of the richest areas of Nigeria should wallow in abject poverty and destitution† (Saro-Wiwa, 1992).In this light, the Ogoni ethnic group has concrete reasons to consider itself marginalised, especially since these facilities can be found in other ethno-regional areas of Nigeria. 1. 5 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The general objective of the study is to 1. Investigate the role ethnicity plays in the socio-economic development of Nigeria. 2. Assess the impact of ethnicity on present day Nigeria 3. Examine the effect on day-to-day activities of Nigerians 1. 6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS i. Impact of ethnicity on social and economic development in Nigeria? ii. Role of colonialism in ethnic groups formation . 7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The scope of the projec t envelops the influence of ethnicity in Nigeria’s social and economic development and its impact on present day Nigeria. 1. 8 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The importance of this study is made manifest in the form of understanding the role ethnic diversity plays in the development of a country, in this case Nigeria. 1. 9 CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION ETHNICITY: Ethnicity in this study is referred to as an affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties or the interactions among members of many diverse groupsETHNIC GROUP: For the purpose of this study, an ethnic group is regarded as an informal interest group whose members are distinct from the members of other ethnic groups within the larger society because they share kinship, religious and linguistics ties SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: in this project, socio economic development is defined as a comprehensive process involved in improving social and economic conditions on individual and group empowerment, community, national and reg ional building.