FACULTY OF ECONOMICS

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Impact of sustainable solid waste management on economic development – lessons from Enugu State Nigeria
(International Institute for Science, Technology & Education (IISTE), 2014) Agbaeze E. K.; Onwuka, I. O.; Agbo, C. C.
Solid waste management system in Enugu State, Nigeria is inefficient and unsustainable largely due to the crude and unscientific methods employed. The current practice, process and programme of waste management in the state do not in any way conform to what is obtainable in other modern cities of the world. It is against this background that this study sought to find out the current state of solid waste management system in the state, and to identity factors that influences waste management and the type of solid waste management system that will aid economic development of the State. These objectives were addressed primarily using structured questionnaire administered to a cross section of people in three selected local government areas (Enugu East, North and South LGAs respectively). Personal interviews were also conducted to augment the questionnaire. It was observed that the solid waste management system in practice in the state is unscientific, unsustainable and at the prerogative of people in power. It was discovered that the current waste management system has no room for waste recycling, reuse and repair. There was also no provision for waste segregation and reduction at source technology. Majority of the waste is dumped at open landfill. The study also analyzed the newly proposed solid waste management system in the state and found that the proposed system will be better than the existing one if efficiently implemented. The proposed system outlined a framework of waste segregation, recycling, reuse, reduction, repair and abolition of certain polythene bags with less or no economic value. The authors recommend that a massive enlightenment campaign should be embarked upon to sensitize the people on the proposed waste management system so that they can key into it and contribute meaningful to its sustenance. There is need also to encourage the reuse of plastic bags, reduce litter, raise public awareness about environmental issues and encourage recycling as thicker bags will make recycling more economically viable the state government should also consider the option of public-private partnership which has been adopted with huge success in other climes.
Microfinance banks and rural development—The Nigeria experience.
(Sage Publishing, 2014) Agbaeze, E. K.; Onwuka, I. O.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the microfinance banking scheme on December 2005 as part of government strategies to achieve one of the cardinal agendas of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing extreme poverty by 2015. The microfinance banks (MFBs) were promoted to provide financial services to the economically active poor in the society and to create an environment of financial inclusion to boost the capacity of micro, small and medium enterprises that abound in our rural areas. The impact of the MFBs in rural development in Nigeria was empirically evaluated in this study using some performance indicators. These include growth in deposit mobili¬zation, aggregate credit extension, loan per rural person (LPRP), total assets of MFBs, etc. The ordinary least square econometrics was used to generate the regression coefficients and other statistics. Data for the study were gath¬ered from the Annual Report and Accounts published by the MFBs and collated and analyzed by the CBN in the Statistical Bulletins. The impetus for the study waslargely derived from the renewed interest in microfinancing by the World Bank, International Development Institutions, the Nigerian Government and other International Development Partners. The results of the study show that MFBs have impacted positively on our rural economy. The regression coeffi¬cients for all the key factors analyzed in the research were positive though not statistically significant. This means that the full impact possibilities of these insti¬tutions as catalyst for rural development are yet to be realized. The findings also provide significant support to the rationale earlier canvassed by the CBN for the recent re-engineering of the various microfinance institutions in the country in order to improve their impact possibilities. The researchers noted that the recent re-engineering and retooling of the MFBs scheme is one step in the right direction and recommends that government should provide key infrastructures especially electricity and ensure stable macroeconomic environment to enable micro and other business enterprises to thrive in the country.
Impact of rural credit facilities of Micro-Finance Banks on poverty alleviation – the Nigeria experience
(European Scientific Institute (ESI), Macedonia, 2015) Onwuka, I. O.; Udeh, S. N
The study focused on the impact of rural credit facilities of Micro- Finance Banks (MFBs) on poverty alleviation in Nigeria from 2005-2012. The overall objective of the study was to assess the impact of rural credit facilities of MFBs on rural financial markets and the implication on the rural economy and poverty alleviation. Multi–stage random sampling technique was utilized in the selection of rural MFBs and household respondents. In the first stage, 3 states – Anambra, Imo and Enugu were randomly selected from the 5 states that make the South Eastern Nigeria. Furthermore, from the 77 rural–based MFBs in South Eastern Nigeria, 27 were randomly selected from 27 communities. Finally, 10 household head respondents were selected from each of the 27 communities, making a total of 270 respondents, out of which 265 were successfully administrated with instruments of data collection. Data for the study were collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected from the respondents with the aid of interview schedule and questionnaire while secondary data came largely from annual financial statements of MFBs as collated and published in statistical bulletins of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Analysis of data collected was done with Multinomial Logistic Regression Model and descriptive statistics such as means and percentages. The study showed, among others, that deposits mobilized from rural communities by MFBs were siphoned out of the communities by way of fixed deposits with commercial banks usually located outside the communities, thereby defeating the sole idea of financial intermediation within the communities. The paper concluded that in spite of modest impact of rural credit facilities from MFBs with respect to deposit mobilization, wide areas for improvement still exist in relation to participation of women in credit facilities, among others. The study recommended the institution of gender equalization policies that would create incentives for increased lending to women.
Promoting Export-Led Economic Growth in Nigeria –The Export Processing Zone Option
(IJHSSI (International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention), 2016) Onwuka, I. O.; Nwafor, M. C.
The volatility in crude oil production in Nigeria, which in recent times, have been heightened by militant attacks on critical oil installations in the Niger Delta area and the continued price spiral in international oil market has once again brought to the front burner anxieties about the future of the oil sector in the Nigerian economy. The unfolding scenario has again exposed the Nigerian economy to downside risks of volatility in oil prices with attendant Mconsequences and multiple effects on the economy and businesses as well. Since the third quarter of 2015, fallen prices of crude oil and fluctuations in crude oil production in Nigeria have conspired to put the country’s economy in dire straits. The oil price has fallen by more than 50 percent since June 2014, when it was $115 a barrel. It is now consistently below $50 and has been as low as $37. These developments have put the nation’s fiscal operations in quandary. The government has rightly responded by putting in place various fiscal and monetary measures to stem the tide. The federal government has adopted some austere measures to cushion the effect of the persistent drop in revenue. However, the implementation of these short-term measures to shore up revenue could be impeded by political exigencies which often times overrides economic rationality. Thus, a more comprehensive and alternative approach that will promote non-oil export will be a better option. To this end, the authors recommend the revitalization and retooling of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) Scheme in order to effectively diversify the economy away from oil to an export-led economy.
Combating money laundering and terrorist financing - the Nigerian experience
(Seahi Publications, 2016) Agu, B. O.; Nwankwo, S. N. P.; Onwuka, I. O.
Money Laundering and Terrorist financing have become a serious problem facing the social, economic and political roots of Nigeria. Money Laundering is a process by which large amounts of illegally obtained money from drug trafficking, terrorist activity or other serious crimes, is given the appearance of having originated from a legitimate source. Terrorist financing is defined to include both legitimate and illegitimate money characterized by concealment of the origin or intended criminal use of the funds. The techniques used to launder money are essentially the same as those used to conceal the sources of, and uses for, terrorist financing. The activities of money launderers and terrorists are highly secretive and do not lend themselves to statistical analysis. These ugly monsters called terrorism and money laundering have adverse impact on the economy and political stability of a country and hence such an activity must be curbed with all seriousness. This paper discussed the concepts, significance and the impact of terrorist financing and money laundering in Nigerian economy. The paper observes that developing countries such as Nigeria and other member states of the ECOWAS and African Union AU face certain challenges in fully implementing the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) recommendations because of lack of capacity and lack of financial resources amongst other reasons. Nations of the world must join hands and resources together in adopting measures aimed at dismantling syndicates engaged in money laundering by resorting to aggressive enforcement of anti-money laundering/ combating financing terrorism (AML/CFT) laws. It is, therefore, important that Nigeria establishes relationships with the international community so as to enhance intelligence gathering and sharing, law enforcement cooperation, economic sanctions, and in turn disrupt the flow of terrorist funding.
Mobile banking or m-banking is becoming a prominent feature in banking operations in Nigeria with more and more banks adopting this technology in order to provide the growing population of their customers with fast, accessible, reliable and quality services. The technology of mobile banking has emerged as a possible powerful provider of bundle of banking services. The mobile banking system involves the use of a mobile device (e.g. phone) to pay for goods or services either at the point of sale or conduct of banking transactions anywhere and anytime. The study evaluated the attitude of bank customers towards the adoption of M-banking services and challenges of mobile phone in conducting banking transactions in Nigeria with analytical focus on Enugu State. The survey research approach was adopted and data were collected from 200 respondents that include bank staff and customers of selected banks in Enugu metropolis. The analysis of data was conducted using descriptive statistical technique. The study revealed that the level of adoption of mobile banking in Enugu State is still low among the middle aged respondents compared to the aged. A massive awareness program to publicize the purpose and benefits derivable from the use of mobile banking should be encouraged. This, it is hoped, will boost the level of adoption of mobile banking services because of the convenience and accessibility offered by this banking platform.
(Seahi Publications, 2016) Agu, B. O.; Nwankwo S. P. N.; Onwuka, I. O.
Mobile banking or m-banking is becoming a prominent feature in banking operations in Nigeria with more and more banks adopting this technology in order to provide the growing population of their customers with fast, accessible, reliable and quality services. The technology of mobile banking has emerged as a possible powerful provider of bundle of banking services. The mobile banking system involves the use of a mobile device (e.g. phone) to pay for goods or services either at the point of sale or conduct of banking transactions anywhere and anytime. The study evaluated the attitude of bank customers towards the adoption of M-banking services and challenges of mobile phone in conducting banking transactions in Nigeria with analytical focus on Enugu State. The survey research approach was adopted and data were collected from 200 respondents that include bank staff and customers of selected banks in Enugu metropolis. The analysis of data was conducted using descriptive statistical technique. The study revealed that the level of adoption of mobile banking in Enugu State is still low among the middle aged respondents compared to the aged. A massive awareness program to publicize the purpose and benefits derivable from the use of mobile banking should be encouraged. This, it is hoped, will boost the level of adoption of mobile banking services because of the convenience and accessibility offered by this banking platform.
Impact of Capital Market on Domestic Resource Mobilization for Economic Development in Nigeria (2000-2015)
(International Organization of Scientific Research (IOSR Journals), 2016) Bertram, O. A.; Nwankwo, S.N.P.; Onwuka, I. O.
The study investigated the impact of Nigerian capital market on domestic resource mobilization for economic development, using time series data from 2000 to 2015. The study employed secondary data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin, the Nigerian Stock Exchange Fact Book and Securities and Exchange Commission database. To evaluate the impact of the independent variables on the dependent, the ordinary least square (OLS) method of estimation was employed. Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test was used to identify the order of integration. Economic growth was proxied by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while the capital market variables considered include: Market Capitalization (MCAP), Total New Issues (TNI) and value of transactions (VLT). Applying Johansen and Juselius co-integration test, the result showed that there was at most one co-integrating equation in the model, implying that there is a long run relationship between the variables in the model. The causality test results suggest bidirectional causation between the GDP and the value of transactions (VLT) and to the GDP but not vice-versa. Using two-tailed test, the F-statistics is significant at 5 percent level of significance. Furthermore, there was no evidence of reverse causation from GDP to market capitalization and there was no evidence of independence causation between the GDP and total new issues (TNI). The study showed that the major problem with domestic resource mobilization in Nigeria have been that not enough savings are being generated to facilitate the required investment. Also, the type of savings available does not easily make financial intermediation possible. The Nigerian stock market has been constrained by policies that tend to make the exchange look like a mechanism by which government raise loan finance rather than an instrument for mobilizing industrial finance. It is recommended therefore that the regulatory authority should appraise and modify the restrictive policies that constrained resource mobilization capacity of the Nigerian capital market
Reversing Nigeria’s food import dependency - agricultural transformation
(Eastern Centre of Science and Education (ECSE), 2017) Onwuka, I. O
Nigeria currently imports foods for domestic consumption of her citizens. This is puzzling because a greater percentage of her population is engaged in agriculture. This is despite the apparent neglect of agriculture since crude oil was discovered in commercial quantities in the early 1970s. Before the discovery of oil in exportable quantities, the country depended largely for her foreign exchange earnings on agricultural exports and the various regions in the country were quite active in agricultural production. The Northern region was noted for the groundnut pyramids that dotted the various parts of the region; the Western region for cocoa and the Eastern region were renowned for palm plantations. This success story was not sustained with the discovery of oil, as agriculture was abandoned and neglected by successive governments in the country. However, the decline in crude oil revenue since 2014 has once again exposed the vulnerability of Nigeria‟s dependence on crude oil as a major earner of foreign exchange. Consequently, Nigeria is finding it difficult to pay for its food import bills and there is hunger in the land. Using exploratory technique with anecdotal evidence, this study highlighted the dangers of relegating agriculture in Nigeria and placed analytical spotlight on agricultural transformation as a solution for reversing the country‟s food import dependency.
Tackling infrastructural gap in Nigeria: the pension fund option
(Redfame Publishing, 2018) Onwuka, I. O.; Nwafor, M. C.
The paper reviewed the prospect of using the hugely untapped pension funds to bridge infrastructural financing gap in Nigeria. Infrastructure financing is estimated to cost Nigeria a total investment of USD2.9 trillion over the next 30 years to bring it to the level that can be competitive and self-sustaining. This huge investment outlay is clearly beyond the yearly fiscal operations of government. However, there is a glimmer of hope by way of pension funds, which as at August, 2016, is in excess of N5.9 trillion. This phenomenal growth in pension funds presents a rare opportunity to bridge the nation's current infrastructure gap by leveraging part of the huge pension assets for developmental purposes. The authors argued that there is need to review the regulatory and institutional framework in pension funds administration to make way for a creative use of some of the pension funds to fund infrastructure-creating a veritable profitable investment outlay for the pension funds contributors and at the same time providing the needed funding for critical infrastructure financing in the country.
Measuring corporate governance performance beyond the financial metrics: A study based on deposit money banks in Nigeria
(John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2019) Onwuka, I. O.; Okoro, B. C.; Onodugo, V. A.
Studies on corporate governance and firm performance have traditionally used financial metrics such as return on investment, return on assets, return on equity, profitable after tax, earnings per share, firm value (Tobin's q), and other quantifiable matrices. These performance measurement indicators, however, do not fully account for the social and environmental benefits derivable from corporate activities. This study differed from this approach by measuring corporate performance of deposit money banks in Nigeria using the sustainability reporting and triple bottom line (TBL) framework. Two TBL‐compliance metrics were developed that tracks the performanceof banks along the TBL parameters, which is more robust than the usual financial indicators. Six banks were selected for the study and were assigned scores based on their relative achievement in the adoption process of 17 identified metrics in the TBL framework. The results showed that Nigerian banks lacked behind in corporate governance performance based onTBL framework. On the aggregate, the level of spending on corporate social activities as a percentage of profit after tax was less than 1% for the 10‐year period reviewed (2013–2017). The study showed that all the sampled banks had put in place policy framework that is in tandem with the TBL template,but there is still a mix match between the policy enunciation and concrete investments needed to be fully TBL complaint. The study recommended that Nigerian banks should devote more resources towards meeting the increasing social, environmental,and ecological demands on them in line with global best practices.
Asset structure and Profitability Nexus – Evidence from Commercial Banks in Nigeria
(Society for Science and Education (SSE), 2019) Onwuka, I. O.; Nwadibu, A.
This paper investigated the Impact of Capital Structure on Profitability of Commercial Banks in Nigeria, between 2005 and 2014. The study carried out Static Analysis of the Nexus between Capital Structure and Profitability of Commercial Banks in Nigeria, with focus on 10 selected Commercial Banks in Nigeria. The techniques of Pooled OLS Estimation, Fixed Effect Estimation (FEE) and Random Effect Estimation (REE) were employed in an attempt to arrive at the most consistent and efficient static estimation of the Panel Mode. The proxies of Debt Finance (DF), Equity Finance (EF) and Debt Equity Ratio (DER) for Capital Structure while Profit after Tax (PAT) is used as a measure of Bank Profitability. The result of the study showed that Debt Finance exert positive but insignificant influence on Commercial Bank’s Profitability, while the ratio of Debt-Equity influence on Commercial Banks’ Profitability was found to be negative for the period investigated. The study therefore recommend that Commercial Banks should be more levered as this significantly influence the level of Profitability, however they should adopt the right finance mix that is not extremely lopsided to obtain the right balance between Business and Financial Risk.
Poverty among Women in Nigeria–Psychological and Economic Perspective: A Study Based On South West, Nigeria
(Canadian Center of Science and Education (CCSE), 2019) Onwuka, I.; Nwadiubu A.; Isiwu. P.
The aim of this study is to provide an evidenced-based psychological and economic perspective on the rising level of poverty among women in Nigeria. The rationale for the study is anchored on the latest reports by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund that Nigeria is now home to the largest number of poorest people in the world. Women constitute over 60% of the poorest people in Nigeria and going by the IMF statistics that Nigeria has over 87 million people in extreme poverty translates to approximately 52 million women on the clutches of extreme poverty. Although there have been efforts by successive governments in Nigeria to improve the livelihood of women in Nigeria and lift them out from poverty, the facts on the ground are not encouraging as a large number of women continues to wallow in extreme poverty. With the benefits of inter-disciplinary research that intersects at the boundaries of finance and psychology, this study investigated possible psychological factors such as job involvement, self-efficacy and goal orientation that could be implicated in this scenario. The study used survey design in two states in South Western Nigeria namely: Lagos and Ogun. 600 women (400 in Lagos and 200 in Ogun) were sampled. The sampling was cross-sectional and respondents were selected through a multi-stage purposive sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was scaled and a step-wise multiple regression was used for testing the hypothesis. Results of the analysis showed that all the explanatory variables namely: self-efficacy, goal orientation and job involvement were significant predictors of women pre-disposition to engaging in productive activities. The result showed that women who are cognitively goal oriented strives to develop skills and are more disposed to take up productive investments (job oriented). Based on these findings, the study recommended, amongst others, that efforts should be made to re-tool the approach to women development in Nigeria through skill acquisition and value reorientation.
Effect of Financial Sector Development on Poverty Alleviation - The Nigerian Experience (1986 – 2018)
(Society for Science and Education (SSE), 2019-06-25) Onwuka, I. O.; Nwadiubu, A.
The study examined the impact of financial sector development on investment in government treasury bills in Nigeria. Financial sector development was proxied by the ratio of money supply to GDP (M2/GDP); private sector credit to GDP (CPS/GDP) and lending interest rate while the dependent variable was measured by the outstanding treasury bills in money market. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design. The study adopted the multiple regression technique while the result of the regression coefficient was subjected to diagnostic tests. The result of the study showed that the level of intermediation and lending interest rate had significant effect on investment in treasury bills in Nigeria as a unit increase in interest rate resulted in 52 percent increase in treasury bills. Also a unit increase in lending rate of banks led to 11 percent increase in investment in treasury bills in Nigeria. Based on the results, the study recommended a systematic reduction in lending interest rates and increase in savings rate to stimulate high investment returns to savers and reduce the credit risk on lending.
Does Financial Liberalization Lead to Poverty Alleviation? New Evidence from Nigeria
(SCHOLINK INC, 2020) Onwuka, I, O.; Odinakachukwu, N. A.
The study examined anew the empirical question of whether financial liberalization induces poverty alleviation. There is a theoretical expectation that liberalizing the financial market will lead to greater savings mobilization, greater access to credit facilities and poverty alleviation. Using a time-series data spanning 38 years (1980-2018), the study analyzed the effect of financial liberalization on credit availability to the private sector, the manufacturing sector especially the small & medium enterprises and the agricultural sector in Nigeria. The Bounds testing approach to co-integration employed within the framework of Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL) was used to generate the coefficients. The coefficient of financial liberalization-though positive in all the parameter estimates, it is not significant. This led us to the conclusion that despite the advantages of financial liberalization, its benefits are yet to bring about significant positive increases or changes in the volume of credit to the private sector and in poverty alleviation. Inferring upon this, we deduced that the continued liberalization of the financial system though indicating a positive long run impact on financial widening (or financial deepening as the case may be), its manifestation on quantum of credit to the private sector and on poverty alleviation is yet to be realized in Nigeria. The study recommended, amongst others, that government should re-think and re-tool the process in ways that will generate stability in the financial system and unleash the potentials of the process to generate greater savings and ultimately greater investment in the real sectors of the economy.
African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement - Does the Facts Support the Benefits for Nigeria?
(Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2020) Onwuka, I. O.; Oroboghae, O. R
Hesitantly, but finally, Nigeria joined the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) with the Nigerian President, Mohammadu Buhari, signing the protocol at the African Union Summit in Niamey on July 7, 2019 based on perceived benefits. This study interrogated the purported benefits for Nigeria using standard trade costs between Nigeria and peer countries in Africa. Using a content analytical framework on a dataset by World Development Indicators and World Integrated Trade Solutions, the study found that average tariff rate in Nigeria is very high when compared to that of her major trading rivals in Africa like Ghana, Egypt and South Africa. Furthermore, the study found Nigeria in a comparative disadvantaged position on the ease of doing business in the same setting. Also, Nigeria’s major export commodity is crude oil and lubricants which has little or no market in the continent. Besides, trade-related infrastructure, especially roads and maritime corridors, in Nigeria is poor even by African standards. With these structural problems, ipso facto, Nigeria may not benefit maximally and comparatively in the enlarged continental market envisioned by the AfCFTA agreement. The study therefore, recommended that Nigerian government should continue to maintain the present cautious approach and refrain from making further commitments on the AfCFTA deal. In the meantime, the country should embark on massive infrastructural and trade-related development, improve the ease of doing business and diversify the economy in order to be in vintage position to exploit the potential opportunities offered by the AfCFTA in the medium-to-long term horizon.
COVID-19 and Corporate Governance Performance: Beyond the Financial Metrics
(Hilaris publishing, 2021) Onwuka, I. O
Corporate governance and more broadly, the performance of corporate boards have traditional been measured using financial metrics. These financial metrics like Return on Investment (ROI), Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Earnings and Profitability Ratio (E and P) are ex-post measure of organizations wellbeing or lack thereof arising from corporate board activities. These financial metrics are, for all intents and purposes, self-serving and one-dimensional measure of corporate performance. They do not fully account for the other dimensions of organization responsibilities especially, the social, health and environmental benefits expected from organization’s activities. The COVID-19 and the changing organizational dynamics have made the case for corporate board’s performance to be assessed beyond the usual financial metrics. In this study, we provide a framework that accounts for the various dimensions of organization activities: finance, social and environmental; the so-called Triple-Bottom (TBL) approaches. A TBL-compliance metric was used to track the performance of selected manufacturing firms in Nigeria using a content analytical technique. The result of the analysis showed that majority of the firms performed remarkably well in areas of profitability and economic value creation but performed less satisfactorily in areas of social and environmental sustainability. On aggregate, the sampled firms committed less than 1 percent of their profit after tax on corporate social responsibility while less than 5 percent of the sampled firms scored above average on the TBL-adoption matrix. From the findings of the study we can conclude that manufacturing firms in Nigeria are yet to be fully committed to social and environmental sustainability. The study recommended for a regulatory re-jig away from the usual mandatory declaration of commitment to concrete actions based on measurable indicators on social and environmental sustainability compliance.
Microcredit and poverty alleviation in Nigeria in COVID-19 pandemic
(Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP), 2021) Onwuka, I. O.
Microcredit is a financial service whose importance is often understated. When lack of access to microcredit is exacerbated by a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic, its real significance as an essential service in poverty alleviation becomes more apparent. The outbreak and spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to dramatic transformations of every sector of the Nigerian society including microcredit delivery system, where formal and informal actors co-exist often in an uneasy relationship. Unfortunately, strategies for inclusive microcredit delivery before and during the COVID-19 pandemic are lacking in Nigeria, fuelling the further exclusion of informal sector in microcredit governance and policy process in Nigeria. The paper reviews the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria and identifies policy gaps in microcredit delivery and governance mechanism. The study also highlights the linkages between COVID-19 and microcredit in poverty alleviation with a view to catalyzing increased and inclusive access to microcredit and sustainability policy in Nigeria. It is argued that acknowledging the role of microcredit in informal economy and poverty alleviation is the critical first step towards framing a sustainable microcredit policy in which primary stakeholders are involved.
Does microcredit reach the poor and most vulnerable in era of pandemic? – evidence from Nigeria
(FrancoAngeli Edizioni (Italy), 2021) Nwadiubu, A.; Onwuka, I. O.
The study examined the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on households’ income and consumption – two economic measures used in measuring poverty. The study also assessed whether households especially those in rural areas are able to access microcredit because microcredit is a global recognised poverty alleviation strategy. It is widely recognized that access to micro-credit in developing countries empowers the poor (especially women) while supporting income-generating activities, encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit, and reducing vulnerability to shocks. The mixed method approach was adopted by the study. First, the study reviews the state of microcredit delivery in rural communities in Nigeria, identifies policy gaps in microcredit delivery and highlights the linkages between microcredit and poverty alleviation. Secondly, the study using a survey of selected rural communities, assessed whether households are able to access microcredit and other government palliatives put in place to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The study found that majority of households could not access microcredit from formal microfinance institutions instead majority of the households’ resorted to informal institutions with attendant high cost of interest while government palliatives were non-existent in the communities surveyed. The study recommended that acknowledging the role of the informal actors in microcredit delivery is the critical first step towards framing a sustainable microcredit delivery policy in which both the formal and informal institutions are involved in microcredit delivery and governance.
COVID-19 and Corporate Governance Performance: Beyond the Financial Metrics
(IntechOpen, 2021) Onwuka, I. O
Corporate governance and, more broadly, the performance of corporate boards have traditionally been measured using financial metrics. These financial metrics such as Return on Investment (ROI), Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Earnings and Profitability Ratio (E and P) are ex post measure of organizations performance arising from corporate board activities. These financial metrics are largely one-dimensional measure of corporate performance and do not fully account for the other dimensions of organization responsibilities. The COVID-19 and the changing organizational dynamics have made the case for corporate board’s performance to be assessed beyond the usual financial metrics. In this study, we provide a framework that accounts for the various dimensions of organization activities: finance, social and environmental, the Triple-Bottom (TBL) approach. A TBL-compliance metric was constructed, which tracked the performance of selected manufacturing firms in Nigeria using a content analytical technique. The result showed that the majority of the firms performed remarkably well in areas of profitability and economic value creation but less satisfactorily inareas of social and environmental sustainability. On aggregate, the sampled firms committed less than 1% of their profit after tax on corporate social responsibility, while less than 5% of the sampled firms scored above average on the TBL-adoption matrix.
Covid-19 and poverty assessment in Nigeria – the vulnerability approach
(eGrove, 2021) Onwuka, I. O; Oroboghae, O. R
Poverty alleviation has long been recognized as the implicit objective of national development in Nigeria. Indeed, successive governments in Nigeria has tinkered with different poverty alleviation measures since the early 1980s. Despite these concerted efforts by successive regimes in Nigeria, poverty has defied resolution. If any, poverty has been compounded by the current coronavirus pandemic, which has worsened the fate of the poor in Nigeria. Using analytical technique that is grounded on vulnerability theory, the study showed how the methodology of vulnerability can be applied to yield policy-relevant insights about the poverty dynamics in Nigeria and how the concept can be applied to predict the vulnerability of the poor in the country to the current coronavirus pandemic and future anthropogenic shocks.