Nigerian dairy imports lead to an annual cash outflow of 1.3 billion USD. To mitigate this harmful effect, the Nigerian government urges dairy corporations to source milk locally. FrieslandCampina...Show moreNigerian dairy imports lead to an annual cash outflow of 1.3 billion USD. To mitigate this harmful effect, the Nigerian government urges dairy corporations to source milk locally. FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC (FCW), a subsidiary of the Dutch multinational Royal Friesland Campina N.V. (FC), is the market leader in Nigeria and launched the mDairy pilot with the goal of enhancing the local sourcing of milk. The two primary functions of mDairy are milk tracing and e-extension on innovative dairy practices. To investigate whether m-Agri services can bring significant contributions to the Nigerian dairy sector, I employed a case study on mDairy where I compared it with m-Agri services that Dutch dairy farmers successfully use. I conducted nineteen interviews on eleven different stakeholders and conclude that there are two obstacles that need to be overcome before mDairy can be used on a nation-wide scale. Firstly, Nigerian farmers need to undergo an ideological and behavioural change as they need to be more aware of and better understand innovative dairy practices. One-on-one contact, potentially with Dutch farmers, can foster this. Secondly, I argue from world-systems theory (WST) that a fundamental change is required as Nigerian farmers compete with their fresh whole milk against the imported fat-filled milk powder (FFMP). These are two different products and the latter is less nutritious. Importing FFMP is cheaper than sourcing milk locally because FFMP is primarily made from a by-products which can be sold at a very low price. I find that sourcing whole milk locally may be cheaper than importing whole milk or whole milk powder. Nigeria finds itself in a difficult position since it does not have the machinery to produce FFMP itself and it has limited power to make demands on dairy corporations since it is dependent on these corporations for the country’s dairy supply.Show less
Casa do Fernandez or Ilojo Bar was a National Monument in the heart of Lagos Island, Nigeria. It was built by the returnees who came back from Brazil to Africa, the homeland that the Transatlantic...Show moreCasa do Fernandez or Ilojo Bar was a National Monument in the heart of Lagos Island, Nigeria. It was built by the returnees who came back from Brazil to Africa, the homeland that the Transatlantic Slave Trade had taken their forefathers away from. Although it was a National Monument and should have been protected under Nigerian heritage law, it was illegally demolished on 11 September 2016. How could this prime example of Brazilian-style architecture have been destroyed in broad daylight? This thesis uses Casa do Fernandez as a case study to explore the challenges of preserving built heritage in Nigeria. In the process, it tries to figure out why there is so little knowledge about the history of a building declared a National Monument over sixty years ago. The story of the monument turns out to be different than always assumed. After researching the building’s history, the focus is turned to heritage: the way the present interacts with the past. Could the way Casa do Fernandez has been defined as heritage have something to do with its sad end? The thesis argues that the rigid definition of Casa do Fernandez as strictly Afro-Brazilian heritage detached the site of its cultural meaning to other groups in society and sowed the seeds of the eventual demise of the National Monument. It is a plea for a wider and more inclusive interpretation of this heritage-site in particular and of heritage in general.Show less
The African continent is about to play a prominent role on the world stage, yet challenges regarding health, environment, corruption and inequality remain. To address this, previous years have...Show moreThe African continent is about to play a prominent role on the world stage, yet challenges regarding health, environment, corruption and inequality remain. To address this, previous years have witnessed the rise of ‘social entrepreneurship’ in sub-Sahara Africa. Incorporating a societal or environmental vision at its core, the social enterprise has the potential to be particularly effective in stimulating (local) economic growth. In their own environment, these social entrepreneurs face an array of unique challenges that ordinary Western business literature does not cover. This thesis makes a case to acknowledge the context in which these social entrepreneurs operate and investigates how they incorporate Western business tools in their own strategies. It also considers the importance of knowledge interpretation and creation and the influence of urbanization, globalization and digitalization on this process. The research questions are: How are Western business concepts and technologies interpreted and applied by local social entrepreneurs in Lagos, Nigeria and in what ways are they helpful in tackling the social entrepreneur’s unique challenges? Additionally, this thesis examines whether there are other sources from which local social entrepreneurs can derive strategies and tools in order to solve their problems and become more effective in creating impact. The findings, which are based on a single case study and a focus group discussion with several Lagos-based social entrepreneurs suggest that while Western business concepts can be very useful on some levels, the local social entrepreneurs have difficulty in effectively applying them to their own situation. Finally, the discoveries in this thesis suggest that African social entrepreneurs can tackle these challenges by creating, recording and sharing their own data and knowledge with each other in order to seize agency in the field of social entrepreneurship.Show less
This research was designed to identify and critically examine social-economic conditions of IDPs in 10 informal settlements in Abuja, Nigeria. Data were collected mainly in the face-to face...Show moreThis research was designed to identify and critically examine social-economic conditions of IDPs in 10 informal settlements in Abuja, Nigeria. Data were collected mainly in the face-to face interviews, observations and informal discussion group. The results show that IDPs in informal settlements are vulnerable and live in very poor conditions. The most alarming data is that some of them have not received any kind support from the Government in years. For this reason, it is important to fill the gap of knowledge in this field in order to provide authorities and other actors (NGOs and international organization) updated data.Show less
This thesis serves to politically conceptualize and explain the popularity of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. The paper focused on the choice of students and employees Covenant University to join that...Show moreThis thesis serves to politically conceptualize and explain the popularity of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. The paper focused on the choice of students and employees Covenant University to join that same university. Covenant University is a private university which is a subsidiary of the Living Faith Church Worldwide (LFCWW), one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. This choice of university represents a clear choice to affiliate with or join the Pentecostal community and faith. Covenant University is also a community under full control of the church and a Pentecostal societal model. As an multidisciplinary project, the thesis involved using system-level conceptual analysis of political theory combined with an anthropological ethnographic micro-level study of the Covenant University community. The main argument of the thesis is that while the Nigerian sociopolitical landscape is in a state of disorder, meaning that it is void of a supraethnoreligious ethic and is plagued by extreme violence in everyday life, Covenant University and the LFCWW present themselves as communities of order. This is because they are governed by an overarching ethic derived from scripture and because the main compound of the LFCWW is safe contrasted to the Nigerian public space. Church members and staff explicitly separate themselves from the non-believing populous and the government in a dichotomous friend-enemy fashion. The thesis concludes that the choice of Covenant University as a workplace or place of study constitutes a political choice of order over disorder. As this choice mirrors becoming a Pentecostal church member, the analysis of it bares the political importance the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria.Show less
This thesis presents the results of an (official) six-month period of fieldwork research among two different groups in two countries: undocumented Nigerians in the Netherlands and Nigerians that...Show moreThis thesis presents the results of an (official) six-month period of fieldwork research among two different groups in two countries: undocumented Nigerians in the Netherlands and Nigerians that have returned to Nigeria after they had been undocumented in the Netherlands.The thesis presents three main topics: policies towards returns in the Netherlands and how these policies are implemented on the ground in Nigeria; the lives of undocumented Nigerians in the Netherlands; and the lives of those that have returned to Nigeria. How do undocumented Nigerians themselves perceive returning? The thesis presents different aspects related to their perceptions, their lives, strategies, constraints and fears. And how do those that have returned perceived their return? Accounts of their lives after return reveal the constraints, exclusion, shame and stigma that can shape their new lives.Show less
Given the success of African women’s literature in disseminating the African Womanist cause, this study examines popular Nigerian women’s lifestyle magazines to ascertain whether and in what ways...Show moreGiven the success of African women’s literature in disseminating the African Womanist cause, this study examines popular Nigerian women’s lifestyle magazines to ascertain whether and in what ways they are able to reflect, reinforce or contradict the African feminist agenda.Taking an interdisciplinary approach applying qualitative content analysis from literary studies to the content and feature articles of two Nigerian women’s magazines, this study thematically analyzes discourses and practices of femininity in the Nigerian media. Viewed from the African Womanist perspective, this research illustrates that, contrary to the generalization that representations of women in the media are stereotypical and destructive to women, Nigerian women’s lifestyle magazines construct positive images of femininity. Women are portrayed as actively carving out spaces for more freedom of choice and achievement for themselves in work, marriage and motherhood as well as issues that pertain to gender equality and empowerment. Magazine discourse thus mirrors the African feminist agenda, affirming that women’s sectional media can act as vehicles for the positive identity formation of women. Through the application of methods and paradigms from African women’s literary studies to the media, this research contributes to the current shifts in methodological approaches to feminist media studies and provides an understanding of how the mass media can play a role in women’s empowerment.Show less
