The Nation Newspaper

Tag: researchers

  • Researchers seek redesign, extension of Amnesty Programme

    Researchers seek redesign, extension of Amnesty Programme

    A group of researchers have described the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme as a smoke screen.

    The group said the five- year-old rehabilitation programme failed to address the main issues which led to insurgency in the region, insisting that it is a failure, just as the N65,000 monthly stipends paid to ex-militants as of no value.

    The study was conducted by Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP), an NGO through the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Port Harcourt, the exercise also identified some factors that would likely degenerate the relative peace the program has so far achieved if not well managed.

    Speaking in a one-day Policy planning/dissemination workshop on the research in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, stakeholders blamed the failure on its original design and implementation, which according to them focused on ex-militants only, but neglected the communities and other youths of the region and called for a redesign.

    Speaking with reporters, the technical team leader of the researchers, Sofiri Joab-Peterside, said the workshop was meant to give stakeholders from the region the chance to make look at the report and make inputs on what would form a policy brief for President Mohammadu Buhari’s government on amnesty programme.He said:  “The team has completed their research and has presented the report of their findings to the wider stakeholders, with the view of making inputs on what ought to be the policy publication of the outcome of the study.

    “This basically was aimed at assisting the incoming government of President Mohammadu Buhari on what to do with the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta region.

    Speaking on the outcome of the study, he said: “It showed that most of the issues being generated by militancy in the Niger Delta have actually not been addressed, for example the issue of development.”

    He added: “The research carried out in six of the nine states of the region including, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa Delta, Edo, Rivers and Ondo revealed that the way the amnesty programme was designed and implemented did not actually address most of the challenges which we see in the area in terms of development.

    “There is also the issue of exclusion. Some segments of the population felt that they were excluded from the design and implementation of the programme.

    “We also discovered some likely conflict escalators in the post Niger Delta period, like we discovered that there was a decline in violence but upsurge in oil theft, and emergence of illegal refineries across the region, a development that have created more environmental hazards in the area.

    “There is also the likelihood of escalated political violence in the post amnesty Niger Delta region, if not well handled.

    “These findings ostensibly are meant to draw attention on what needs to be done to solve these problems. Also the trauma created by the issue of displacement of persons as a result of militant activities in these communities and the extent in which the programme has not actually made provision for the reconciliation and of these former militants with their communities also poses a challenge the way we found a post Niger Delta region amnesty.

    “ Again the government thinks that the program should end in 2015, but facts available shows that the program was originally designed to carter for 16,000 persons, later it was increased to 20,00 and at present there are over 110,00 persons that are yet to be trained in skill. If that is not properly addressed and also with the issue of the plan to stop the payment of the N65, 000 stipends to the ex-militants, we are therefore of the thinking that these are issues that if not well handled may relapse into violence which the amnesty program sort to checkmate.

    “The essence of the stakeholders meeting therefore is to present our findings to them and allow them to make inputs and decisions before we can come up with planned policy brief document for the program to the in-coming government to look at.”

  • Researchers claim new Windows security weakness

    Computer security researchers said they have uncovered a new variation on an old weakness in Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system that could theoretically allow hackers to steal login credentials from hundreds of millions of PCs.

    The vulnerability, named ‘Redirect to SMB’ by security firm Cylance, is similar to one found in the late 1990s that took advantage of a weakness in Windows and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser which made it possible for attackers to trick Windows into signing on to a server controlled by hackers.

    According to Cylance, if a hacker can get a Windows user to click on a bad link in an email or on a website, it can essentially hijack communications and steal sensitive information once the user’s computer has logged on to the controlled sever.

    In the latest variation of the technique, Cylance said users could be hacked without even clicking on a link, if attackers intercept automated requests to log on to a remote server issued by applications running in the background of a typical Windows machine, for example to check for software updates.

    The attack takes advantage of features in Windows Server Message Block, commonly known as SMB. The new variation, discovered by Cylance researcher Brian Wallace, has so far only been recreated in the laboratory and has not been seen on computers in the outside world.

    Microsoft said the threat posed by the purported weakness was not as great as Cylance supposed.

    “Several factors would need to converge for a ‘man-in-the-middle’ cyberattack to occur. Our guidance was updated in a Security Research and Defense blog in 2009, to help address potential threats of this nature,” said Microsoft in an emailed statement. “There are also features in Windows, such as Extended Protection for Authentication, which enhances existing defenses for handling network connection credentials.”

    The CERT unit of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, a federally funded body which tracks computer bugs and internet security issues, issued a warning about the vulnerability on Monday.

    It said it was unaware of a full solution to the problem, but suggested several ways of minimizing the vulnerability.

  • Terrorism is deepening ethnic distrust, researchers warn

    Researchers at the University of Ibadan (UI) have found that the spate of bombings in Kano has deepened mutual distrust between indigenes and non-indigenes.

    The research also found that most clergy men are rejecting posting to the northern part of the country due to insecurity while churches track their members by opening a register containing their phone and addresses.

    The study entitled: “Effects of Terrorism on Non-indigenes in Sabo-gari Kano State” was carried out by a student of Sociology, Nwanosike Chiamaka Precious, and supervised by Dr Oludayo Tade? at the University of Ibadan.

    While warning that further deterioration of security may make relocation of non-indigenes from the northern states inevitable, the researchers urged Federal government to step up intelligence among its security agencies and stop insecurity and rising terrorism.

    The research which was conducted among residents of Sabon-gari, a predominant settler community in Kano, focused on the effects of terrorism on the socio-economic lives of non-indigenes and their coping strategies. While speaking to newsmen on their findings, the researchers said that terrorism has crippled evangelism, business, and social relations among peoples while restricting their movement to a particular place in the state.

    They quoted a respondent as saying: “We non-indigenes are scared because we do not know their next plan. Whenever we go to the market, we buy quickly and return to our houses. We are scared in terms of school so that they will not go to our children’s school to go and look for them there.”

    Another participant said: “This insecurity is affecting our right to life and right to own property. Nobody can make any investment in this town and nobody is sure of tomorrow. You next door neighbour is number one suspect. One must be careful and focused and watch the next step the person beside you is about to take.”

    The researchers also found that social activities, such as attending parties, birthday, and weddings have reduced, while churches now? record lower attendance, with many projects abandoned as people avoid religious centres. Commenting on that, another respondent “Church crusades are now discouraged while evangelism is at minimal. ?I have stopped going for night programmes. We normally go out for evangelism before but we cannot go because of fear of bomb, and fear of gunmen. Visitation has stopped. We only reach people through mobile phones. But to visit or go to hospital to pray for people that are sick? Those ones have been grounded.”

    The researchers noted that the Book Haram threat has negatively affected the economy of Kano, and that most house owners are being owed rent due to uncertainties over security. Many non-indigenes have relocated their investments away from Kano to the east, west and south while many husbands have sent their wives and children to their home states to reduce the risk of becoming victims.

    This, they attributed to the fact that the men fear starting afresh in a new place after investing in Kano all their lives.

    While calling on the Federal Government to tighten security and build solidarity among Nigerians, they warned about the unintended consequences of allowing terrorism to separate Nigerians through mutual distrust. The researchers also asked police to set up check points around Zungeru and Burma roads where there are no security checks.

     

  • Insecurity robs researchers of funding

    An Ambassador to Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AHF) in Germany, Prof Odunayo Adeboye, has said insecurity has restrained the foundation from sponsoring researchers in Nigeria.

    Adeboye disclosed this at a workshop organised by Humboldt-Kolleg themed: “Harvesting research outcomes: a practical plan to confirm achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)”, held at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

    He said the organisation erroneously believed that all parts of Nigeria are affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.  As a result, he said, they are reluctant to invest their money in a crisis-ridden country.

    He added that the rigorous proposal screening process and non-delivery of stewardship by Nigerians have also affected sponsorship to this part of the country.

    Apart from these, as well as the unfavourable research environment, Adeboye said Nigerians are intelligent and capable of delivering.

    The Nigerian Ambassador to the foundation said research cannot be conducted without power and other infrastructural facilities, adding that there are discoveries, but are not done to benefit people.

    In his welcome address, the convener, Prof. Simeon Olatayo, said in 2000, leaders of member countries of the United Nations adopted the millennium declaration which set out a series of clear commitment, goals and targets to achieve human development.

    He said the MDGs are designed to provide a framework for accountability, donor coordination and resource mobilisation, and provide opportunities to researchers to work on real-life development problems.

    He noted that addressing these problems require multi-disciplinary approaches that combine the natural sciences, the life sciences, technical and social-science approaches.

    “The challenge is to integrate social, economic, political and institutional concerns into research strategy,” he said.

    Olatayo further said the conference hopes to harvest different approaches to achieve MDGs and  stimulate collaboration and research interests among concerned experts such as Educationists, Sociologist, Economists,Agronomist, Agricultural Engineers, Civil Engineers, and Environmental Scientists.

    The guest lecturer, Prof. Adetanwa Odebiyi of the Sociology and Psychology Department, Lead City University, described research outcome harvesting as an evaluation approach; a participative tool enabling stakeholders to identify, formulate, verify and make sense of outcome.

    She said a major factor limiting effectiveness of academic researches is a weak bridge between researchers and policy makers adding that, the weak link is attributed to communication, priorities, and openness.

    Prof Odebiyi added that research provides information about trends and risk factors concerning a phenomenon; while a research environment affects research practices and outcome with a caveat that available resources for research in a society depends on political system.

     

  • Social factors limit African women researchers, says don

    The Acting Head, Department of Hospitality and Tourism, College of Food Science and Human Ecology (COLFHEC), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) and a Fellow, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), Dr. Mobolaji Omemu, has said that social factors hinder the careers of African women researchers.

    She identified cultural norms, family demands, gender inequality, lack of role models, lack of leadership skills, organisational support, and age barrier as some of the major challenges that stall the progress of women researchers.

    Delivering her address at a Role Modelling Event of AWARD, held recently in the University with the theme: “Blocking the Leaky Pipeline: Career Advancement Strategies for Young Women in Science,” Dr. Omemu noted that the number of women that enrolled into agricultural sciences and other related courses was steadily increasing, but is not commensurate with the number of women researchers who move up the career ladder.

    She called for greater commitment, focus and determination from women researchers and encouraged them to always choose younger women that they can mentor.

    Underscoring the importance of planning to career success, the Chairperson, Admissions Committee, FUNAAB, Prof Yemisi Eromosele, recommended that young women researchers should make plans for what they hope to achieve five to 10 years after graduation.

    In his keynote address, the FUNAAB Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olusola Oyewole, said that women who had reached the peak of their careers and fought for their dreams, deserved to be celebrated.

    He added that he lookred forward to a time women would hold 40 percent of leadership positions in the university system.

    He encouraged women to strive for excellence despite the challenges they might face.

  • Govt urged to support traditional researchers

    Govt urged to support traditional researchers

    Can traditional medicine provide the breakthrough in the cure for the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)? Yes. A traditional medicine practitioner, Mr. Temitayo Adeyemi  Omo Oba has indicated his belief that if given the necessary government support and encouragement, traditional  medicine practitioners can undertake research works to discover  a cure for the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

    Speaking at his Alfa Nla Street, Agege, Lagos headquarters of his Trado medical office, Adeyemi expressed optimism that a long time research by indigenous native doctors can bring a breakthrough into finding a curable medicine for the disease.

    Adeyemi, the Vice National President of the Herbal Therapy Society of Nigeria believes Ebola can be cured if adequately researched into, since traditional healers have been treating small pox and other deadly diseases, successfully. “EVD and small pox do have some signs and symptoms in common. Traditional medicine practitioners have the ingenuity to rise to the occasion if given research,” he said.

    Adeyemi praised the  Federal and state governments for the support  accorded trado-medical healers, “in terms of encouragement, suggestions and giving room for occasional meetings between them and us, particularly in their wish for us to make our medical products well packaged to meet international standard, to attract exports and foreign exchange.

    “I see a bright future for native doctors in the country, even now that they are dynamic in the fight against Ebola, just as their mooted participation in the teaching of traditional medicine at the proposed university is a step that scores the government high”.

  • AIDS researchers ponder reported cure

    AIDS researchers ponder reported cure

    AIDS researchers, advocacy organisations and global health officials spent Monday trying to determine whether the report that a baby girl born in Mississippi was cured of the infection is a therapeutic breakthrough or a scientific curiosity.

    Even if the report proves true, aggressive HIV treatment starting at birth has no obvious relevance to adults, who are by far the biggest age group infected each year, a Washington Post reported said. Even in newborns it may be of little practical use, as nearly all mother-to-child infections can be prevented by a simpler strategy that is not yet fully implemented around the world.

    At the same time, news of a cured patient — the girl, now two and a half, would be only the second on record — has caught the world’s eye. Scientists are confident that even if the case isn’t a signpost to the future, it is of great importance right now.

    “Just like the first case [of a cure], it is generating a tremendous amount of attention and more importantly a tremendous number of testable hypotheses,” said Steven Deeks, an AIDS researcher at the University of California at San Francisco and a leader of the effort to reinvigorate the search for an AIDS cure.

    “I think if that is confirmed, it is one of the greatest pieces of news we can have,” said Michel Sidibé, director of UNAIDS. “It can bring us one step closer to the AIDS-free generation.”

    Sidibé, who spoke from Botswana, said UNAIDS will soon convene a meeting of researchers and global health officials to discuss how and where to test the Mississippi strategy. The most likely sites are in sub-Saharan Africa, where 91 per cent of mother-to-child infections occur.

    “More studies need to be done to understand the outcome,” he said.

    UNAIDS’s deputy director for science, Luiz Loures, said designing a clinical trial to test the Mississippi strategy “is not a major challenge.” Implementing it on a large scale is another matter. That would require laboratory equipment that detects the virus, which is not available in many rural settings in the developing world.

    About 330,000 babies become infected with HIV each year, either in the womb, during delivery, or through breast-feeding. That number has fallen steadily in recent years as countries have implemented a prevention strategy that can cut the mother-to-child rate of transmission from 30 percent to 1 percent. The Mississippi case, described at a scientific meeting in Atlanta, suggests a tool that could reduce the number further.