Abstract. Soil erosion is one of the most critical environmental hazards that causes land degradation and water quality challenges. Specifically, this phenomenon has been linked, among other problems, to river sedimentation, groundwater pollution and flooding. This paper assesses the susceptibility of Orashi River Basin (ORB) to soil erosion for the purpose of erosion control measures. Located in the South Eastern part of Nigeria, the ORB which covers approximately 413.61 km 2 is currently experiencing one of the fastest population growth rate in the region. Analysis of the soil erosion susceptibility of the basin was based on four factors including; rainfall, Land use/Land cover change (LULC), slope and soil erodibility factor (k). The rainfall was assumed to be a constant and independent variable, slope and soil types were categorised into ten (10) classes each while the landuse was categorised into five classes. Weight was assigned to the classes based on the degree of susceptibility to erosion. An overlay of the four variables in a GIS environment was used to produce the basin susceptibility to soil erosion. This was based on the weight index of each factors. The LULC analysis revealed that built-up land use increased from 26.49 km 2 (6.4 %) in year 1980 to 79.24 km 2 (19.16 %) in 2015 at an average growth rate of 1.51 km 2 per annum while the light forest decreased from 336.41 km 2 (81.33 %) in 1980 to 280.82 km 2 (67.89 %) in 2015 at an average rate 1.59 km 2 per annum. The light forest was adjudged to have the highest land cover soil erosion susceptibility. The steepest slope ranges between 70 and 82 • (14.34 % of the total land area) and was adjudged to have the highest soil susceptibility to erosion. The total area covered of the loamy soil is 112.37 km 2 (27.07 %) with erodibility of 0.7. In all, the overlay of all the variables revealed that 106.66 km 2 (25.70 %) and 164.80 km 2 (39.7 %) of the basin has a high and very high susceptibility to soil erosion. The over 50 % high susceptibility of catchment has serious negative implications on the surface water in terms of water quality and downstream siltation with great consequences on biodiversity and ecosystem services including domestic and industrial usage.

The main objective of this study was to examine the influence of socio-demographic characteristics, community characteristics and fear of crime on self-reported health status among residents in selected communities in Lagos, Nigeria. The study was conducted in four selected communities in Lagos, namely Mushin, Idi-Oro, Idi-Araba and Surulere. Cross-sectional design survey was used to select 799 respondents using stratified sampling technique. Data were analysed at univariate, bivariate and ordinal logistic regression using SPSS version 22.0. Majority of the respondents rated their self-reported health status as excellent to good. The findings show that education increases the chances of achieving excellent to good selfreported health status; that female respondent reported excellent to good self-reported health status compared to the male respondents Also, Christians and Muslims reported excellent to good self-reported health status. Safely walking alone at night/day in the community positively affected self-reported health status. Fear of crime has direct relationship with self-reported health status. Sociodemographic, community characteristics and fear of crime influence self-reported health status. Policy on crime control should be specific at reducing fear of crime at individual and community levels to promote healthy individuals and communities.

A large body of research examines questions relating to the quality of Nigeria’s elections, focusing on the mechanisms of fraud, the likelihood of violence, or the virtues of administrative reform. After briefly summarizing these issues, this chapter focuses on important reforms contained in a 2010 electoral reform law, such as new rules pertaining to party primaries and requirements to post electoral results at the polling unit level. It then asks why these reforms passed. Most explanations focus on the change of leadership in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). However, the chapter points to reform-minded coalitions in the National Assembly that emerged during presidential leadership crises in 2006 and 2010, as well as important shifts within civil society that increased INEC’s operational latitude and provided political “cover” from partisan interference. The complementary convergence of a coalition for reform inside government and a constituency for reform outside government, were critical to the successful conduct of the 2011 and 2015 elections.

Crimes are pervasive with the potential to disrupt the community’s socio-economic activities and academic learning. The College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL) Idi-Araba campus neighbourhood is predominantly slum both in physical and social characteristics thus vulnerable to criminal activities. Mapping the distribution of human activities and other geographic features that are potential crime locations (PCLs) around the university environment has not been given extensive attention. This study uses Geographic Information Science (GIS) to identify PCLs within and around the CMUL neighbourhood. An intensive field campaign through Global Positioning System (GPS) deployment was carried out and collected data were processed and analyzed using buffer tool in ArcMap 10.8 GIS environment. Classification and ranking of human activities and other spatial features as PCLs were based on neighbourhood characteristics influencing crime while the proximity of law enforcement agencies was carried out at 500, 1000 and 1,500 meters’ buffers to the CMUL. Results show that five of the nine very high PCLs including motor parks and bus stops are within the 500m of the CMUL while fifteen (15) of the forty-two (42) high PCLs such as beer sale shops, banks, and motels are within 500m buffer. Only one of three police stations within the study area is a divisional headquarters while the other two are police posts. The current situation may embolden determined criminals to perpetrate activities to the detriment of academic learning. It is recommended that surveillance be mounted at the high PCLs and regular patrol of security agents within the study area should be put in place. Les crimes sont omniprésents et peuvent perturber les activités socio-économiques de la communauté et l’apprentissage scolaire. Le quartier du campus Idi-Araba du Collège de médecine de l’Université de Lagos (CMUL) est principalement un bidonville à la fois dans ses caractéristiques physiques et sociales, donc vulnérable aux activités criminelles. La cartographie de la répartition des activités humaines et d’autres caractéristiques géographiques qui sont des emplacements potentiels de criminalité (PCL) autour de l’environnement universitaire n’a pas fait l’objet d’une attention particulière. Cette étude utilise la science de l’information géographique (SIG) pour identifier les PCL à l’intérieur et autour du quartier CMUL. Une campagne intensive sur le terrain par le biais du déploiement du système de positionnement global (GPS) a été menée et les données collectées ont été traitées et analysées à l’aide de l’outil tampon dans l’environnement SIG ArcMap 10.8. La classification et le classement des activités humaines et d’autres caractéristiques spatiales en tant que LCP étaient basés sur les caractéristiques du quartier influençant la criminalité, tandis que la proximité des organismes d’application de la loi était effectuée à 500, 1000 et 1 500 mètres de tampons de la CMUL. Les résultats montrent que cinq des neuf PCL très élevés, y compris les parcs automobiles et les arrêts d’autobus, se trouvent à moins de 500 m de la CMUL, tandis que quinze (15) des quarante-deux (42) PCL élevées telles que les magasins de vente de bière, les banques et les motels se trouvent à moins de 500 m de zone tampon. Un seul des trois postes de police situés dans la zone d’étude est un quartier général divisionnaire, tandis que les deux autres sont des postes de police. La situation actuelle peut encourager les criminels déterminés à perpétrer des activités au détriment de l’apprentissage scolaire. Il est recommandé d’installer une surveillance aux LCP élevées et de mettre en place une patrouille régulière des agents de sécurité dans la zone d’étude.