MEDIA EXPOSURE, KNOWLEDGE AND ADOPTION OF AGRICULTURAL INNOVATIONS AMONG FARMERS IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA
Uwem Asuquo Akpan, Department of Mass Communication, Heritage Polytechnic, Eket, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Bulletin | Page 01 to 19
Abstract
This study investigated the media exposure, knowledge and adoption of agricultural innovations among farmers in South-South Nigeria. Specifically, the objectives were to examine the extent of farmers’ exposure to media messages on agricultural innovations in South-South Nigeria; assess the level of farmers’ knowledge of agricultural innovations acquired through media exposure in South-South Nigeria; and determine the extent to which media exposure influences the adoption of agricultural innovations among farmers in South-South Nigeria.The study was anchored on Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation Theory and Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model, both of which provided explanatory insights into how innovations spread and the factors that shape farmers’ decisions to accept or reject them. The survey research design was adopted, with a population of 4,218,890 registered farmers across six South-South states, from which a sample size of 400 respondents was drawn using Taro Yamane’s formula. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analysed using bar charts. Findings revealed that while a fair proportion of farmers were aware of innovations, awareness was largely at a moderate level; knowledge was similarly moderate, with many respondents lacking the depth required for effective application; and adoption remained low, constrained by infrastructural deficits, institutional gaps and socio-economic barriers. The study concluded that farmers in South-South Nigeria have moderate exposure to media messages on agricultural innovations, which translates into moderate knowledge and adoption levels. This pattern indicates that while media platforms effectively raise awareness, their impact on practical adoption remains limited by economic, institutional, and infrastructural constraints. It was recommended that extension agencies, agricultural media units, and development partners should expand and diversify media campaigns on agricultural innovations using radio, community broadcasts, and social media platforms that farmers in South-South Nigeria can easily access. Strengthening such exposure will ensure that information reaches even remote communities in timely and comprehensible formats.
Keywords: Agricultural innovation; Farmers; Knowledge; Awareness; Adoption; South-South Nigeria
Parochialism and Divarication in the Reparation, Restitution and Restoration Colloquy in African History
Nkeh Julius, Dr in Banking and Finance, Graduate Teaching Assistant (Department of Banking and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management Science) and Part-Time Lecturer (Higer Institute of Commerce and Management)-The University of Bamenda, Cameroon.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Bulletin | Page 01 to 32
Abstract
Africa’s experiences with the west is informed by three major historical periods: The slave trade era, marked by the most brazen dehumanization of the African person and toughest restriction of her potentialities; the era of colonialism wherein, colonialists established themselves in Africa to exact maximum profit for repatriation and so, institutionalized ‘growth without development’ in Africa and the neo-colonial era (which dovetailed with the age of globalization); the most pernicious, for western exploitation this time around, was in connivance with megalomaniac African. Against this osmotic background the backlash was felt in every aspect of the African life. From this backdrop, this paper draws from extant authoritative secondary literature and oral information, to argue that since the slave trade, colonialism and neo-colonialism left almost indelible and ineffaceable hideous imprints on the African continent, the effusing acts and literary discourses on restitution and/restoration to Africa should be correspondingly holistic and eclectic. It follows that, the incipient phase of the restitution colloquy that confines itself to the reparation and repatriation of African cultural and human remains lodged in western museums relapses into parochialism and dimwittedness in the context of the length and depth of western plunder and pillage in Africa. Again, considering that the lead-up for the recent flurrying of restitution literature, seminars and conferences was president Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 speech delivered in Ouagadougou and the ensuing Sarr and Savoy report, this paper further contends that the restoration of African artistic works does not fall short of a smokescreen to other western pernicious schemes in Africa. It is an expression of the Eurocentric cliché notion that only the west can prescribe the panacea for Africa malaise. The thread of reasoning sustained in this paper aligns with the view of Achille Mbembe who intimates that, Europe would not have the right to restitute African objects as it would close easily a difficult chapter of history
Keywords: Transatlantic Slave Trade, Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Emmanuel Macron, Achille Mbembe
Women in Politics, A Decolonial Critique of the Politics of Affirmative Action in Uganda
Ashiraf Mugalula, Research Fellow, Makerere University, Al-Mustafa Islamic College.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Bulletin | Page 01 to 31
Abstract
Drawing on Uganda’s critical gender and political debates, this essay introduces a decolonial critique of Affirmative Action policies. Moving beyond the established debate—which pits liberal proponents (e.g., Mwaka, 1996; Kadaga, 2013; Ahikire, 1994/2013) against feminist critics who highlight its structural limitations (e.g., Tamale; Goetz, 2002)—this paper argues that such policies must be understood as a continuation of the colonial logic of difference. Engaging Mahmood Mamdani’s (1996) analysis of the bifurcated state, I demonstrate how the colonial strategy of “define and rule,” which governed subjects through fixed racial and tribal identities, has been repurposed by the postcolonial state. By constituting “women” as a singular, state-managed political category for empowerment, Affirmative Action inadvertently replicates the foundational colonial practice of mediating citizenship through group identity. Consequently, this well-intentioned framework risks recognizing women not as full, unmediated citizens but as members of a state-defined group. This process, while addressing quantitative underrepresentation, reinforces the very architecture of differentiated rule that sustains the postcolonial state. Ultimately, the essay contends that this logic forecloses more radical, pluralistic, and emancipatory possibilities by tying political agency to a state-sanctioned identity, thereby reproducing the subject-making dynamics it seeks to overcome.
Keywords: Affirmative Action, Decolonial Critique, Colonial Logic of Difference, Bifurcated State, Postcolonial Subjectivity.
The Politics and Dynamics of Exclusion/Inclusion in the Proposed Scientific Elections in Uganda: Some Critical Reflections on the Discourse of Human Rights and Democracy in the Covid-19 Era.
Ashiraf Mugalula, Research Fellow, Makerere University, Al-Mustafa Islamic College.
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Bulletin | Page 01 to 23
Abstract
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated unprecedented shifts in global governance, leading the Ugandan government to propose “scientific elections”—a hybrid electoral model prioritizing digital campaigning and restricted physical gatherings. This article critically examines the politics and dynamics of exclusion and inclusion inherent in this proposal. By interrogating the intersection of public health imperatives and political maneuvering, the study explores how the transition to a “scientific” format risked disenfranchising vulnerable populations with limited digital literacy or access to technology.
Drawing on a critical reflection of human rights and democratic discourse, the analysis argues that while the measures were framed as essential for the “right to health,” they simultaneously undermined the fundamental principles of “free and fair” elections by narrowing the space for political participation and assembly. The findings suggest that the scientific election framework functioned as a double-edged sword: acting as a safety measure against the pandemic while potentially serving as a tool for political incumbency and the systemic exclusion of opposition voices. Ultimately, the article calls for a nuanced understanding of democratic resilience, emphasizing that the protection of health should not necessitate the erosion of the constitutional right to inclusive political engagement.
Keywords: Scientific Elections, COVID-19 Pandemic, Political Exclusion, Human Rights, Democratic Participation.