Author: Grace Abu

Cashew, botanically known as ANACARDIUM OCCIDENTALE, was introduced to Nigeria by Portuguese explorers but quickly became popular in 1950s when it was commercially planted in the eastern regions of Oghe, Oji and Mbala and also in the western regions of Iwo, Eruwa and Upper Ogun by the defunct Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation (ENDC) and Western Nigeria Development Corporation (WNDC) respectively.  Presently cashew is produced in the following states of Abia, Abuja, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Oyo and Osun. Nigeria is currently the 4th largest producer of cashew nut in the world. This alone speaks volumes. There is so…

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For a country to be ideally independent, such a country has to be self-sufficient. When a country has difficulty in producing what it consumes, then there is an imbalance of trade and that will affect the per-capital income of the country. If a country cannot achieve self-sufficiency in technology, resources, or other sectors due to environmental location and/or other factors; it should at least be able to achieve much in terms of food production (agriculture). For a country like Nigeria; the acclaimed giant of Africa; that has over 200 million citizens; it is imperative for her to be able to…

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Palm tree is one of the richest trees on earth when it comes to the natural endowment. No part of the palm tree is wasted, every part of it can be converted into monetary gain. There are enormous products you can get from a palm tree, some are known to us, and some are totally unknown to us. Let’s look at various things we can use different parts of a palm tree to make: Palm oil Wood or planks Palm wine Broom Palm Kernel Frond stall Mats Basket Palm kernel etc. Palm oil –  is the most popular product we…

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Male victims of sexual assault are largely neglected in our society. Majority of sexual assault are perpetrated by the men, but the real fact is that 1 out of every 10 men is a victim of sexual assault either by a man or by a woman. Males are being abused in our society and it’s not being addressed because our society fails to see that men can be victims of abuse, men find it difficult to seek help and support even at a very tender age. Whenever rape is mentioned, what usually comes to the mind of people is a…

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Child marriage is a marriage of a girl or a boy before the age of 18 and it refers to both formal and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.  The reasons girls are married are diverse, parents sometimes believe that through marriage, they are protecting their daughters and increasing their economic opportunities. However, child marriage exposes girls to increased health problems and violence, denies them access to social network and support systems, and perpetuates a cycle of poverty and gender inequality. Early child marriage is a violation of children’s…

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Literally, All Fingers Are Not Equal; but in practice, when the hand wants to perform the function of eating, all the fingers are involved. Though some play more important roles than others but they all have equal opportunity to participate. As ordinary as it looks and seems, this is the stack reality about the role of gender in our society. Everyone has a unique and distinctive role to play in human societal development and for societal balance and equity, it is pertinent that everyone is given an equal opportunity for one to effectively contribute his/her quotas to the society. This…

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Female genital mutilation has lasting physical, medical and mental consequences that needs to be discussed so that girls and women no longer have to suffer in silence. According to the world health organization (WHO), female genital mutilation is all procedure that involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injuries to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. This practice is deep-rooted in gender disparity, cultural uniqueness and ideas about purity, ethics, modesty, status and honour. Moreover, it acts as a trial to manage women’s sexual desire thus promoting chastity and fidelity. It is estimated according…

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Children are not the face of this pandemic. But they risk being among its biggest victims. While they have thankfully been largely spared from the direct health effects of COVID-19 at least to date the crisis is having a profound effect on their wellbeing. All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures that may inadvertently do more harm than good. This is a universal crisis and, for some children, the impact will be lifelong. Moreover, the harmful effects of this pandemic will not…

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Rape incidence in Nigeria for women and girls as recorded by the National Bureau of statistics in May 2019, was 63.04% in 2015, increased to 72.13% in 2016 and decreased to 69.33% in 2017. Violence and crime are social ills that threaten the peaceful coexistence of humanity and the realization of equality, development and social peace. Rape, a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration, perpetrated against a person without their consent. This can be carried out either by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or against a person who is incapable of…

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