Tag: Causes

Sep 17

CAUSES, EFFECT AND SOLUTION TO ABANDONMENT OF BUILDING PROJECTS

CAUSES, EFFECT AND SOLUTION TO ABANDONMENT OF BUILDING PROJECTS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

  Background of the study

Over the years, there has been increasing abandonment of building projects and infrastructural facilities which has led to the dilapidation, degradation and deterioration of these building structures within the Nigerian contemporary urban metropolis.

Recently there has been a lot of research investigations and analysis of which points unshakeable to the fact that certain features such as client’s perception, cost of maintenance works, unskilled maintenance technicians, inflation rates, effect of taxation on building owners, Government policies, inability to prepare and follow maintenance schedules are direct causes of neglect which leads to dilapidations and deterioration of building structures (onibokun 1997). There are also the remote causes of lack maintenance such as force majeur, cultural problems, state of the economy, the receding global economic meltdown, lack of time and general illiteracy of the occupants of the building or structure and users of the facilities.

However there has also been growth in the significance of building maintenance as a proportion of the output of the construction industry which takes place against a backdrop of mounting pressure on new build activity and a growing awareness of the need to manage the condition of the nation’s building and infrastructure more effectively (chanter 2007).

 

Though, it is still the case that such maintenance activity takes place in a context that does not create a fully integrated approach to managing building performance and thus the full potential of many buildings and infrastructures are never wholly realized.

Basically in virtually all the towns and city centers within the Nigerian, buildings and infrastructural facilities are gradually and systematically decaying, dilapidating and deteriorating with reduced or no degree of maintenance programme and activity.

From a normal visual perception in the urban metropolis, it can be noted that majority of the

  • constructed buildings both private and public

 

  • road network

 

  • water supply systems

 

  • sanitary and drainage systems

 

  • transmission poles and electricity lines

 

  • government owned telephone networks

 

  • telegraph and postal systems

 

  • sign post and route l0ocation posts

 

are deteriorated and badly in need of maintenance. The lack of maintenance of these buildings and infrastructures negatively affects the populace which thus affects the output of the working class, capacity of the populace is thus lost, time value for achievement of goals and objectives minimized , it also causes all forms

 

of ill-health and psychological effects thereby reducing the economic growth of the nation.

                          Statement of the problem

 

All three spheres of government, together with the state owned enterprise (SOEs), manage major portfolios of immovable infrastructural assets. While there is much emphasis on delivery of infrastructure, delivery does not in fact end with the commissioning of the infrastructural asset. Once the infrastructure has been commissioned, various activities must be carried out which are necessary to ensure that it continues to perform- such as the allocation of necessary budgets and the retention of appropriate staff to maintain the operation of the assets.

“Delivery” needs to be universally understood as embracing not just constructing the infrastructure, but the appropriate operation and maintenance thereafter for the whole design life of the asset.

 

There are so many problems associated with the maintenance of buildings and infrastructural facilities on the economy. One of the serious problems if finance; government financing as regards to maintenance of buildings (both public and private) is minimal. The grant towards maintenance of infrastructural facilities is on its lowest ebb. Most buildings and infrastructures have been neglected by subsequent tenures of government while the private sectors; the individual property owners have little or nothing to contribute towards effective maintenance of their buildings, so long as the buildings affords the owner annual income he could not care less for the maintenance and so long the interior of the building is

 

conducive for the occupants they could not care for outward appearance or other necessary maintenance activity. Another problem to effective maintenance of the built environment in Nigeria is corruption. Certain governments which have the welfare of the populace at heart will foster a well finance programme to cater for the maintenance of certain facilities such as road networks bore hole systems, bridge construction, elevation of the power grid for alleviation of suffering and eventual welfare of the populace but certain corrupted officials will channel these funds for personal aggrandizement. Another serious impediment to maintenance in Nigeria is the state of the economy, according to the united research on profitability index as regards to income per capita of nations of the world; Nigeria is rated as fifth poorest country (UN 2010), which implies that the average Nigerian lives below one dollar per day. As a result of this economic hardship residents and citizens has little or nothing to contribute in terms of effective maintenance of their abode thus leading to neglected effects visualized in our cities and metropolis.

 

Also certain buildings in Nigerian cities were constructed during the pre-colonial era therefore most of these buildings are aged due to wear and tear, weathering and climatic factors over the years thus resulting in dilapidated nature which might not respond positively to modern day maintenance day techniques, the reason for this assertion being 51% repair – replacement strategy, such buildings, the cost of their repairs might equal over 50% cost of new construction.

 

Buildings and infrastructural decay also stems from poor workmanship and poor supervision (Amobi 2003), most of these defects arises from the fact that the skill

 

employed during the production of these buildings are defective, the supervisory most at times is minimal or left in the hands of unskilled foremen thus creating a chasm which will be filled by unprofessional ethics thus resulting in failure in the life of the structure which will eventually be translated to the overall life span of the building/structure.

 

This study aims to identify the shortcomings which militate against the effective maintenance of buildings and infrastructures. Therefore there is need for effective maintenance of all these buildings and infrastructures and also identify the external factors militating against effective maintenance of building and infrastructural facilities to perform its functional requirement.

 

                        Aim and Objectives of the study

 

The aim of this research work is to discover how maintenance of buildings and infrastructures can be effected, effectively to help increase the workers output thus increasing labour efficiency and increasing the income of the nation leading to increased income per capita of the populace.

 

The objectives of this research work are as follows:

 

  • Have a proper look at the level of maintenance attention that buildings and infrastructures within Nigeria
  • Now the current building and infrastructural maintenance practice with a view to improve on

 

  • To pin-point the various difficulties and problems that hamper the efficient execution of an effective maintenance management on buildings and infrastructure in
  • To examine the causes that lead to the deterioration and dilapidations of buildings and
  • To proffer solutions to the menace of lack of maintenance of buildings and infrastructures within

 

In emphasis, this project will show the need for proper maintenance schemes for buildings and infrastructures, that will help reduce maintenance cost, minimize loss of use, improve safety conditions, improve aesthetic values and improve appearance of buildings thereby reduces the cases of collapse of structures and the inherent dangers to life and investment.

 

                        Significance of the study

 

Maintenance of buildings and the general infrastructures has not been given full recognition as an activity of primary importance in Nigeria. Maintenance activities on building and infrastructures in the country are mostly based on expediency, which over a period of time represents a series of ad hoc measures and unrelated compromise between the immediate physical needs and the availability of funds. Thus only about 15% of the total maintenance are remedied. If serious deterioration are not adequately taken care of future generations will be faced with a major capital burden.(Amobi 2003).

 

It is therefore imperative that maintenance activities should be increased/ intensified in order to ensure that the nation’s stock of buildings( factors of production and accommodation) which are considerable investments are used effectively as possible.

 

                        Scope and delimitations

 

This project work covers the entirety of maintenance as regards to buildings and infrastructures with requisite effect it has on the Nigerian nation with reference to shell-camp housing estate, owerri, Imo state.

 

From the conception, design, construction and post construction, the various problems being faced by property developers, owners, users as regards to maintenance of buildings and infrastructures. Much emphasis is placed on the infrastructural aspect of maintenance work such as social and economic infrastructure as well as scope management and its application on the scope of this project.

 

                        Limitation.

 

Enough effort has been put to exhaust the scope aforementioned but time and cost constraint relative to the magnitude of maintenance problems are the major forms of limitations for the total achievement of the project objective.

 

 

 

 

                        Research questions

 

This research work aims to answer these questions

 

  • What is infrastructural and building maintenance?

 

  • What are the direct effects of lack of maintenance to buildings and infrastructures?
  • Does lack of maintenance affect the economy of Nigeria as a nation?

 

  • What are the direct causes of poor maintenance value in Nigeria?

 

  • Does poor maintenance value affect the Nigerian citizenry? How? And why?

 

  • Is poor maintenance value as a result of illiteracy, negligence, contractor’s failure as regards to materials, labour and supervision failure, design failure or activities of the occupants?

 

These and many more are some of the questions this research work aims to satisfy.

 

                        definition of terms

 

Definition of maintenance as regards to buildings and infrastructures

 

Maintenance is a generic term to include planned maintenance, repair and reimbursement and provision of replacement of the structure. The goal of maintenance is to sustain the life of major assets whether building or infrastructure. (According to a training workshop on maintenance of

 

infrastructures between 28 march- 1st April 2011 in kuala lumpur, Malaysia. Organized by International science, technology and innovation centre for south- south co-operation under the auspices of UNESCO).

 

British standard(BS 583) (1974) define maintenance as the combination of all technical and associated administrative actions intended to retain an item in, or restore it to, a state in which it can perform its required function. The requirement for maintenance must not be less than those necessary to meet the relevant requirements and ‘maintained’ is defined in factories act 1961 as “maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair”

 

According to British Standard (BS 3811) maintenance is defined as “works undertaken in order to keep or restore every facility i.e. every part of a building, site and concept to an acceptable standard”. An acceptable standard in building terms is one which sustains the utility and value of the facility.

 

Chartered institute of building (C.I.O.B) UK (1982) went forward to use this definition on maintenance “works undertaken to keep, restore or improve every facility i.e. every part of the building, its services and surroundings to agreed standards determined by the balance between need and available resources.

 

Obiegbu M.E. (1998) defined maintenance as a programmed transformation of a building fabric and services, reflecting changes in pattern of use and technology.

 

Amobi C.O (2006) opined that “maintenance could be defined in engineering terminology as the continuous upkeep, in good condition of a system(s) to achieve

 

operational reliability with maximum design output result, endurance and stability. This definition has been adapted for building maintenance as work undertaken to keep or restore every facility, that is, every part of a site, building and content to acceptable standard. Thus maintenance aims at retaining components, equipment as well as the entire structure at specified level of performance. The acceptable standard inferred must be no less than statutory requirement and one which sustains the facility and the value of the facilities. This may include a degree of improvement over the life of the building as acceptable comfort and amenity standards rise.

Sep 17

Causes And Consequences Of Drug Abuse And Misuse Use Among Secondary School Student

Causes And Consequences Of Drug Abuse And Misuse-Use Among Secondary School Student A Study Of Umuahia North Local Government Area, Abia State

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                           INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Since the early times, herbs, leaves and plants have been used to heal and control diseases. The use of drugs in itself does not constitute any danger, because drugs correctly administered have been a blessing. Falco (1988) as cited by Sambo (2008) viewed that “chronic use of substances can cause serious, sometimes irreversible damage to adolescent’s physical and psychological development. The use of drugs could be beneficial or harmful depending on the mode of use.

Drug is any chemical substance derived from plants, animals or mineral resources, be it traditional or orthodox which is used for internal application to the human body in the treatment of diseases, reduce pain or modify the functions of the various system of the body.

Although drug use has been in for years, the problem of drug abuse has been on the increase in the recent years. Drug is supposed to be dispersed by pharmacists with a doctor’s prescription and usage of drug can be through any of the following; injection, insertion, inhalation, massaging or application on open wounds and cuts. The main purpose of drugs should in reality be directed to its medical functions and it should be used strictly according to the prescription of medical doctors, but in most cases people use drug without the prescription of medical practice. This is referred to as drug abuse. In some cases, these drugs are used wrongly or misused that is using drug meant for certain purposes for other purposes rather than what it is meant for. There are other cases where some people get themselves involved in the use of a particular drug so much that they cannot do without such drug. In this case such a person is said to be addicted to that drug.

Cecilia (2010) opined that medically, drug abuse is the use of drug to an extent that it produces definite impairment of social, psychological or physiological functioning of the user. It is the use of illegal drugs, or the misuse of prescription or over-the-counter drugs. It refers to the use of a drug for purposes for which it is not intended or using a drug in excessive quantities. Such drugs of abuse include tobacco, barbiturates, amphetamines and narcotics. Drug abuse entails a strong cultural and subjective bias, depends on whether a society at a particular point in time views the use of a particular drug as acceptable or not. Therefore, what is regarded as normal use as against pathological abuse varies greatly from drug, quantity, situation to situation, culture to culture or even among subcultures of the same society.

Furthermore, NAFDAC (2000) as cited by Haladu (2003) explained the term drug abuse as excessive and persistent self-administration of a drug without regard to the medically or culturally accepted patterns. It could also be viewed as the use of a drug to the extent that it interferes with the health and social function of an individual.

It has been observed that much of drugs use among youths take place in schools. The incidence of substance use among students is called high or highness (Eneh and Stanley, 2004). Drug and alcohol use during adolescence is almost always a social experience and a learned behaviour (Swaid 1988). One of the important psychological phenomena observed during this period of adolescence is experimentation (Graham, Turk and Verhulst 1999). This behaviour has been found to lead to the trying out of new experiences such as drug and sex, sometimes with dire consequence for the adolescents.

“The growing trend in abuse and production of psychotropic drugs must be reversed…..we must never give in to the human toll illegal drugs are taking on our societies. There are 21 million victims around the world who abuse cocaine and heroin, and 30 million who abuse amphetamine type stimulants. We cannot ease their suffering, or that of their loved ones, unless we fight this.” Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, at the opening of the General Assembly’s 1998 Special Session on World’s Drug Problem. We all face challenges that provide many opportunities for growth and change.

Among these are decisions regarding the role that alcohol and other drugs will have in your life. Odejide (2000) warned that drug abusers who exhibit symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, behaviour changes, fatigue and loss or increase in appetite should be treated by medical experts and counsellors to save them from deadly diseases.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Drug abuse is a general problem in Nigeria today especially in areas where there is no adequate supervision i.e. monitoring of students and effective usage of punishment for deviant behaviours. Recently NDLEA officials reported cases of secondary school students in possession of Indian Hemp. Umuahia North local government Area, has experienced rapid growth of population in recent years, the increasing demand for education has led to more secondary schools being formed. Due to the rapid development, drug use has become common among students in school and home environment and is even affecting their performances in class. Despite the worldwide concern and education about the dangers of drug abuse, most of the students have limited knowledge of how dangerous the habit is (Ngesu, 2008).Many students have dropped out of school and others opted to engage in criminal activities thus endangering the lives of the people living in Umuahia North. The young generation no longer has role models since most of the young Adults are unemployed and under the influence of this drugs.

Despite the government’s concern and heightened campaigns against the vice among secondary school students, there exists a parallel accelerated rate of students who are illicit drug users. Although, students are expected to be aware of the effects of drug abuse and commit themselves to their studies, the habit still exist default of their prior expected awareness of its consequences. Although excessive use of illicit drugs is prevalent in all societies, students with no exception, none of critical studies on factors influencing and prevention of drug abuse, its prevalence comparing schools youth is yet to be conducted in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State (Halimat, 2016). This has been established from a thorough search in the archives and libraries so as to ascertain originality of this study. This has been a green field of research that has greatly prompted the choice Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State as the location of the study.

This study therefore, intended to establish the correlation between academic performance and the use of drugs in secondary schools in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State. Behaviour is a major aspect of life, after observing students behaviour when under the influence of this drugs this study would recommend ways of rehabilitating those already affected and ways of eradicating drug peddling business going on at our schools. The study would also propose policy recommendations to mainstream drug related projects to secure students’ rights to education and the entire young generation.

1.3 Purpose of Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate Causes And Consequences Of Drug Abuse And Misuse-Use Among Secondary School Student A Study Of Umuahia North Local Government Area, Abia State.

The specific objectives of the Study are as follows, which to;

  1. Identify the factors causing increase in the rate of Drug abuse among secondary school students in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State;
  2. Ascertain the types of drugs abused by secondary schooL students in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State;
  3. Assess the influence of drug abuse on the academic achievement of secondary school students in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State;
  4. Determine preventive measures of curbing drug abuse among secondary school students in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State.

1.4 Research Questions

This study would provide answers to the following research questions:

  1. What are the factors causing increase in the rate of Drug abuse among secondary school students in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State;
  2. What are the types of drugs abused by secondary school students in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State;
  3. What are the influence of drug abuse on the academic achievement of secondary school students in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State;
  4. What are the preventive measures of curbing drug abuse among secondary school students in Umuahia North L.G.A, Abia State.

1.5 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study is designed to cover the entire students in Secondary School in Umuahia North L.G.AAbia.

This research work would focus its effort towards obtaining Causes And Consequences Of Drug Abuse And Misuse-Use Among Secondary School Student A Study Of Umuahia North Local Government Area, Abia State., Moreso suitable suggestion and recommendation to solve the identified problem would be provided in the course of the research work.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The findings of the study would be useful to the Parents, Community, Student, School Administrators and Government. The study will help reveal the influence of major drugs on students’ academic performance and in their behaviour aspects. There are many parents and teachers with questions as to why their students don’t perform as expected, the government is also looking for explanations as to why the youth are not innovative and as to why most of them drop out of school.

Umahia North LGA, like many other area councils in Abia, Nigeria, is faced with the social problem of high rates of drug abuse. To make matters worse, the percentage of drug abusers in the population increases yearly despite the efforts to eradicate the problem. Failure to solve this problem not only threatens the life of individuals, but also the economic and social development of the country as a whole. The current study is useful in contributing to the general body of knowledge in this area. Beyond that, however, it also explores the potential of secondary schools to curb the drug problem.

The study would help to make local government; administrators, local community as well as students aware of the factors hindering the effectiveness of the approaches which attempt to curb drug abuse and, where possible, create opportunities to eradicate the problem. The proposed programme would be useful in educating all youths and adults in Abia state, on the risks of drug consumption. Thus, this study would play an important role in reducing, or even preventing high rates of drug use and abuse. Based on the findings, recommendations will be made. If followed, these recommendations would be useful to administrators and local government in curbing drug abuse in schools through improving existing educational programmes, and striving to develop ones that are even more efficient. A part from proposing more effective preventive measures in relation to drug abuse, the study will also provide a background for other studies in its prevention. This would help in promoting a drug-free school environment and better academic performance, thus improving the standards of education in the county. In the absence of specific policies on substance abuse in schools this study will make important recommendations on the way forward.

1.7 Operational Definition of Terms

In this study, there are certain words that need to be simplified or defined in order to make its meaning clearer.

Drugs: Drug is any chemical substance that is derived from plants and animals or mineral resources be it traditional or orthodox which is used for internal or external application to the human body in the treatment of diseases or to induce clam, reduce pains or modify the functions of the various system of the body.

Substance: Substance are chemical combination of drugs in order words drug made up of combination of chemical substance and substance can as well be refer to as those build up charge like alcohol, tobacco, cigarette and kolanuts.

Drug use: Drug use is the ingestion, injection or the application of any substances which when taken in into the body of living organism may modify one or more of its function, this includes not only medical also intended primarily active substance.

Drug misuse: Is the over zealous or indiscrete administration of drugs by using drug meant for certain purposes for another purpose rather than what it is meant for.

Drug addiction: Drug addiction is the dependence on a substance with the presence of physical withdrawal symptoms.

Psychoactive drugs: This is defined as in alternating drugs.