Ten years into his pontificate, Pope Francis has rejuvenated Catholic mission engagement by re-imagining the mystery of the Church to be a more inclusive witness to God’s love and mercy in concrete terms. Polyhedral imagination of ecclesial reality is one such way of seeing the Church. This entails discerning legitimate differences and the peculiarity of God’s children in our globalized ecclesial life in view of responding to their pastoral needs. This polyhedral mission strategy of Pope Francis for youth ministry in university communities is synodal, ecumenical, inter-religious, and humanistic.

In order to be formidable and great in any given civilization, gender equality is a necessary condition. The fundamental formula for a functioning society calls for partnership and a fair division of labour between the sexes. Yet, a skewed approach has been used in which masculinity has taken precedence over femininity and women have constantly been left out of decision-making throughout history and in various communities. They are routinely discriminated against within political structures. These power structures are to blame for the ongoing underdevelopment, marginalization, and imbalance that they bring about. Recently, the Neo-Pentecostal movement have taken a significant step in the recognition and maximization of the inclusion of women in its religious hierarchy. As such they are giving women an eminent place of equal impetus with men, as such paving positive ways and encouraging gender sensitization in Nigerian society which is highly male oriented. This paper sees this move as a pathway for gender balanced education in Nigeria. The method applied in this research is a literary and descriptive method. It involves a qualitative approach which recruits the use of preliminary and post preliminary sources of data collection. The study found that the inclusiveness of women in the leadership hierarchical order in the neo-Pentecostal movements is a substantial achievement and it is worth emulating. It is a clear pathway to gender balanced education in Nigeria. It was recommended that 50% inclusion of women in all human endeavours will engender sustainable development in Nigeria and promote needed unity and above serve as a role model for other masculine oriented communities where justice and fairness are sorely needed.

The culture of each society and religion is identified through its manifestations such as language, art, and architecture. Art and architecture as a matter of human life reflect the culture or tradition in every society interacting closely with structural, historical, political, economic, and social features of that society. Islam, therefore, has its style of art and architecture that draws something creative that reflects its thought and practice. It also serves as a channel for communication that makes Islam share its religious ideas and thoughts with other people. In this paper, therefore, the writer looks at Islamic art and architecture. In doing so, the researcher explains what Islamic art and architecture are all about and states some kinds of arts and architectural work in Islam with pictures shown on the appendix page of this paper. The history of Islamic art is also considered in this study. The basic issues the study discovers among others are that Islamic art is not of a specific religion, time, place, or of a single medium. Islamic religious art differs from Christian religious art as it sees the depiction of the human form as idolatry, and thereby a sin against Allah, forbidden in the Qur'an. The writer concludes that art and architecture are forms of preserving the culture and tradition of a community and a religion. It reflects society or a religious belief, cultural values, and so on. Art and architecture are used to share religious ideas and thoughts with other people, hence their relevance in making one have more understanding about Islam. The study uses a qualitative method of research where secondary sources from books, journals and the internet are accessed and used in the work.

Over the past decade, and particularly since the September 11 th terrorist attack in the United State, the Muslim community in most parts of the world has experienced an increased level of social and religious scrutiny. This unfortunate incident has fundamentally changed the way the mostly dominated Muslim society views Muslims, especially Muslim women who wear the veil or hijab in public. Muslim women have experienced various instances of discrimination including people trying to remove their hijab, and/or name-calling. A unique aspect of Muslim women in Nigeria is that they not only confront the stigma of gender, race, ethnicity, and religion but that which is attached to Islamic dress as well. Despite some of these problems, however, the experiences of Muslim women all over the world remain one of the least researched topics in sociology. The purpose of this work is to explore the controversies surrounding the hijab in Nigeria.

Purity is a beautiful word that is pleasing to the eye, and a quality that everyone wishes to maintain. From an Islamic perspective, purity has a general meaning. Thus it may mean, on one hand, physical cleanliness which is the purity (of the body) from perceptible filth or ritual purification. On the other hand, it may mean spiritual purity which is the purity of the self from vices, sins and abandoning disobedience, and getting used to good deeds and words. Purity (Arabic: طهارة‎, ṭahāra is an essential aspect of Islam. It is the opposite of najāsa, the state of being ritually impure. It is achieved by first removing physical impurities (for example, urine) from the body, and then removing ritual impurity by means of wudu (usually) or ghusl. Rules which regulate the cleanliness rituals are placed both by Quranic requirements, and the rituals to acquire a new level of social status in everyday Muslim life. Physically, spiritually, ethically, and psychologically every Muslim must value cleanliness and purity. In this work, I investigate the concept of “purity” from the Islamic perspective. I argue that cleanliness and purity form an essential ideal in Muslim piety and consciousness. The Qur'an frequently refers to it.

Armed conflicts in which religion, often accompanied by ethnic differences, play a part have proliferated in recent decades in various parts of the world: Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Sri Lanka, India, Nigeria. Amid the bloody war of terrorism and counter-terrorism, the religion of Islam becomes a centre of attention for many around the world. The practice of making terrorism is often associated especially with the Muslim community. The concept of Jihad has arguably been central to many modern conflicts including that of resistance to US occupation of Iraq (2003–2005), the struggle for self-determination in Kashmir (1947–2005), and the Palestinian struggle for reclaiming their land from Israel (1948–2005). Some people now denounce Islam as the religion of terrorism and its teachings being misinterpreted and misrepresented. In this scenario, it's become an urgent need for updating the research into the subject to find answers to the current and future problem as well as checkin.'.;/g the reliability of these allegations against Islam. This is what thi]s work intends to achieve. In this work, I discussed what Jihad means in Islam and some controversies around it.

When people are united in their suffering for a common cause, that which binds them together is always stronger than their differences.The bond is even sturdier when religious motives define their common convictions.For this reason, during martyrdom, those who are persecuted create peculiar religious identity through their common belief in God.This identity generates a socializing bond which makes them resolute in their united witness to the subject of their faith.This was the case with the nineteenth-century Ugandan martyrs who died during the reign of the morally debased King Kabaka Mwanga.The novelty of this work consists in accentuating the ecumenicity of the Ugandan martyrdom that came into prominence, inter alia, through the Roman Catholic processes of canonization.It is so because there is no research work that has highlighted the fact that Anglicans and Lutherans were equally put to death in their defence of the Christian beliefs and morality alongside the Roman Catholics.For this reason, this work underlines how an inclusive narrative of the East-African Christian witness to the truth of the gospel brings out the ecumenicity of the Ugandan martyrologic events.Theoretical frameworks of deterrence and group memory were used in the understanding martyrdom and common witnessing in Uganda.In their united witnessing to the Christian faith, the Ugandan martyrs overcame the shackles of denominational divide that could have weakened their common resolve to stand for Christ.Therefore, Christians in contemporary African continent are called to re-receive the spirit of united witnessing to Christ as exhibited by the Ugandan martyrs since this will go a long way to: healing the wounds caused by denominational rivalry, controlling the tendency of tearing one another apart because of ethnic interests, sustaining common witness to truth and justice, encouraging all those suffering for their belief in Christ (no matter their denominational rootedness) to stand firm, and strengthening the spiritual bond that connects together all believers in Christ.

06Jan 2018 NUTRITIONAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF Jatropha tanjorensis Ellis & Saroja UNDER VARIED SOIL CONDITIONS. Mbosowo M. Etukudo and Samuel E. Osim. Department of Biology, Federal University Otuoke, PMB 126, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Department of Biological Sciences, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

The effects of physico-chemical properties of two soil sampling locations on the proximate and mineral nutrients contents of Gongronema latifolium Benth were examined in Otuoke secondary forest habitat, in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Leaf samples of Gongronema latifolium and soil (0-20 cm depth) samples were randomly collected from two sites in the study area. Three replicates were maintained for each treatment using randomized complete block design. The pH of 5.10 was recorded at location 1 while that of location 2 was 5.00. The contents of calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, copper and zinc were higher in leaves of G. latifolium at location 1 than those of location 2, while the content of potassium was higher in leaves of G. latifolium at location 2 than those of location 1. The moisture, protein, lipid and fibre contents in leaves of G. latifolium were higher at location 1 than those of location 2, while the contents of ash and carbohydrate in leaves of G. latifolium were higher at location 2 than those of location 1. This study showed that the nutritional status of G. latifolium was affected by the sampling locations of the study area, hence, appropriate cultural practices are needed in the area in order to create favourable soil conditions for optimum growth and development of the test plant.

06Jan 2018 ASSESMENT OF MINERAL, PROXIMATE AND PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF LEAF, STEM AND ROOT OF Maesobotrya barteri (BAILL) FROM SECONDARY FOREST IN AKWA IBOM STATE. Mbosowo M. Etukudo and Samuel E. Osim. Department of Biology, Federal University Otuoke, PMB 126, Bayelsa State, Nigeria Department of Biological Sciences, Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria.

Africa has in many respects been considered as the birth place of modern civilization and by this standard should have been at its peak in development. Nation-states have embarked on various developmental plans and policies which have ended almost immediately at takeoff points. Religion and gender and the inequalities and injustice they impose have become interwoven in the plan and agenda of national policies in such a way that the various plans and stages of development are defined by religion and gender. This paper examines the challenges posed by religion and gender in the pursuit of sustainable development in Nigeria. Keywords: Religion, Gender, Development, Africa, Women‘s Contribution

This paper examines the religious persuasion on the social boundaries surrounding gender. Gender has been a contentious issue that is associated with segregation, marginalization and differentiation between men and women. In the light of this, scholars' views on the subject matter were considered. Thus, this indicates that in spite of the fact that some women by virtue of their ability are qualified for a particular position, would be denied by reason of gender dichotomy. Also the impetus given to the social boundaries by religion as alleged by the scripture (Bible) aggravates the situation. It is therefore the submission of the paper that the persistence of religion's consolidation on the social boundaries surrounding gender is as a result of the inability to separate culture from religion. The recommendation therefore is that although roles differentiation are necessary in the society it should not be mistaken for gender inequality. Key Words: Religion, Social Boundaries, Gender, Christianity, Pentecostal, Orthodox, Inequality

A total of 1350 mosquitoes were caught during the study. The monthly catches ranged from 210 to 360. Out of this, 1306 (96.7%) were dissected. Overall, parous rate was 75.0%, and ranged from 62.2% in August to 91.3% in December, 2012. The variability in parous rates between months was statistically significant (×2-test, p < 0.05). Relating monthly parous rates with the wet and dry seasons within the sampling months showed significant variability, with higher parity in the dry than wet season (×2-test, p < 0.05). The analysis of parity levels among female mosquitoes caught during the study showed that Parousone (P1) was most abundant followed by parous-two. Parousfour (P4) was the least. The distribution of parity levels in relation to the sampling months indicated that the proportion of P3s increased in the dry season months while the P1s decreased. In conclusion, ascertaining the age distribution of vectors is very important as it is useful in monitoring the success or otherwise of large-scale vector control measures. It is therefore recommended that control measures against adult mosquitoes be initiated and sustained in the study area. Periodic verification of the success or otherwise of such control measures should be carried out using the physiological age determination method.

The effect of diesel oil polluted soil on the growth and yield of Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench was studied at the Department of Botany experimental garden, University of Uyo, Nigeria for sixteen weeks. The pollution levels of 40, 80 120, 160 and 200ml per 4kg of sandy loam soil were used, and 0ml (unpolluted soil) was used as control. Three (3) plants were maintained per poly bag, and each level of treatment was replicated three times using randomized complete block design. Significant (P < 0.05) reductions were obtained in plant height, leaf area, root length, fresh weight, dry weight, moisture content, fruit number and fruit weight of the crops in diesel oil polluted soil. No yield was recorded at 120 and 160ml level of diesel oil pollution, while 200ml concentration did not support any growth of the crop. All treatment levels gave significant (P<0.05) decrease in nutrient elements in leaves of A. esculentus below that of the control, except at 40ml of diesel oil for calcium and sodium contents. Therefore, Abelmoschus esculentus is not a suitable species for cultivation where diesel oil pollution occurs.

Growth response of explants of Irvingia gabonensis to in vitro treatment was investigated using full, half and one quarter strength mineral components based on Murashige and Skoog medium. Plant growth regulator (kinetin-Kin) with concentration levels of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5mg/l were used for shoots initiation, while axillary formed shoots were rooted in various concentration levels of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5mg/l of indole butyric acid (IBA). One quarter strength growth medium containing 3mg/l kinetin, which supported the highest growth performance was used to study the effect of explant source and number of leaf primordia on shoot initiation of the species. Shoot length of axillary bud explant significantly (P<0.05) increased in one quarter strength medium than those of half and full strength media. Axillary bud explants with 1-2 leaf primordia gave optimum response in terms of regeneration frequency and coefficient of velocity of bud burst. High regeneration frequency and coefficient of velocity of bud burst with low percentage contamination were recorded by seedling and stump sprout explants. This study suggests that axillary bud explants of Irvingia gabonensis can respond to in vitro treatment under optimum culture conditions.

The effects of salt (CaCl2 ) and staking on the proximate composition of fruits of tomato (Roma VF) were studied at the Department of Botany Experimental garden, University of Uyo, Nigeria. Calcium chloride salt levels of 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200g per 4Kg of loamy sandy soil were used, with and without staking. The moisture, dry matter, ash, crude fat, crude protein, carbohydrate and crude fibre contents in treatment with calcium chloride/ staking were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those of calcium chloride without staking in Roma VF. CaCl2 and staking treatment increased the crude protein content of the crop. 100g level of CaCl2 salt was the optimum level for enhanced proximate composition of the crop. Improved processing qualities of tomato fruit (Roma VF) can be enhanced through regulated salt and staking treatment

Growth and development response of Zea mays were investigated at the University of Port Harcourt botanical garden. Crude oil pollution effects of direct spray on foliage or spill on soil on the growth changes and chlorophyll content of Z. mays were examined, alongside a control. There were significant (p = 0.05) reductions in chlorophyll content in treatments with crude oil sprayed on foliage or spilled on the soil in comparison with the control. Visual symptoms of crude oil contamination effects on Z. mays showed gross damage on the growth and development of the crop. This study shows that crude oil pollution has adverse effects on growth and development of Z. mays.

The performance of maize (Zea mays) in crude oil treatment was investigated at the University of Port Harcourt botanical garden. Germination and growth responses of Z. mays were examined using various crude oil pollution treatments. There was no significant difference in the germination and development of Z. mays subjected to oiling at 1-3% compared to those of the control (0%), while 4-5% oiling showed a significant difference at P=0.05. Percentage germination decreased with increase in concentration of crude oil equilibrated with water. Germination rate decreased significantly with increased time of pre-soaking in crude oil. Crude oil spilled soil immediately after planting, increased the length of lag phase preceding germination from 48 hours to 96 hours and decreased percentage germination from 100% in the control to 58% in crude oil contaminated soil. This study shows that crude oil pollution has adverse effects on germination and development of Z. maysKEY WORDS: Performance, crude oil treatment, germination and development, maize (Zea mays)