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Published April 21, 2022 12:07 am on ThisDay Ugo Aliogo and Oluchi Chibuzor posit that Nigeria can adhere to the concept of gender equality and remove all barriers that restricts women According to the United Nations, Nigeria lags behind African countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Tunisia, Senegal, Uganda and Cape Verde, which have adopted constitutions and other national laws that provide for equal rights and opportunities, including the special seats or proportional representation system. Giving women a chance, however, to contribute to the economic welfare of themselves and their families through labour force engagement has been proven to bring gains in nearly all areas of development, including poverty reduction, the spread of reproductive rights and associated declines in fertility and the redistribution of responsibilities and rights within the household. The statement by the United Nations is certainly a first step in building a society based on the concept of gender justice. A poll conducted by NOIPolls to take a closer analysis on economic issues alone showed that lack of empowerment (42 percent), poverty (35 percent) and gender discrimination in employment (17 percent) were the top three economic challenges faced by women in Nigerian. Nigeria is however taking steps to address the problem. For instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations mandate a minimum of 30 per cent of females on boards of Nigerian commercial banks. MSMEs development fund guideline mandates that 60 per cent of the loans be given to women. Also, the national financial inclusion strategy recommends increasing female staff of microfinance banks to 30 per cent. Despite the efforts that has been put in place to reduce the gap, a new report by Jobberman in partnership with Mastercard Foundation and Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) paints a different picture. At an event tagged: Gender Roundtable 2022 with the theme, “Unmasking the barriers to Women’s Participation In Nigeria’s Labour Market,” which was held in Lagos recently, the Chief Executive Officer, Jobberman, Oreoluwa Boboye, said his otganisation will continue to combat youth unemployment in the country by training and placing three million youth in decent jobs by 2025 with critical focused on women. The report showed that out of Nigeria’s population of over 200 million, only about 46.4 million are actively employed and that despite Nigeria’s large and diverse pool of labour, only 51 percent of Nigeria’s full human capital potential was fully captured, with women mostly at the receiving end. The research took a survey of three States – Kaduna, Kano and Lagos, was held at engaging strategic stakeholders across private, public and development sectors on how to build a gender-balanced society as suggested by the Global Gender Gap 2021 report. In response to these unfavourable structural conditions and marginalisation, the report revealed that women are creatively redefining work in ways that reinforce their identity, values, talents and skills. Nigeria’s Labour Market The report, which gives an overview of Nigeria’s labour market said young people’s ability to secure dignified employment remains the most significant challenge Nigeria will have to grapple with into the next decade. The report showed that Nigeria has the largest and most diverse pool of labour, compared to other African countries, owing to its vast and youthful population. “With a 4.3 per cent increase by Q4 2020, the number of Nigerians in the economically active or working age population between 15 and 64 years of age was 122 million, with the labour force estimated to be 69.7 million people and about 43.5 percent of these populations said to be women. It is quite clear that the growth rate of Nigeria’s labour force significantly outweighs the rate of job creation, a reality that is truer for women. “For instance, in 2018, about 450,000 new jobs were created while over 5 million people joined the labour force. With a staggering unemployment rate of 33.3 per cent only 46.4 million of her population of 200 million people are in active employment. “Unfortunately, Nigeria only captures 51 percent of its full human capital potential with women mostly at the receiving end. In Q4 2020, the female unemployment rate stood at 35.2 percent compared to 31.5 percent for men. This implies that 7 in every 10 economically active women are unemployed,” the report stated. Nigeria’s labour market dynamics have been further disrupted by the push into the 4th industrial revolution spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and globalisation policies. These have exposed the precariousness of the labour market and fueled the rage of unemployment. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), women are grappling with the negative impact of these realities and the implications have a far-reaching effect on the outlook of both the formal and informal sectors of Nigeria’s economy. Breaking Contemporary Challenges Across the world, most women juggle work with family and care responsibilities, and Nigeria is no exception. It has been recognised that early marriage and family formation play a critical role in women’s access to jobs and it is a more significant issue for young women from poorer households than others. Although girls are more likely to leave school early than boys, they do not then get a job. Instead, young women are much more likely to marry early than men are. Over the years, there are barriers to entry into the labour market for women and to their successful participation within the labour market as girls’ entry into the workforce is conditioned by early marriage and the pressure in starting a family. The gender gap in education limits the choice of occupation for women because completion rates of primary education for boys is about 80 per cent while only 66 percent for girls. Similarly, lack of education and marginalisation from schools and skills acquisition programmes make it especially difficult for women with disabilities to gain employment, whereas Muslim women are less able to participate in a visible work force when compared with women in other religions. Women in Nigeria are less likely to be active in the labour market because more are likely to be in lower-earning opportunities like farming and informal jobs; and earn less for a given level of education and experience than men of the same level. According to World Bank Women’s Labour Market Participation 45.5 per cent of the Nigerian labour force is females as women’s participation in formal and informal labour markets is on a positive trajectory and has been rising in both rural and urban areas through the period 1990-2009 but remains lower than that of males. Changing the Narative According to the Jobberman report, in the last decade, Nigeria has seen a growing number of women joining the labour force both in rural and urban settings. The report emphasised that this can, in part, be attributed to programme outcomes from initiatives anchored around financial inclusion, education for girls, entrepreneurship and delayed child bearing. It revealed that nevertheless, women are still under-represented in the labour force as they find it harder to get dignified and fulfilling jobs and access economic opportunities within the formal sector, relegating them to the informal sector. “Why have women remained under-represented in the labour force and what is the nature of the constraints to women’s labour force participation and access to formal employment? Although it is better understood today than it was two or more decades ago, the barriers that limit women’s transition into the world of work remains an issue whose discussion is embroiled in its own complexity and in the precariousness of poverty, patriarchy and policy. “While these barriers are well established within the literature, the dynamics of COVID-19 and the reality of tech advancements may have shifted the dynamics in ways that require a re-examination. Much of the literature that has dwelt on this subject have associated the barriers with a wide range of issues including access to education and training, sexuai and reproductive health, teenage pregnancy, marriage, domestic responsibility and sexual harassment. “These barriers do not only have real meaning for women’s livelihoods and employment choices. but also have implications on the efficiency and productivity of the labour market. At the same time the pandemic may have broadened the precariousness of these issues making the possibility of realising the aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a much distant prospect to contemplate,” the report stated. Women Work Interest The combined effects of COVID-19, and insecurity may be responsible for a larger share of women seeking formal wage jobs. There is evidence of heightened precariousness and huge economic losses especially in small businesses where women are largely dominated. For instance, businesses that involve physical contact and touch; such as cooks, masseuses, make-up artists, have been exposed to huge economic losses, forcing women to consider searching for stable alternative income sources. Insights from the Jobberman’s report suggest that there is likely to be a higher unemployment rate among women in regions where self-employment or entrepreneurship activities are low. “For instance, Kano state recorded the highest number of unemployed women (12.23 percent) as well as the lowest number of women in self-employment (11.29 percent). Data from 968 women surveyed across Lagos, Kano and Kaduna shows that self-employment and contracts continue to serve as a critical buffer against high unemployment rates across the three states as only 26 percent of women surveyed across the three states are in full time employment.” Being a Woman Delivering her keynote speech, the former executive secretary and chief executive officer at Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Yewande Sadiku, maintained that women need equity and not equality in terms of access to opportunities in the country. “Women must develop a reputation for hard work, high quality delivery and be very aggressive and intentional in investing and building passive income. Women must be shameless in breaking barriers that come in different forms around them,” she said. The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Folasade Adefisayo, noted that workplaces that have better environments are made of more women. “Women are hardworking, creative, interesting, innovative and disciplined when they put their heart to it and have not been belittled by social expectations. Bring up your girls to be different and stand out. In breaking the barriers, let us work together with an open mind and be ready to work with anybody,” she advised. The Strategies The Jobberman report also suggested that investment in the care economy reduces the burden of care and domestic work on women in order to enhance the quantity and quality of labour market participation. It recommended statewide investment in the provision of affordable and dependable care services including childcare, people with disabilities and the elderly.

Access To Clean Water Remains A Challenge In Nigeria; Sachet Water Popularly Known As Pure Water Is The Main Source Of Drinking Water For Nigerians Abuja, Nigeria. March 26th, 2020 – In commemoration of World Water Day, which holds on the 22nd of March every year, NOIPolls conducted a public opinion poll on access to clean water. The poll explored the accessibility of water to Nigerians, the quality and treatment of drinking water and challenges faced in accessing clean water. The poll revealed that sachet water popularly known as pure water is the main source of drinking water for Nigerians while borehole is the main source of water for household use in the country. It is important to state that it is the responsibility of the government to provide water to all its citizenry through the Ministry of Water Resources[1]. However, the poll revealed that most Nigerians provide their own water. It is important to note that these sources of water, if not properly treated, can put Nigerians at risk of pathogens such as E-coli which cause diarrhoeal diseases and other water-borne diseases. More findings showed that 64 percent of respondents (except for those whose only source of drinking water is sachet and bottled water) do not treat the water in any way before drinking irrespective of the source. However, 36 percent claimed that they treat their water mostly by boiling (40 percent) before drinking. With regards to access to clean water, 39 percent of Nigerians disclosed that they face challenges in accessing clean water in their respective households. According to the World Bank, accessing clean water is a major factor in reducing child mortality[2]. For instance, more than 70,000 children under five years die annually as a result water-borne disease[3]. Therefore, in order to meet the 6th Goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which is to ensure access to water and sanitation for all, government at all levels needs to urgently work towards the provision of improved quality of water and water sources to the citizenry. Finally, though the provision of water supply is capital intensive, it is still a necessity for the well-being of Nigerians. Therefore, Public-Private-Partnership programs should be encouraged to attract investors in order to ensure adequate production, distribution and sale of potable water to all. These are some of the key findings from the Access To Water Poll conducted in the week commencing March 16th, 2020. Survey Background World Water Day is a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the gift of water to mankind and to also raise awareness regarding the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water for drinking and household use. It is also a day to inspire stakeholders and governments in various countries to take actions in order to tackle the global water crisis affecting the teeming populations of people around the world. A core focus of World Water Day however, is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. World Water Day 2020 is about water and climate change and how the two are inextricably linked and the campaign shows how our use of water will help reduce floods, droughts, scarcity and pollution, and will help fight climate change itself. More so, by adapting to the water effects of climate change, we will protect health and save lives. And, by using water more efficiently, we will reduce greenhouse gases. However, the key messages for the water day 2020 are that people cannot afford to wait, climate policy makers must put water at the heart of action plans as water can help fight climate change[4]. There are sustainable, affordable and scalable water and sanitation solutions and everyone has a role to play. Statistics has shown that 1 in 3 people around the world live without safe drinking water and by 2050, up to 5.7 billion people could be living in areas where water is scarce for at least one month a year and climate-resilient water supply and sanitation could save the lives of more than 360,000 infants every year[5]. Also, if global warming is limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, it could cut climate-induced water stress by up to 50%. Extreme weather has caused more than 90% of major disasters over the last decade. In Nigeria however, statistics has shown that 55 million Nigerians do not have clean water and 60, 000 children under 5 years die every year from water related illnesses[6]. Against this backdrop and in commemoration of the day, NOIPolls conducted this survey in commemoration of World Water Day to gauge the perception of Nigerians regarding their access to water. Survey Findings The first question gauged the primary source of water for household use and the poll result revealed that 35 percent stated that their main source of water for household use is from a private borehole. Private borehole includes having your own private borehole or having easy access to a neighbour’s private borehole. The South South zone had more respondents (74 percent) who disclosed that they use private borehole as their main source of water for their household use. 20 percent of the respondents mentioned that their primary source of water supply is from a private well. Other primary sources of water cited include; public borehole (16 percent), tap (14 percent), Public well (6 percent) and water cart vendors (5 percent) amongst other sources. With regards to opinion on current sources of drinking water, the poll revealed that sachet water popularly known as pure water is presently the main source of drinking water for Nigerian households as disclosed by 46 percent of the respondent interviewed. This is even more popular in the South-East zone with 71 percent of respondents stating that sachet water is currently their main source of drinking water. This is followed by 37 percent of the respondents who admitted that their main source of drinking water is from a borehole. In addition, 13 percent revealed that they currently get their drinking water from tap water (water corporation) amongst other sources. 64 percent of respondents (except for those whose only source of drinking water is sachet and bottled water) do not treat the water in any way before drinking irrespective of the source. This report cuts across genders and age-groups and a further analysis by geo-political zones showed that the South-East zone had the highest (71 percent) number of respondents who do not treat their water prior to drinking. However, 36 percent of the respondents claimed that they treat their water to make it suitable for drinking. The South-South zone had the higher percentage (45 percent) of respondents who admitted this. Consequently, the 36 percent who admitted that they treat their water before drinking were further probed to ascertain the methods, they employ in treating their water. The poll showed that 40 disclosed that they boil before drinking. This method is particularly perceived by many as the most efficient method of purification because a lot of organisms may not survive when water reaches its boiling point of 100° C[7]. Similarly, 26 percent stated that they use Water Guard to make their drinking water safe. Other methods of treatment employed by the respondents include ‘use of alum’ (20 percent), ’using water filter’ (10 percent) and ‘using chemicals’ (4 percent) Opinions on challenges in accessing clean water revealed that 39 percent of Nigerian households currently have challenges accessing clean water and the North-Central zone had more respondents who mentioned this (45 percent). On the hand, 61 percent of Nigerians do not see access to clean water as a challenge to their households and the South-South zone had the most respondents who admitted this (79 percent). Respondents who stated that access to clean water is a challenge to them and their households (39 percent) were further asked: to what extent is the access to clean water a challenge to your household? Results showed that the majority (73 percent) said that access to clean water is a challenge to a large extent for them. However, 27 percent specifically mentioned that access to clean water is a challenge to a little extent for them. To ascertain the existence of any on-going water project across the country, respondents were further probed and the result showed that majority of the respondents (89 percent) disclosed that they are not aware of any on-going water project in their respective localities. On the contrary, 11 percent acknowledged that they are aware of so on-going water relater projects in their locality. In conclusion, the poll has revealed that access to water both for domestic use and for drinking is still a challenge to Nigerian households given that borehole (35 percent) and sachet water (46 percent) are mostly used as the main source water. This implies that Nigerians are mostly responsible for providing water for themselves both for domestic use and for drinking. Therefore, it is utmost important that government and other stakeholders ensure that water is made available to Nigerians as 31 percent mentioned that their main source of water supply is not always readily available. Poor access to improved water in Nigeria remains a major contributing factor to high morbidity and mortality rates among children under five. The poll report showed that 36 percent of Nigerians whose main source of drinking water are borehole, well, stream and water tankers do not treat their water to make it safe before drinking. Hence, it is essential to note that the use of contaminated drinking water result in increased vulnerability to water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea[8]. Survey Methods The poll was conducted in the week commencing March 16th, 2020. It involved telephone interviews of a proportionate nationwide sample of 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geo-political regions and 36 states and the FCT of the country. Interviews were conducted in 5 languages – Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Pidgin English and English. With this sample size and selection, we are 95% confident that the results obtained are statistically precise within a margin of error of plus or minus 4.65%. We recognize that the exclusive use of telephone polling has its limitation of excluding non-phone-owning Nigerians. Nonetheless, with the country’s tele density put over 97 percent by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), we consider our telephone polling approach appropriate. Also, given the rigorous scientific process of randomization and stratification applied, we are confident of the validity of our methodology and approach. NOIPolls Limited, No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com. Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact Email: editor@noi-polls.com cakubue@noi-polls.com badedoyin@noi-polls.com Number: +234 (0) 9 – 290 4162 +234 (0) 9 – 291 4877 [1] file:///C:/Users/j.akubue/Desktop/water%20sanitation%20nigeria%20national%20policy.pdf [2] https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/water-sanitation-and-hygiene [3] https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/water-sanitation-and-hygiene [4] https://www.un.org/en/observances [5] https://www.un.org/en/observances [6] https://www.un.org/en/observances [7] https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/drinking/making-water-safe.html [8] https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/water-sanitation-and-hygiene

Majority of Nigerians Attest That Spousal Violence is Not Justifiable. Abuja, Nigeria. March 22nd, 2020- In Nigeria, victims of Spousal violence also called intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, and intimate partner abuse, are afraid to report incidents because of sociocultural repercussions such as stigmatization and victimization etc. In recent times, there has been a rise in the occurrences of Spousal violence were lives have been unjustly and untimely terminated in a bid to exact vengeance, vent anger or personal retribution rather than seeking justice through established legal systems. Several factors contribute to this terrible crime such as Poverty, illiteracy, parental neglect and abuse, sense of low self-worth, toxic masculinity and femininity and most prevalently: substance abuse[1]. However, as this issue has drawn more attention from national and international communities, activists on social media, concerned agencies and groups, the number of women and men who are reporting their experiences of domestic violence has risen over the past couple of years, yet the question remains: Has this changed anything? Has there been a substantial variation in the prevalence and incidences of domestic violence? Considering this, NOIPolls conducted a public opinion poll to gauge the opinion of Nigerians regarding spousal violence in the Country. Initial findings show a 56 percent prevalence rate in violence of husbands against wives with the North West (66 percent) having the highest proportion of respondents who attest to this. The poll further revealed that 47 percent of Nigerians believe that violence by wives against husbands is prevalent with the highest attestation coming from the North West at 57 percent. Differently, 53 percent of respondents opined that this is not prevalent as the North East (67 percent) rank highest regarding those who are of this belief. It is comforting that 100 percent of Nigerians-polled agree that it is not justifiable for husbands to assault/abuse their wives and vice versa, this is also consistent across the six geo-political zones respectively. The poll also sought the measures to curb the issue of spousal violence in our society and the results show that 40 percent of respondents stated that there should be public enlightenment while 24 percent stated “there should be marriage counselling for couples”, 13 percent opined that “culprit should be punished by law” while 10 percent stated that “there should be respect for one another”. These are key findings from the poll conducted by NOIPolls in commemoration of the International Women’s Day in the week commencing 24th February 2020. Background Spousal violence also be called intimate partner violence, dating violence, domestic abuse, and intimate partner abuse is any form of physical, psychological, or sexual maltreatment that takes place in a romantic relationship between adults or adolescents. Spousal abuse is a major public health problem, due to its affecting more than 2 million women and 800,000 men and resulting in homelessness, injury, or death of victims, billions of dollars in health care costs, and lost work productivity. While spousal abuse strikes couples of all races, religions, social economic status, and sexual orientations, risk factors for men or women becoming victims or abusers include as poverty, illiteracy, parental neglect and abuse, sense of low self-worth, toxic masculinity and femininity and most prevalently substance abuse. Warning signs for individuals to consider if they suspect they are the victim of intimate partner violence include feeling demeaned, assaulted, or excessively controlled by their partner. Warning signs friends, family members and close accomplices can look for if they wonder whether the person they care about is the victim of spousal abuse include frequent absences from school or work, numerous injuries the victim tries to explain, low self-esteem, a change in their personality, fear of conflicts, passive-aggressive behaviour, blaming him- or herself for the problems in their relationship, isolation from others, or stress-related physical symptoms . [2] This year, albeit early, has seen an increasing trend of spousal violence which demands immediate resolution. For instance, there is the case of Maryam Sanda who was recently convicted of killing her husband, readily comes to mind. She was sentenced to death by hanging for killing her husband. Other cases of this nature who were alleged to have killed their spouses include that of Racheal Adetsav in Benue state, Eki Ekhator in Edo state, Udeme Otike-Odibi in Lagos state, Mr. Ejiro Patrick in Benue state, Insp. Tuddy Warebayigha in Bayelsa state, Mr Ikechukwu Atansi in Anambra state etc. Against this backdrop, NOIPolls conducted a survey to gauge the opinion of Nigerians regarding this issue and hereby present its findings. Survey Findings Survey findings show a 56 percent prevalence rate in violence of husbands against wives with the North West (66 percent) having the highest proportion of respondents who attest to this. Furthermore, the poll shows that there are more Females (59 percent) than Males and age group 36-60 (58 percent) have the highest proportion of respondents who stated that violence of husbands against wives is prevalent. Inversely, 44 percent of respondents stated that violence of husbands against wives is not prevalent with the South East (55 percent) having the highest proportion of respondents who stated that husbands violence against wives is not prevalent. Regarding the prevalence of spousal violence of wives against husbands, 47 percent of Nigerians indicated prevalence in their locality, with the North-West geo-political zone being the most prominent in Nigeria. Interestingly, the poll revealed that the age group of 18-35 years (51 percent) of respondents stated that spousal violence of wives against husbands is prevalent. Subsequently, 53 percent of the respondents polled stated the spouse violence of wives against husbands is not prevalent. The poll also showed that, the age group of 60 years and above have the higher proportion of respondents (66 percent) who stated the spousal violence of wives against husband is not prevalent. Additionally, the poll sought to gauge how justifiable it is for husbands to assault/abuse or kill their wives and how justifiable it is for wives to assault/abuse or kill their husbands and it is interesting to see that in both cases 100 percent of the respondent stated it is not justifiable. Correspondingly, analysis across gender, geo-political and age all recorded 100 percent of respondents stating that it is not justifiable for both husbands and wives to assault/abuse or kill their spouses. Furthermore, the poll also sought the measures to curb the issue of spousal violence in our society and the result show that 40 percent of respondents stated that there should be public enlightenment while 24 percent stated “there should be marriage counselling for couples”, 13 percent opined that “culprit should be punished by law” while 10 percent stated that “there should be respect for one another” among others. To sum up, the poll result reveal that 56 percent of respondents stated that spousal violence of husbands violence is prevalent while 47 percent of respondents stated that spousal violence of wives against husbands is prevalent. Interestingly, 100 percent of Nigerians-polled agree that it is not justifiable for both husbands and wives to assault/abuse or kill their spouses. The poll also sought the measures to curb the issue of spousal violence in our society and the result show that 40 percent of respondents stated that there should be public enlightenment while 24 percent stated “there should be marriage counselling for couples”, 13 percent opined that “culprit should be punished by law” while 10 percent stated that “there should be respect for one another” among others. Survey Methods The opinion poll was conducted in the week commencing February 24th, 2020. It involved telephone interviews of a proportionate nationwide sample of 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning male and female Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geo-political regions and 36 states and the FCT of the country. Interviews were conducted in 5 languages – Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Pidgin English and English. Although we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained were statistically precise – within a margin of error of plus or minus 4.65%; we recognize that the exclusive use of telephone polling has its limitation of excluding non-phone-owning Nigerians. Nonetheless, with the country’s tele density put over 100 percent by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), we consider our telephone polling approach appropriate. Also, given the rigorous scientific process of randomization and stratification applied, we can confidently stand by the validity of our methodology and approach. NOIPolls Limited, No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com. Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact Email: editor@noi-polls.com cakubue@noi-polls.com badedoyin@noi-polls.com Number: +234 (0) 9 – 290 4162 +234 (0) 9 – 291 4877 [1] https://www.medicinenet.com/domestic_violence/article.htm [2] https://www.medicinenet.com/domestic_violence/article.htm

72 Percent of Nigerians Are Concerned About The Lockdown Mainly Due To Hunger, New Poll Reveals Abuja, Nigeria. April 14th, 2020 – Since the first case of corona virus disease (COVID-19) was confirmed in Wuhan, China late last year, the virus has exploded into a global pandemic as it has spread to 210 countries and territories. According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University on 13th April 2020, the disease has killed about 115,244 people and infected 1,866,460 people worldwide[1]. The pandemic has sent shockwaves throughout the global economy and billions of people into lockdown as health services struggle to manages case and contain further spread of the virus. Nigeria recorded its first case of COVID-19 on the 25th of February 2020 however, as of April 12th, 2020, Nigeria has recorded 323 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 19 states with 85 recovered and 10 deaths[2]. Against this background, NOIPolls conducted its second public opinion poll on COVID-19 to gauge the perception of Nigerians regarding awareness, lockdown order as well as ascertain the level of concern in the country. The first poll was conducted in the week commencing March 3rd, 2020 when Nigeria had only 2 confirmed cases of COVID-19 while this poll was conducted in the week of April 1st, 2020 when Nigeria had 174 confirmed cases. The poll result revealed that almost all adult Nigerians (99 percent) are aware of the outbreak of corona virus disease in the country. Trend analysis shows a significant 15 percent increase in the proportion of Nigerians who are aware of the outbreak when current results are compared with figures obtained in March. This is not surprising given that President Buhari, had on the 29th of March 2020, made a national broadcast on the country’s steps to contain the virus which included a lockdown of 3 states (FCT, Lagos and Ogun) for 14 days and some other states have independently issued lockdowns and restricted movements. Also, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) regularly sends text messages to alert the citizens on the need to stay safe by adopting safety measures provided by health advisories. It is shocking to know at this stage that some Nigerians (6 percent) consider the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria to be fake. During the survey, respondents in this category disclosed that they believe the outbreak is real in other countries but not in Nigeria, while some mentioned that they don’t believe it is real because they have not seen anybody infected by the virus in their states, others specified that it is a propaganda and a means for government to embezzle funds. Similarly, it is outrageous to note that the poll revealed that 28 percent of adult Nigerians maintained that they are immune to the virus. Further probing of respondents who held this belief established that 42 percent of them held this belief mainly because they believe in God, while 32 percent believed they were immune because they observe proper hygiene which prevents them from contracting the virus amongst other reasons. 87 percent of Nigerians divulged that they are concerned that they may contract the virus. This signifies a substantial 24 percent increase in the proportion of adult Nigerians who are concerned that they might contract the virus when current results are compared to the figures obtained in early March 2020. In addition, out of the 13 percent who claimed that they are not concerned, 41 percent of them disclosed that they are not concerned because they have trust in God to protect them from the virus, while 39 percent said that they are not concerned because they have been observing preventive measures amongst other reasons. With regards to perception on the lockdown orders, 77 percent of Nigerians stated that the decision of the Federal Government is appropriate. Most respondents think it is appropriate because they believe it is the best way to control the spread of the virus in the country. However, 18 percent consider the lockdown to be too extreme. While 65 percent of the respondents opined that the lockdown should be extended to other states, 35 percent did not think it should be extended to other states. Majority of the respondents in the South West (76 percent) are of the opinion that it should be extended to other states and this is understandable as many of the confirmed cases in Nigeria were in Lagos state. With regards to concerns with the lockdown, 72 percent of respondents specified that they have concerns about the lockdown. These concerns included lack of food for the poor (40 percent), that people will die of hunger (21 percent), of economic hardship (13 percent) and the survival of those whose livelihood depends on daily hustling (9 percent) amongst other concerns mentioned. Further findings showed that Nigerians rated the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) 6.97 out of a score of 10 in providing information or updates on COVID-19 and 6.36 in providing testing to those that need to be tested in the country. Similarly, the Federal Government was rated slightly above average (5.47 out of 10) in providing directives on how it plans to control the spread of the virus but was rated poorly in providing palliative measures to ensure that Nigerians follow its directives. It is therefore important for government and well meaningful Nigerians to assist more citizens, especially the poor and those whose livelihood depends on daily income as mentioned in this survey, with more palliatives. This will ensure that Nigerians follow the stay at home directive and help control the spread of the virus in the country. These are some of the key findings from the COVID-19 poll conducted in the week commencing April 1st, 2020. Survey Background The COVID-19 pandemic is a major global health crisis and the greatest challenge faced since World War II. The virus has spread to every continent with cases rising daily globally. Nations are battling to slow the spread of the virus by testing and treating patients, carrying out contact tracing, limiting travels and movement, quarantining citizens, and cancelling large gatherings such as sporting events, concerts, and schools. The pandemic moves like a wave, one that may crash on any country that is not able to contain the spread as it has the potential to create devastating social, economic and political crises that will leave deep scars. As of April 13th, 2020, the rate of infection globally has crossed the 1 million mark. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there are 1,866,460 people infected across the world with 115,244 death and remarkably, 433,915 recoveries[3]. Currently, the USA is the country with the highest number of confirmed cases which stand at 560,433[4]. In Africa, 52 out of 54 countries have confirmed cases of COVID-19. The infection rate is about 15,209 confirmed cases, 794 deaths and 2,961 recoveries[5]. In Nigeria as of 12th April 2020, a total of 323 confirmed cases has been recorded across 19 states with 10 deaths and 85 recoveries[6]. Lagos states remains highest with 176 confirmed cases while Abuja has 56 confirmed cases[7]. Against this background, NOIPolls conducted its second public opinion poll on COVID-19 to gauge the perception of Nigerians regarding awareness, lockdown order as well as ascertain the level of concern in the country. Survey Findings The first question assessed awareness of Nigerians on the outbreak of COVID-19 and the poll revealed that almost all adult Nigerians (99 percent) are aware of the outbreak of the virus disease. However, 1 percent of the respondents claimed not to be aware of this global pandemic. During the course of this survey, resposendents who claimed not to be aware of COVID-19 are Nigerians who live in villages and they were mostly local subsistence farmers. Trend analysis shows a significant 15 percent increase in awareness when current results are compared to figures obtained in early March 2020 when Nigeria had only 2 confirmed case of the virus disease. With regards to perceptions on being immune to COVID-19, it is shocking to know that 28 percent of adult Nigerians claimed that they are immune to the coronavirus disease given the numbers of confirmed cases in the country has risen to over 323 and that there is no scientific evidence to back this belief. The South-East (45 percent) and South-South (39 percent) zones had more respondents who believe they are immune to the virus. Trend analysis of result reveals a 2 percent increase in the number of Nigerians who believe that they are immune to the virus when current figures are compared with findings obtained in early March, 2020 when Nigeria had only 2 confirmed case of the virus disease. Out of the 28 percent who indicated that they are immune to COVID-19, 42 percent disclosed that they are immune because they believe in God. However, 32 percent specified that they believe they are immune because they observe proper hygiene which can prevent infection from the virus. 11 percent mentioned that they are immune to COVID-19 mainly because a are Africans amongst other reasons cited. Consequently, when asked: how concerned are you that you might get the Corona Virus Disease? The poll result revealed that majority of adult Nigerians (87 percent) are concerned that they might get infected by the virus. This view cuts across all demographics (gender, geo-political zones and age-group). On the contrary, 13 percent of the respondents claimed that they are not concenred about contracting the virus disease. Trend analysis indicates an increase in the level of concern amongst Nigerians. Current findings show a substantial 24 percent increase in the number of who are concerned that they might contract the virus when compared to the result obtained in early March 2020 when Nigeria had only 2 confirmed case of the virus disease. Out of the 13 percent who claimed that they are not concerned of getting the virus, 41 percent cited that they are not concerned of contracting COVID-19 mainly because they trust God to protect them from the virus. This is followed by 35 percent who stated that they have been taking preventive measures hence they are not concerned about contracting the virus amongst other reasons mentioned. With regards to perception on the lockdown order in FCT, Lagos and Ogun for 14 days due to COVID-19, majority of adult Nigerians (77 percent) stated that the decision of the Federal Government is appropriate. The south-West zone (85 percent) had more Nigerians who consider the action of the Federal Government as appropriate. During this survey, most Nigerians think it is appropriate because they believe it is the best way to control the spread of the virus disease in the country. In addition, 18 percent consider the lockdown to be too extreme and the South-East zone had more respondents who made this assertion. Nigerians in this category informed our analysts during this survey that it is too extreme because some Nigerians who depend on daily income may likely suffer from starvation while others are of the view that the lockdown was too sudden. When respondents were asked: Do you have any concern about the lockdown order in some states? The result indicated that 72 percent of Nigerians acknowledged that they have one concern or the other about the lockdown in some states. The North-East zone (87 percent) had more respondents who stated that they have concern about the lockdown order in some states. However, 28 percent of Nigerians said that they do not have any concern about the lockdown in some states. The South-West zone (40 percent) had more respondents who stated that they do not have any concern about the lockdown. Nigerians who indicated that they have concern about the lockdown in some states were further probed and the result showed that lack of food for the poor was cited as their main concern about the lockdown as indicated by 40 percent of Nigerians. This followed by 21 percent who mentioned that they were concerned that people will die of hunger. Also, 13 percent said that they are concerned about the economic hardship during the lockdown. Subsequently, while Nigerians rated Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) 6.97 out of a score of 10 in providing information or updates on COVID-19, they were also rated 6.36 in terms of providing testing to those that need to be tested in the country. On the other hand, the Federal Government was rated slightly above average (5.47 out of 10) in providing directives on how it plans to control the spread of the virus in the country. However, in terms of providing palliative measures to ensure that Nigerians follow its directives, the Federal Government was rate below average (4.55 out of 10). In conclusion, the survey has shown that the level of awareness of COVID-19 is very high (99 percent) and this cuts across all demographic variables. This increase represents a substantial 15 percent increase in the proportion of Nigerians who are aware of the outbreak of COVID-19 when current results are compared with findings obtained in early March 2020. This could be the impact created by the President Buhari’s national broadcast on COVID-19 as well as other awareness messages created by NCDC, other government agencies, organizations, and individuals. It is appalling to know at this stage that some Nigerians (6 percent) do not believe that the outbreak of the virus is real in Nigeria. Similarly, it is worrisome to know that 28 percent of Nigerians think they are immune to the virus though it is comforting to know that 35 percent of this group believe they are immune because they are observing preventive measures. Of concern include the 42 percent that believe they are immune because of their belief in God. There is an urgent need to address this belief of immunity to the COVID-19 because of belief in God and to completely erase the illusions about being immune to COVID-19. There is need for health advisories and other stakeholders to keep a pulse on the level of concern and panic among citizens as 87 percent of Nigerians disclosed that they are concerned they might contract the virus. This increase signifies a 24 percent increase when current results are compared with figures obtained in March 2020. It is encouraging to know that a substantial proportion of Nigerians believe that lockdown will help in controlling the spread of the disease. However, it is critical to address the concerns citizens have about the lockdown which include lack of food for the poor (40 percent), that people will die of hunger (21 percent), of economic hardship (13 percent) and the survival of those whose livelihood depends on daily hustling (9 percent) amongst other concerns mentioned. Government and well meaningful Nigerians should assist more citizens, especially the poor and those whose livelihood depends on daily income as pointed out in this survey, with more palliatives. This will not only ensure that Nigerians follow the stay at home directive but will help control the spread of the virus in the country. We therefore advise government at all levels, organizations, and health workers to use this survey as reference for effective planning and implementation of activities to effectively prevent Nigerians from COVID-19. It will provide opportunity to prioritize actions and messaging to build and sustain trust between government and citizens, as well as fully take measures to further restrict the spread of COVID-19. Finally, social distancing, good hygienic practices like hand washing remain the most effective ways in protecting oneself from the virus. Detection, containment, and contact tracing should be a high priority of the approach adopted and must be backed with high commitment by the different health agencies of the government and as well as the general public. Survey Methods The poll was conducted in the week commencing April 1st, 2020. It involved telephone interviews of a proportionate nationwide sample of 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geo-political regions and 36 states and the FCT of the country. Interviews were conducted in 5 languages – Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Pidgin English, and English. With this sample size and selection, we are 95% confident that the results obtained are statistically precise within a margin of error of plus or minus 4.65%. We recognize that the exclusive use of telephone polling has its limitation of excluding non-phone-owning Nigerians. Nonetheless, with the country’s tele density put over 100 percent by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), we consider our telephone polling approach appropriate. Also, given the rigorous scientific process of randomization and stratification applied, we are confident of the validity of our methodology and approach. NOIPolls Limited, No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com. Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited, or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions, or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact Email: editor@noi-polls.com cakubue@noi-polls.com badedoyin@noi-polls.com Number: +234 (0) 9 – 290 4162 +234 (0) 9 – 291 4877 [1] https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html [2] https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/12/breaking-nigeria-records-five-new-covid-19-cases-total-infections-now-323/ [3] https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html [4] https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html [5] https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ [6] https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/12/breaking-nigeria-records-five-new-covid-19-cases-total-infections-now-323/ [7] https://www.channelstv.com/2020/04/12/breaking-nigeria-records-five-new-covid-19-cases-total-infections-now-323/

Almost 7 In 10 Nigerians Describe The Security Situation In The Country As Bad Abuja, Nigeria. September 15TH, 2020 – A new public opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls has revealed that almost two-thirds (65 percent) of Nigerians nationwide do not consider the current security situation in the country to be good. Additionally, analysis of respondents revealed that the South-West region (71 percent) had the highest proportion of Nigerians who do not consider the security situation in the country unsafe, while the North-East zone (57 percent) had the lowest proportion of Nigerians in this category. Furthermore, the survey revealed that the top three most common security challenges in localities across Nigeria was found to be: ‘Armed robbery’ (37 percent), ‘kidnapping’ (22 percent) and ‘Herdsmen / Farmers Clashes’. Also, a quick analysis of the prevalence of these top three common security challenges across geo-political zones shows that ‘armed robbery’ was more prevalent in the South-East zone (53 percent), while ‘Kidnapping’ was found to be more prevalent in the South-South zone (31 percent) and ‘Herdsmen/Farmers Clashes’ was more prevalent in the South-East zone (16 percent). Also, the poll revealed that one-quarter (25 percent) of Nigerians nationwide are aware of a security helpline that they can call during emergencies. Alarmingly, comparing the results to that of a similar poll conducted by NOIPolls in 2018, analysis showed a 5-percentage point dip with respect to the proportion of Nigerians that are aware of security helplines to call during emergencies[1]. The challenge here is that three-quarters (75 percent) of Nigerians do not know or are not aware of security helplines to call during emergencies. Moreover, the poll revealed that most Nigerians are willing to report security challenges in their localities. However, some Nigerians are not willing to report security challenges in their localities with worrisome reasons that need to be addressed. These reasons include: ‘I don’t want police problem’, ‘I don’t have time’, ‘it is none of my business’, ‘nothing will be done if I report’ and ‘I’m not interested’. Overall, these reasons show lapses like lack of synergy between the police and local host communities, a lack of trust in the ability of the police to curb security challenges, and to some extent lack of understanding regarding collective security responsibility by the governed and government. Finally, the survey having gauged the perception of citizens on the state of security in the country, awareness of emergency security helplines and the general attitude of citizens with respect to reporting security challenges. Results revealed that a huge percentage of Nigerians do not think that the country is secure, it also reveals a poor attitude towards reporting security challenges. It is therefore pertinent that these challenges addressed expressly. These are the key highlights from the security poll conducted in the week commencing August, 17th 2020. Survey Background As the various security agencies continue work tirelessly to secure lives and property, a series of security challenges have continued to bedevil the country. These security challenges are not limited to any particular region but cuts across all regions thereby creating a sense fear across Nigeria due to their unpredictable nature. To put it clearly, there is a significant risk of terrorism, crime, inter-communal clashes, armed attacks and kidnappings in and across states in Nigeria[2]. Survey Findings Overall, the survey revealed that only 35 percent (27 percent + 8 percent) of Nigerians nationwide described the security situation in the country as secure. Further analysis of respondents in this category showed that 8 percent described the security situation in the country as ‘very secure’, while 27 percent stated that the security situation is ‘somewhat secure’. On the contrary, 65 percent (33 percent + 32 percent) of Nigerians nationwide do not think that the current security situation in the country is secure. Nigerians who held this opinion described the current security situation in the country as ‘not at all secure’ and ‘not secure’. Additionally, analysis of respondents who asserted that the security situation in the country is not secure across geo-political zones revealed the South-West region (71 percent) had the highest proportion of Nigerians that hold this believe, while the North-East zone (57 percent) had the lowest proportion of Nigerians in this category. This implies about 6 in 10 Nigerians in each geopolitical zone do not think that the county is secure. Consequently, the survey sought to determine what respondents think about the security situation in their localities. Hence, the analysis of results revealed that 36 percent of Nigerians nationwide described security situation in their localities as not secure: ‘not at all secure’ (15 percent) and ‘not secure’ (21 percent). On the contrary, 63 percent of Nigerians nationwide described the security situation in their localities as secure. These categories of Nigerians described security situation in their localities as either ‘somewhat secure’ (32 percent) or ‘very secure’ (31 percent). This implies that slightly more than 6 in 10 Nigerians nationwide consider the security situation in their localities as secure. Furthermore, the poll sought to determine the most common security challenges across Nigerian localities nationwide, and the analysis of survey results revealed that although there are several security challenges across localities nationwide. The top three most common security challenges in localities across Nigeria was found to be: ‘Armed robbery’ (37 percent), ‘kidnapping’ (22 percent) and ‘Herdsmen / Farmers Clashes. In addition, the survey gauged the awareness level of Nigerians regarding security helplines to call during emergencies. The analysis of results showed that 25 percent of Nigerians nationwide are aware of a security helpline that they can call during emergencies. This implies that only one-quarter of Nigerians nationwide have or know a security helpline that they can all during an emergency. Comparing this result with that of a similar poll conducted in 2018 by NOIPolls shows a 5-percentage point dip in the percentage of Nigerians that are aware of security helplines to call during emergencies[3]. On the contrary, 75 percent of Nigerians nationwide are not aware of security helplinesto call during emergencies. With respect to the willingness of Nigerians to report security challenges in their localities, the analysis of survey results revealed that overall 83 percent of Nigerians are willing to report any security challenges within their locality. This result is encouraging particularly in the endeavor of Community Policing, as it reveals the willingness of the general public to partner with law enforcement agencies to fight crime. If the majority of citizens are willing to report crime in their locality, it implies criminals will not have a safe haven to hide and perpetuate their nefarious activities. The top three reasons why Nigerians are willing to report any security challenge in their locality were found to be: ‘to save life’ (26 percent), ‘it is their responsibility to report the issue’ (15 percent) and ‘to bring evil doers to book’ (13 percent). On the contrary, the top three reasons why Nigerians are not willing to report any security challenge in their locality were found to be: ‘I don’t want police problem’ (27 percent), ‘We have police nearby’ (19 percent) and ‘I don’t have time’ (15 percent). Alarmingly, a quick glance at other reasons why Nigerians are not willing to report security challenges in their localities was quite worrisome as these reasons: ‘I don’t want police problem’, ‘I don’t have time’ , ‘it is none of my business’, ‘nothing will be done if I report’ and ‘I’m not interested’ all seem to depict a lack of synergy between the police and local host communities, a lack of trust in the ability of the police to curb security challenges and to some extent loss of understanding regarding collective security responsibility by the citizenry. Finally, the survey explored the opinion of Nigerians regarding measures that should be taken to curb security challenges in their localities. Hence, the analysis of survey results revealed that 26 percent of Nigerians want ‘local community hunters to be equipped’, 19 percent of Nigerians stated ‘community policing should be encouraged’ and 14 percent of Nigerians want ‘service chiefs to be sacked’. These were the top measures opined by Nigerians with respect to curbing security challenges. Conclusion In conclusion, the poll results revealed that a most Nigerians believe that the country is not secure, and 75 of Nigerians nationwide do not know the security helplines to call during emergencies. Furthermore, attitudes towards reporting security challenges showed a willingness to report crime in their locality, in other words willingness to partner with law enforcement to fight crime. However, a significant proportion are not willing to report crime, and this may reflect a lack of synergy between the police and local host communities, as well as a lack of trust in the ability of law enforcement to curb security challenges. It may also reflect to some extent a loss of understanding regarding the collective security responsibility of the governed and government. Finally, having brought this to fore, it is imperative that all stakeholders and security actors look into the issues raised by this poll and look for ways to improve the overall security situation in the country by deploying global best practices on the improvement in security. Survey Method The poll was conducted in the week commencing August 17th, 2020. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 4.65%. NOIPolls Limited, is the No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com or download our mobile app NOIPolls on your smartphone. Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact Email: editor@noi-polls.com cakubue@noi-polls.com nohuche@noi-polls.com Number: +234 (0) 9 – 290 4162 +234 (0) 9 – 291 4877 [1] https://noi-polls.com/poll-reveals-an-urgent-need-for-a-functional-3-digit-security-helpline-across-the-nation/ [2] https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/nigeria-travel-advisory.html [3] https://noi-polls.com/poll-reveals-an-urgent-need-for-a-functional-3-digit-security-helpline-across-the-nation/

Abuja, Nigeria. December 15th, 2020 – A new public opinion poll released by NOI Polls has revealed that 49 percent of Nigerians are aware of the development COVID-19 vaccines that have been reported to be effective against the corona virus. The analysis of respondents revealed that the South-South zone (61 percent) had more Nigerians who acknowledged awareness of vaccines that have been developed across the world and their reported effectiveness against the corona virus. Interestingly, the poll revealed almost an even split for Nigerians who are aware (49 percent) and those not aware (51 percent) of the existence of vaccines that have been reported to be effective against the corona virus. This suggests that there is currently a gap with regards to information update on advancements being made globally towards the development of effective vaccines against Coronavirus. With regards to acceptance of the vaccine in Nigeria, the analysis of survey findings revealed that a larger proportion of Nigerians nationwide (74 percent) do support the use of these COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria. An analysis of respondents across gender and religious groups shows that at least 69 percent of these sub-categories nationwide are in support of the use of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria. Furthermore, analysis revealed that the top three reasons most Nigerians are in support of the use of these recently developed COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria are because they believe: ‘it will prevent further spread’ (22 percent), ‘it will be for the benefit of every Nigerian’ (20 percent) and ‘it is a cure for the virus’ (21 percent). On the contrary, top three reasons opined by Nigerians who do not support the use of any COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria are: ‘there is nothing like Coronavirus’ (30 percent), ‘belief in traditional herbs and treatment’ (29 percent), ‘vaccines might have side effect’ (24 percent). This behavioral pattern towards the treatment of COVID-19 and the lack of believe in the existence of COVID-19 portends of a serious public health risk that will ultimately affect the fight against stemming spread of the virus in Nigeria. Further findings revealed that 39 percent of Nigerians are not willing to take the vaccine whenever it is eventually made readily available in Nigeria. Respondents in this category maybe anchoring their hopes on their faith which also presages another public health risk. Having brought this to fore, it is imperative that all stakeholders in the Nigeria Health sector, the Federal Ministry of Health and all public health experts look into the issues raised by this poll and look for ways to address them immediately to stem and avoid the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria. These are the key highlights from the COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Poll conducted in the week commencing December, 6th 2020. Survey Background Globally, there have been 72,336,167 cases of COVID-19 with 1,614,159 deaths and 47,328,633 recovered cases and Nigeria has 73,175 confirmed cases with 1,197 cases and 66,090 recovered cases as at 13:15 hour on Monday 14th December 2020.[1] However, in order to curb the infection rate, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners are working together on the response to develop and deploy safe and effective vaccines. Vaccines save millions of lives each year. A vaccine basically trains the immune system to recognize and attack a virus, even one it hasn’t seen before, to protect people before they’re exposed to a virus. Vaccines also protect the community by reducing the spread of disease among people.[1] There are over 50 COVID-19 vaccine that have been in trials. Interestingly, the big breakthrough came when Pfizer/BioNTech published its first results in November. It showed the vaccine is up to 90% to 95% effective.[2] On 2 December, the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use. On 8 December, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan, became the first patient to receive the vaccine at University Hospital in Coventry, with 800,000 more doses expected to be given in the coming weeks.[3] Against this backdrop, NOIPolls conducted a survey to gauge the perceptions of Nigerians on COVID-19 vaccines. Survey Findings On analyzing, the awareness level and knowledge of Nigerians regarding the race for the development of COVID-19 vaccines globally; as well as the efficacy of all vaccines developed thus far. It was found that 49 percent of Nigerians nationwide are aware of the several vaccines that have been developed in countries across the world and the reported effectiveness these vaccines against the coronavirus. This implies that almost 5 in 10 (49 percent) Nigerians nationwide are aware vaccines that have been developed in countries across the world and their reported effectiveness these vaccines against the coronavirus. Furthermore, the analysis of respondents in this category across geopolitical zone revealed that the South-south zone at 61 percent, had more Nigerians who are aware of vaccines that have been developed across the world and their reported effectiveness against the corona virus, while the North-west zone at 44 percent had the lowest number of Nigerians who are not aware. Consequently, the survey sought to ascertain the support or acceptance of the use of these recently developed COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria. Hence, the analysis of survey findings revealed that a larger proportion of Nigerians nationwide at 74 percent do support the use of these COVID-19 virus vaccines in Nigeria. An analysis of respondents across gender and religious groups shows that at least 6 in 10 Nigerians nationwide are in support of the use these various COVID-19 vaccines within Nigeria. On the contrary, analysis of results revealed that 26 percent of Nigerians nationwide do support the use of these recently developed COVID-19 virus vaccines in Nigeria. Additionally, analysis of respondents in this category across geopolitical zones showed that the south-East zone at 42 percent has more Nigerians nationwide who do not support the use of any COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria. Furthermore, the poll sought to determine the specific reasons for supporting and not supporting the use of these vaccines in Nigeria. Hence, analysis revealed that the top three reasons why a larger proportion of Nigerians are in support of the use of these recently developed corona virus vaccines in Nigeria are: ‘To prevent further spread’ (22 percent), ‘it will be for the benefit of every Nigerian’ (20 percent) and ‘it is a cure for the virus’ (21 percent). On the contrary, analysis revealed the top three reasons opined by Nigerians nationwide that do not support the use of any COVID-19 virus in Nigeria are: ‘there is nothing like corona virus’ (30 percent), ‘believe in traditional herbs and treatment’ (29 percent), ‘vaccines might have side effect’ (24 percent). In addition, as the World Health Organization and other stakeholders put together plans deploy vaccines globally to clamp down the spread of Coronavirus; survey then gauged the willingness of Nigerians to take or allow the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine on them when it is eventually made readily available. Hence, analysis of results revealed that about 6 in 10 (61 percent) Nigerians nationwide are willing to take the vaccine when it is made readily available in Nigeria. More so, analysis of respondents in this category across geopolitical zone shows that the North East zone at 81 percent accounted for the sub-region with the largest proportion of Nigerians that are willing to accept the vaccine when it is made readily available; while the South-South sub-region at 41 percent had the lowest proportion. Additionally, a quick analysis based on two the major geopolitical divide bares that more Nigerians in the northern divide at an average 72 percent are willing to accept the use of the vaccines compared to the southern divide at an average of 47 percent. Also, a quick analysis of Nigerians that are willing to take the vaccine if when made readily available with respect to their various religious inclination shows that more Muslims in Nigerian at 72 percent are willing, compared Christians at 52 percent nationwide. On the contrary, analysis revealed that 39 percent of Nigerians nationwide are not willing to take the vaccine when it is eventually made readily available. Furthermore, analysis of this behavioural considerations for acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria, it was found that the top three reasons given by Nigerians who had asserted that they are willing to take the vaccine when it readily available are: ‘because of personal health’ (28 percent), ‘to protect my life’ (23 percent) and ‘I can take it after confirming that it has no side effect’ (19 percent). On the contrary, analysis of results shows that the top three for Nigerians who had asserted that they are not willing to take the COVID19 vaccine when it readily available are: ‘ government are just using us to make money’(25 percent),‘ I wont be infected, I believe in God’ (21 percent) and ‘ I don’t like the vaccine ( 17 percent). Consequently, the survey gauged the opinion of Nigerians on whether taking the COVID-19 vaccine should be made compulsory for all citizens of Nigeria. Hence, the analysis of survey results revealed that 36 percent of Nigerians nationwide want the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines to be made compulsory for all citizens. Additionally, analysis of respondents in this category bares that the North-West zone at 45 percent had the largest proportion Nigerians that are in support of making the vaccine compulsory for all citizens; while the South-South and the South-East at 28 percent each had the lowest proportion. On the other hand, analysis of results shows that 64 percent of Nigerians nationwide do not support making the uptake COIVID-19 vaccines compulsory for her citizenry. This implies that about 6 in 10 (64 percent) of Nigerians do not think that COVID-19 vaccines should be made compulsory for everyone in Nigeria. More so, analysis of respondent in this category across religious groups revealed that 68 percent of Christians held this believe; while for Muslims it was found to be 58 percent. Additionally, the survey sought to determine the specific reasons why Nigerians think that the uptake of the vaccine should be made compulsory for all her citizenry and vice-versa. Hence, the analysis of results revealed that the top three reasons given by Nigerians who are in support of making the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine compulsory for every Nigerian are:’ for public safety’ (35 percent). ‘It is not harmful’ (28 percent) and ‘to enable people socialize freely again’ (17 percent). On the contrary, for those who are not in support of making the uptake of the vaccine compulsory for every Nigerians their top three reasons for this stand-point were found to be: ‘allow people to decide’ (23 percent), ‘make it optional’ (21 percent) and ‘everyone has a right to choose’ (21 percent). Also, the poll gauged the opinion of Nigerians with respect to making the uptake of the vaccine a criterion for international travels. Hence, the analysis of result shows that a large majority, 78 percent of Nigerians nationwide are in support of making the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine a criterion for international travel. However, 22 percent of Nigerians nationwide held a contrary opinion. Subsequently, the survey sought to understand the various reasons opined by Nigerians with respect to making the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine a criterion for international travel. Therefore, the analysis of results revealed that the top three reasons for Nigerians who are in support of making the vaccine uptake a criterion for international travel were found to be: ‘just like yellow fever, it should be a criterion’ (40 percent), ‘it will help limit the spread’ (24 percent) and ‘in other to be sure of one’s health status’ (14 percent). On the contrary, for Nigerians who do not think that the uptake of the vaccine should be a criterion for international travel, their top three major reasons for this assertion were found to be: ‘it should be a matter of choice’ (27 percent), ‘persons should be tested / examined before giving them the vaccine’ (21 percent) and ‘No one should be forced to take any vaccine’ (20 percent). Conclusion In conclusion, the poll results revealed that 49 percent of Nigerians nationwide are aware of the several vaccines that have been developed in countries across the world and the reported effectiveness these vaccines against the coronavirus. In terms of the acceptance of the use of these recently developed COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria, the poll revealed a large proportion of Nigerians support the use of the vaccines in Nigeria. Alarmingly, the analysis of reasons given by Nigerians who are not in support of the use of these vaccines in Nigeria shows that they lack knowledge on the COVID-19 as this can be seen from their reasons which includes: ‘the believe that covid-19 does not exist’ and ‘their believe in traditional herbs and treatment. This behavioural pattern towards the treatment of COVID-19 and the lack of believe in the existence of COVID-19 portends of a serious public health risk that will ultimately affect the fight against stemming spread of the virus in Nigeria. Also, the poll revealed that some Nigerians who are not willing to take the vaccine whenever it is eventually made readily available in Nigeria are only anchoring their hopes on their faith which also presages another public health risk. Finally, it is imperative that all stakeholders in the Nigeria Health sector, the Federal Ministry of Health and all public health experts look into the issues raised by this poll and look for ways to address them immediately stem and avoid the spread of COVID19 in Nigeria. Survey Method The poll was conducted in the week commencing December 6th, 2020. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 4.65%. NOIPolls Limited, is the No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com or download our mobile app NOIPolls on your smartphone. Disclaimer This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published. NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking. Press Contact Email: editor@noi-polls.com cakubue@noi-polls.com nohuche@noi-polls.com Number: +234 (0) 9 – 290 4162 +234 (0) 9 – 291 4877 [1] https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html [2] https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-exactly-where-were-at-with-vaccines-and-treatments-for-covid-19#Vaccine-development [3] https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51665497 [4] https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51665497 #Covid19 #Covid #Covid19vaccine #Health #Facemask #Coronavirus #NOIPolls