African Journal of Social and Behavioural Sciences (AJSBS)

Vol. 16, Issue 7 (2026)·pp. 2349 – 2363

INSTITUTIONAL DISCRETION AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY IN NIGERIA'S PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK: A DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE CONCESSION REGULATORY COMMISSION

By Kehinde David Adejuwon

DOI: 10.68442/ajsbs/2026/v16i7.140

The effectiveness of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) policy is determined not just by the strength of formal regulations, but also by how public institutions interpret and apply them to specific transactions. This article examines how Nigeria's federal PPP framework authorises and structures discretion, and how it affects policy implementation integrity, with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) as the institutional focus. A qualitative documentary design is used, primarily focusing on documents issued between 2024 and September 2026, with an analytical framework derived from street-level bureaucracy and institutional theory. The study contends that fidelity entails adhering to the substantive objectives of policy rather than mechanical procedural compliance, and that differential approval levels, standardised standards, and the Model PPP Agreement organise discretion rather than restrict it. It argues that clearer regulations can minimise procedural ambiguity but not substantive uncertainty, and delegation without technical capacity shifts the implementation challenge. The 2026 transfer of Akanu Ibiam International Airport (Enugu) is used as illustrative rather than causal evidence. The article recommends, among others, that relevant government agencies in the infrastructure ecosystem should adopt standardised coordination protocols for multi-agency PPP transactions, and should assign a lead institution for each transaction, set response times for inter-agency clearances, and provide for the tracking and accounting of delays, without reducing regulatory requirements. This would reduce institutional ambiguity and improve information flow.

Vol. 16, Issue 7 (2026)·pp. 2334 – 2348

INFORMATION-SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AMONG YOUTHS IN POTISKUM, YOBE STATE, NIGERIA

By James Lamba Yusuf, Romoke Opeyemi Quadir

DOI: 10.68442/ajsbs/2026/v16i7.139

This study examined the information-seeking behaviour of youths in Potiskum, Yobe State, Nigeria. Four objectives guided the study: to ascertain existing information-seeking behaviour; identify information needs; identify information sources used to manage health; and assess how information received affected respondents’ way of life. A quantitative descriptive survey design was adopted. Data were collected through a structured Google Forms questionnaire distributed through email and social-media platforms, producing a self-selected online sample. After data cleaning, 102 valid responses were analysed using frequencies and percentages. Active searching was the most reported information-seeking behaviour (40.2%), followed by passive information-seeking (26.5%), passive attention (16.7%), and ongoing search (16.7%). The leading information needs were skills acquisition (36.3%) and employment (23.5%). The main health-information sources were the Internet (24.5%), social media (24.5%), and family members (22.5%). Information received most frequently assisted respondents in knowing how and where to obtain valid information (30.4%), navigating the Internet for information searches (23.5%), and recognising the importance of timely help-seeking (22.5%). The findings describe the connected respondents who participated and should not be generalised to all youths in Potiskum. The study recommends targeted information-literacy, employment and skills-information support through relevant state institutions and youth-serving channels.

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Vol. 16, Issue 7 (2026)·pp. 2312 – 2333

EFFECT OF CORPORATE INNOVATION ON ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

By Peter Akpomiemie

DOI: 10.68442/ajsbs/2026/v16i7.138

The study examined the effect of corporate innovation on the organisational performance of deposit money banks in Delta State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. The sample size of 261 was determined using the Taro Yamane formula. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection, and the reliability of the instrument was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, with coefficients ranging from 0.756 to 0.764, indicating satisfactory internal consistency. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0, using descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 261 questionnaires were administered, out of which 247 were retrieved and found completely filled, representing a 94.6% response rate. Findings revealed that strategic foresight had a significant and positive effect on organisational performance (β = 0.435, p < 0.05), service innovation had a significant and positive effect on organisational performance (β = 0.226, p < 0.05), and business model innovation had a significant and positive effect on organisational performance (β = 0.129, p < 0.05). The coefficient of determination (R² = 0.371) indicated that strategic foresight, service innovation and business model innovation jointly explained 37.1% of the variation in organisational performance. The study concluded that corporate innovation significantly influenced the organisational performance of deposit money banks in Delta State, with strategic foresight having the strongest predictive effect. The study recommended that bank management should re-engineer business models by improving value creation and delivery processes and leveraging emerging financial technologies to enhance efficiency and organisational performance.

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Vol. 16, Issue 7 (2026)

PRICING STRATEGY AND CUSTOMER RETENTION PROPENSITY IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALE ENTERPRISES IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

By Kehinde Anthony Afolayan, Nurudeen Bello Ahmed, Ismaila Yusuf

DOI: 10.68442/ajsbs/2026/v16i7.137

This study examines the influence of pricing strategies on customer retention propensity among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in South-West Nigeria. Pricing, a crucial determinant of customer behaviour and firm profitability, was explored through three strategic lenses: cost-based, customer-based, and competition-based pricing. Employing a descriptive survey design, 384 questionnaires were distributed to SME owners and managers drawn from a population of 132,749 manufacturing SMEs, of which 312 usable responses were analysed, representing an 81.3% usable response rate. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the three pricing strategies jointly explained 49.3% of the variance in customer retention propensity (R =.702, R² =.493, adjusted R² =.488), and the overall model was statistically significant, F(3, 308) = 99.832, p <.001. At the predictor level, customer-based pricing had a positive and statistically significant association with customer retention propensity (B =.467, β =.461, t = 2.302, p =.022), whereas cost-based pricing (B =.072, β =.071, t =.404, p =.686) and competition-based pricing (B =.136, β =.143, t = 1.330, p =.185) were positive but not statistically significant. The findings underscore the importance of aligning prices with perceived customer value while recognising that cost and competitor considerations may not independently predict retention when the three approaches are considered simultaneously. The study recommends that SMEs strengthen customer-value assessment and integrate cost and competitive information into broader pricing decisions.

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Vol. 16, Issue 7 (2026)·pp. 2270 – 2290

EVALUATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHATBOTS AS LEARNING-SUPPORT TOOLS AMONG UNDERGRADUATES: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL PERSPECTIVE

By Kamorudeen Taiwo Sanni, Bamidele Victor Aremu, Waliyi Olayemi Aransi, Sideeqoh Oluwaseun Olawale-Shosanya

DOI: 10.68442/ajsbs/2026/v16i7.136

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta AI are increasingly used to support learning, but their accessibility, usefulness and challenges among Nigerian undergraduates remain insufficiently understood. This study examined AI chatbots as learning-support tools among undergraduates in Southwestern Nigeria, focusing on awareness, accessibility, perceived usefulness, challenges and perceived solutions. A descriptive survey design was adopted. Three public universities in Southwestern Nigeria were purposively selected, and 1,012 undergraduates were sampled using simple random sampling. Of the questionnaires administered, 992 valid responses were retrieved and analysed, yielding a 98.0% response rate. Data were collected using the Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Tools’ Awareness, Accessibility, Usefulness, Challenges, and Solutions among Undergraduates Questionnaire (ACTAAUCSUQ), adapted from constructs derived from Davis’s (1989) Technology Acceptance Model and Venkatesh et al.’s (2003) Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, and informed by the guidance on generative AI in education and research provided by Miao and Holmes (2023). Data were analysed using percentages, mean and standard deviation. Findings showed high awareness of QuillBot, Grammarly, ChatGPT and Meta AI, but low awareness of Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Character AI. Accessibility and perceived usefulness were high, while major challenges included high data costs, inadequate usage skills, unaffordable subscriptions, low lecturer encouragement and fear of academic punishment. Campus Wi-Fi, affordable data, lecturer demonstrations, clear policies, peer training and first-year orientation were identified as key solutions. The study concluded that AI chatbots have potential as learning-support tools, although infrastructural, financial, skill-related and institutional challenges require attention to promote effective use among undergraduates in Southwestern Nigeria.

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Vol. 16, Issue 7 (2026)·pp. 2253 – 2269

THE AFRICAN FAMILY AS A CLINICAL SETTING: A DISCUSS

By Shyngle Kolawole Balogun, Rasheedat Abolanle Agbaje, Femi Elijah Babalola

DOI: 10.68442/ajsbs/2026/v16i7.135

This paper reconsiders the African family as a potential clinical setting where distress is perceived, understood, managed and referred, and is examined as a social unit and background to health behaviour. Based upon the World Health Organization’s (WHO) holistic view of health, as well as literature on African family systems, mental health care, caregiving, traditional healing and social support, the paper explores the role of extended kin networks in the physical, psychological and social health of individuals. It theorises that the family has a number of roles similar to those of formal clinical settings, such as informal assessment, explanatory formulation, support for treatment, regulation of behaviour, identity reconstruction, social protection, navigating resources and linkage with the professional community care system. The facts in sub-Saharan Africa provide empirical support for the consequential, but ambivalent nature of such functions. Families can also help identify the problem early, adhere to treatment, provide financial and emotional support, provide coping strategies that are culturally relevant, also transfer stigma, and discourage professional help, while also being a source of significant caregiver burden. The paper thus proposes a unique concept of the African family as clinical infrastructure to describe a longitudinal, relational structure that mediates the movement between the experience of illness, cultural interpretation of the illness, informal care, and formal care. This formulation is not a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. Instead, it facilitates culturally responsive, rights-based partnerships with families, thereby ensuring that clinical competence, autonomy, safeguarding, and evidence-based care are sustained. The argument has relevance in psychology, primary care, mental health policy, and for future research and practice in Africa.

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African Journal of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Aims & Scope

Publishing Schedule & Fees

Editorial Board

Prof. Ikechukwu J.D. Nwosu

Vin O. Umeh, Ph.D.

Richards E. Ebeh, Ph.D.

Associate Editors & Board Members

Recent Papers & Issues

INSTITUTIONAL DISCRETION AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY IN NIGERIA'S PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FRAMEWORK: A DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE CONCESSION REGULATORY COMMISSION

Published Volumes & Issues

Advisory Council

INFORMATION-SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AMONG YOUTHS IN POTISKUM, YOBE STATE, NIGERIA

EFFECT OF CORPORATE INNOVATION ON ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS IN DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

PRICING STRATEGY AND CUSTOMER RETENTION PROPENSITY IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SCALE ENTERPRISES IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA

EVALUATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CHATBOTS AS LEARNING-SUPPORT TOOLS AMONG UNDERGRADUATES: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL PERSPECTIVE

THE AFRICAN FAMILY AS A CLINICAL SETTING: A DISCUSS