Quality of Life in Nigeria

What does quality of life mean? How would a person define the concept of quality of life? Philosophers have studied questions similar to these in the aspect of what constitutes a “good” life for hundreds of years. There really is no certain date to the origin of quality of life as a specific term. In the years 1953 to 1954, two economists have been linked as the ones who used the concept in expressing their concern over ecological dangers of unlimited economic growth (Snoek, 2000). Other economists in the 1950s researched the ideas of what

Quality of life is how satisfied we are with our lives and whether there are parts of our health that affect this or inhibit this. For example if there was a lack of money in a family due to little financial support then their quality of life would not be good. This is because they would not be able to afford the necessities of life and other recreational activities.

Furthermore, another aspect which has been greatly supported and criticized by many great philosophers is freedom. Freedom is where there is no power or control over the citizen’s decisions. Every citizen is entitled to free speech and their right to interfere in political decision making. Additionally, the Athenian democracy ideology supports the freedom theory. The main aim of this democratic thinking was to give the power to the majority rather than the minority as this would take away the inequalities and corruption within society. Therefore the Athenian democracy was ruled by people hence it believes in self governing in which the dedication of citizens in participating and contributing in political decision making is extremely fundamental. The Athenian democracy also has strong views in promoting equality, it believes that every citizen should be treated with equality before the law and should be entitled to vote freely.

The definition of freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. In American we have three different types of freedom national, political, and individual. National freedom is the independence of a political state, the freedom from occupation or other foreign control. Political freedom is the right of citizens of a political state to participate

Social freedom in itself is not a quantitative or easily defined characteristic. Therefore, the model that will be used will be a model determined by Felix E. Oppenheim, a political philosopher that is associated with University of Massachusetts and the American Society for Legal and Political Philosophers. In Felix Oppenheim’s article, “Social Freedom: Definition, Measurability, Valuation”, he determines a sort of expression that manifests itself as “with respect to (‘wrt’ from here on) P (a holder of power), R (a respondent) is unfree to do X” ("Social Freedom" 175). In other words, the social freedom of ‘R’ (a subject to a governing power) is determined by its ability to complete action(s) ‘X’ without fear of retribution from ‘P’ (Oppenheim, "Social Freedom" 176). If ‘P’ makes ‘X’ impossible or punishble for ‘R’, then ‘P’ is limiting ‘R’, even if punishment occurs

Society relies on structure and order; the basic foundation of a fair society is made up of the individual rights and group rights which maintain the peace of a democratic society. Individualism refers to the rights upheld by the individual; the right to participate in political discourse, the right to personal expression, and the right to life. The idea of collective rights appertain to the democratic system which most nations adhere by; laws are made by members of the government which are to be followed by the members of society. These laws, which are created in the views of the majority, are the rights granted to a group of people. Individual rights should be paramount to collective rights to ensure the safety of minorities. Individual

The word freedom is often associated with the idea of an unfettered liberty to select from a range of alternatives coupled with a sense that our actions will not affect our natural state.

However it is a broad multidimensional concept. One aspect of QOL is health related quality of life (HRQOL) which on an individual level contains mental and physical perceptions, e.g., energy level, and their associates – including functional status, social support, socioeconomic status and health risk conditions. The research conducted suggests the HRQOL is the most commonly researched perspective on QOL in older

We typically consider freedom to be the capacity to exercise choice and as being exempt from authoritarian control

Quality of life (QOL) is a contemporary phrase which was first heard after the Second World War and, since then, has been frequently used but not well explained (Meeberg, 1993). Most theorists have at least an

Freedom, which can be defined as the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance

Quality of life is elusive. Quality of life is complicated, multi-faceted, and subjective. Conventional ways of measuring it have emerged, mostly in terms of access to technology, level of fulfillment of basic needs, etc. Certainly it is very difficult to have a high quality of life without having a consistent or stable source of food for your family or yourself. But in the end, the question of defining “quality of life” seems to be, unavoidably, self-determined. In addition the quality of nursing homes and long term care is determined by privatized companies who end goal is to make profits. In LTC and nursing homes it is advertised that, every department is involved in implementing quality management to offer the best quality of service;

The United States is currently experiencing a slow recovery from the recession of 2008-09. The current unemployment rate is 7.7%, which is the lowest level since December of 2008 (BLS, 2012). However, this rate is believed to higher than the rate that would occur if the economy was operating at peak efficiency, and it is also believed that there are structural issues still underpinning this performance. For example, the number of Americans who have exited the work force as the result of prolonged unemployment is believed to be higher than usual. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO, 2012) notes that long-term unemployment of greater than 26 weeks is at a much higher rate than normal, which will have adverse long-run effects on the economy, since workers with long-term unemployment often find their career paths derailed.

Before we begin, let’s take a look at the country and its environs. Nigeria a former British Colony, located in the western part of Africa, it shares borders with Benin, Cameroun, and Niger. A growing population of 150million, labour force of 51million (70% Agriculture, 10% industry and 20% service), urbanisation is less than 40%, GDP is over $300billion, Per capita income is $2300. Nigeria is blessed with different cultures, languages and ethnic groups (252 in total); this was due to the colonization of the British in the early 19th century (Columbia Encyclopaedia). The British amalgamated its protectorates in 1914 to enable stable control and governance which made them create one Nation of Nigeria formed from all the groups, community and empires around the Niger area under their control. Nigeria had her independence on the 1st of October 1960 and since then various civil wars, political and religious unrest in the country to share power and resources amicably.

Nigeria, a country in West Africa, also called "the Giant of Africa", due to its large population and blooming economy. Nigeria has a population of over 186 million which made it the most populous country in Africa and the seventh in the world. The CIA reported on 2017 that Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world today (CIA, 2017). Nigeria has over 500 different ethnic groups, and the major once include the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba; there are wide variety of culture and believe in Nigeria. The official spoken language is English. Nigeria is divided roughly equally between Christians and the Muslim. The Christian are predominately in the southern Nigeria and the Muslim predominant in the northern. A minority of the population practice religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as those native to the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities (PBS, 2007). Some traditionalist also exists, who worship the gods know as African traditional gods.