ABSTRACT

The study focused on rehabilitation of prison inmates through Vocational Skills Acquisition
(VSA) programmesin North West States, Nigeria. Five research questions and five null
hypotheses guided the study.The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The
population of the study was 1,592prison officials. A sample of 351 respondents was drawn using
deliberate sampling technique. The sample was made up of 266 male and 85 female prison
officials. The instrument for data collection was self-structured questionnaire titled,
“Questionnaire on the Rehabilitation of Prison Inmates through Vocational Skills Acquisition
Programmes(QRPITVSAP). Theinstrument was subjected to face validation by three experts in
the:Department of Adult Education and Extra-mural Studies, Department of Vocational and
Teacher Education, Department of Science Education, all in the University of Nigeria Nsukka
respectively.The internal consistency reliability coefficient for the instrument was obtained for
each of the clusters through Cronbach alpha method. The overall reliability coefficient of the
instrument was 0.75. The data collected were presented and analysed using descriptive statistics
of mean and standard deviation. Real limit of numbers was used to interpret the result while the
five null hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics at the probability of 0.05 level of
significance. The findings of the study revealed that prison inmates participate to a high extent
in the VSA programmes for their rehabilitation, the rehabilitation of prison inmates through
VSA programmes has enhanced the social well-being and as well the economic well-being of
the inmates to a high extent;challenges that affected the prisons in the rehabilitation of prison
inmates through VSA programmes in the North West States’ prisons were: inadequate
governmental agencies’ support, inadequate support from Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGOs), inadequate vocationally trained personnel to train the prison inmates in various
vocations, inadequate modern and well-equipped vocational training workshops;strategies for
improvement to ensure effective rehabilitation of prison inmates through VSA programmes in
the prisonswere provision of more governmental support and non-governmental agencies’
support for the promotion of rehabilitation of prison inmates and recruitment of more
vocationally trained personnel in the prison services for effective rehabilitation of prison
inmates in the prisons. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that prison
authorities shouldintroduce more vocational skills acquisition programmes that are not available
for the rehabilitation of prison inmates in the prisons and more modern and well equipped
workshops should be provided for the rehabilitation of prison inmates in the prisonsof the study
area. However, relevant empirical studies on: participation of prison inmates in
rehabilitationprogrammes; enhancing socio-economic well-being of prison inmates through
vocational skills acquisition programmes; challenges affecting the prisons in the rehabilitation
of prison inmates and strategies for improvement in the rehabilitation ofprison inmateswere
reviewed. In addition to these, two theories that are relevant to the study such as theory of skills
acquisition and rehabilitation theory were also reviewed in the review of literature.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page i
Approval Page ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures xi
Abstract xii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 24
Purpose of the Study 26
Significance of the Study 26
Research Questions 28
Hypotheses 29
Scope of the Study 30
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 31
Conceptual Framework 31
Prison and Prison Inmates 31
Rehabilitation 37
Vocational Skills Acquisition 41
Social and Social Well-being 60
Economic and Economic Well-being 62
vii
Theoretical Framework 68
Theory of Skills Acquisition 68
Rehabilitation Theory 71
Review of Related Empirical Studies 73
Participation of Prison inmates in Rehabilitationprogrammes 73
Enhancing Socio- Economic Well-being of Prison inmates through Correctional
Education programmes 77
Challenges Affecting Rehabilitation of Prison Inmates 80
Strategies for Improving Rehabilitation of Prison Inmates 81
Summary of Literature Reviewed 82
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 85
Design of the Study 85
Area of the Study 85
Population of the Study 86
Sample and Sampling Technique 87
Instrument for Data Collection 87
Validation of the Instrument 88
Reliability of the Instrument 88
Procedure for Data Collection 89
Method of Data Analysis 89
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 91
Research Question One 91
Hypothesis One 92
Research Question Two 94
viii
Hypothesis Two 96
Research Question Three 98
Hypothesis Three 100
Research Question Four 102
Hypothesis Four 104
Research Question Five 106
Hypothesis Five 108
Summary of Findings 110
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONAND RECOMMENDATIONS 114
Discussion of the Findings 114
Educational Implications of the study124
Conclusion 124
Recommendations 126
Limitations of the Study 128
Suggestions for Further Research 129
References 130
Appendices 138
AppendixI. Selected North West States’ Prisons Commands and
Stations, Nigeria 138
Appendix II,Population and Sample Size of the Study for North West
States’ Prisons, Nigeria 140
Appendix III, Letter of Introduction 141
Appendix IV, Research Instrument 142
AppendixV,Reliability of the Instrument 147 Appendix VI, Descriptive Analysis of Mean
and Standard Deviation and T-test 159
Appendix VII, Reply of Letters and Pictures 175

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
The Nigerian PrisonsService (NPS) is constitutionally responsible for ensuring the
safe custody of offenders as well as their reformation, rehabilitation and re-integration.
Dambazau (2007) noted that the rationale for imprisonment is evident in decree No. 9 of
1972 which assigned the prisons with the responsibility among others to teach and train the
prisoners to become useful and law abiding citizens on discharge. These responsibilities are
discharged through carefully designed and well-articulated administrative, reformative and
rehabilitative programmes aimed at inculcating discipline, respect for law and order, and the
dignity of honest labour (Igbo, 2007). The offender, in this wise, is prepared to become not
only law abiding but also useful to both himself and the society at the expiration of his
sentence. The United Nations (UN) declaration of human rights in 1948 stated that everyone
has a right to education and Rule 71 (3) of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners stated that “sufficient work of a useful nature shall be provided to
keep prisoners actively employed for a normal working day”. Considering the fact that
human right is significant, Nigeriastrongly endorsed this declaration in 1976 (Hassan and
Oloyede, 2013). Despite this declaration of human right by the UN and Nigeria’s
endorsement, the country still remains among the nations of the world that are rated with high
rates of crime, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, and recidivism among ex-prisoners
(Tenibaije, 2010).
Adjustment of discharged prisoners in most Nigerian prisons has become a huge
problem because the society has come to view such discharged prisoners as social misfits
who are not amenable to corrections. The statutory functions of the Nigerian prisons
according to the Nigerian Prison Service (N.P.S. Report, 2015), include ensuring the safe
2
custody of awaiting trial and convicted prisoners as well as reformation and rehabilitation of
offenders. In some cases, according to Tanimu (2010), discharged prisoners are unemployed
and sometimes stigmatized and treated as social pariahs. This unemployment among inmates
and rejection against them by the society, sometimes forces them back to crime.But, it is
believed that this could be checked in prisons, through vocational skills acquisition
programmes that are geared towards self- reliance on release.
In support of this assertion, many investigations have advocated vocational training of
prison inmates. According to Onweonye, Obinne and Odu (2013), reformation and
rehabilitation are current issues that are central to modern penal-thinking and practices and
have been adopted and implemented in some Nigeria prisons using vocational training.
However, vocational training in prison is considered essential for the achievement of the
purpose of reformation, rehabilitation and integration of discharged prison inmates. Glym and
Tracey (2012) stated that vocational skills acquisition programme, is any form of education
whose primary purpose is to prepare persons for employment in recognized occupations.
Sonfield and Bonbato (2003) observed that the individuals are attracted to self – employment
programmes because such programmes have the potential to assist the people to help
themselves, create new job and help the larger community.
For the purpose of rehabilitation of prison inmates in the country, prison rehabilitation
services were established in some Nigerian prisons where inmates acquire skills especially in
the area of arts and craft to enable them become self-reliant during and after their jail term
and to keep them away from re-entry into prison in the near future. The term rehabilitation
according to Tanimu (2010), means to restore to useful life, through therapy and education or
to restore to good condition, operation, or capacity. In the word of Onweonye, Obinne and
Odu (2013), rehabilitation involves helping an individual to acquire a skill that can afford
3
him job opportunities in the society. For this study, rehabilitation means a process of helping
a prison inmate to re-adapt in the society or to restore someone to a former position or rank.
From the foregoing, prison has been a subject of debate among various scholars in the
social science disciplines. The concept has been treated from various perspectives, which
include structural and functional dimensions. For instance, Tanimu (2010) described a prison
as a physical structure in a geographical location where a number of people living under
highly specialized condition adjust to the alternatives presented to them by the unique kind of
social environment. Similarly, Ogwuoke and Ameh (2014) conceived prison as a place where
people are highly secluded from the rest of the world with entirely new order of control.
Hence, in the context of this study, prison is an institution designed to securely house and
rehabilitate people who have been convicted of crime or are on awaiting trial.
Prison is an institution or a walled place unlike free environment or community that
houses those who are socially rejected, insane or mentally retarded.Hassan and Oloyede
(2013) defined “prison inmate” as a person kept in a conformed institution such as prison or a
mental hospital. It is another name given to a prisoner or an offender or violator of law. These
individuals known as prisoners or prison inmates are kept in continuous custody on a short or
long-term basis. Hence, in the context of this study, prison inmate is person legally confined
in an institution designed to securely house people who have been convicted of crime or are
on awaiting trial.
The emergence of prison as an institution in Nigerian traced from 1861.According to
Hassan and Oloyede (2013),the declaration of Lagos as a colony in 1861 marked the
beginning of the institution as formal machinery of governance. At this stage, the preoccupation
of the Colonial Government was to protect legitimate trade, guarantee the profit
of British merchants as well as activities of the Missionaries. To this end, by 1861, the Acting
Governor of Lagos Colony who was then a prominent British merchant in Lagos formed a
4
Police Force of about 25 constables. This was followed in 1863 by the establishment in Lagos
of four courts: a police court to resolve petty disputes, a criminal court to try the more serious
cases, a slave court to try cases arising from the efforts to abolish the trade in slaves and a
commercial court to resolve disputes among merchants and traders. The functioning of these
courts and the police in that colonial setting necessarily meant that prison is needed to
complete the system. Hence, in 1872 the Broad Street Prison was established with an initial
inmate capacity of 300.Lawal (2015) reported that there was evidence of prison in Bonny at
this time but not much is known about its size and content.
Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) is under the supervision and control of the Ministry of
Interior and the Civil Defence, Immigration and Prisons Service Board. Talba (2015) reported
that the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) derives its operational powers from CAP 366 Laws
of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 to: take into lawful custody of all those certified to be so
kept by courts of competent jurisdiction; produce suspects in courts as and when due; identify
the causes of their anti-social dispositions; set in motion mechanisms for their treatment and
training for eventual reintegration into society as normal law abiding citizens on discharge;
and administer prisons farms and industries for this purpose and in the process generate
revenue for the government. The prisons service in Nigeria is a Federal phenomenon. The
organisation is exclusively a Federal Government concern which means that no State for now
has the constitutional responsibility to operate or maintain prisons. Presently, the NPS has a
total of 238 prisons. 155 of these are convict prisons while the remaining 83 are satellite
prisons. There are also prison related institutions spread across the length of the country:
Eighty-three (83) Satellite prison camps, 12 major farm centres,9 cottage industries, 9
subsidiary farms, 124 market gardens, 3 Borstal institutions, 1 open camp, 1 staff college, 5
training institutions and 1 prison academy.
5
The conventional convict prisons are for the remand of both the convicted and
awaiting trial prison inmates. Talba(2015) noted that there are two major types of convict
prisons operational in Nigeria. These are the maximum and the medium security prisons. The
maximum security prisons take into custody of all classes of prisoners including condemned
convicts; lifers and long term prisoners among others. Even so, there is unofficial
classification of these Maximum Security Prisons in terms of heightened security. This
explains why a high risk prisoner could be sent to one Maximum Security Prison as against
another. The Medium Security Prisons on the other hand take into custody both remand
prison inmates and convicts.
However, short term convicts constitute the bulk of the inmates that should ordinarily
be found in the medium prisons. The satellite prisons can be described as intermediate
prisons camps set up mainly in areas with courts that are far from the main prisons.They
serve the purpose of providing remand centres especially for those whose cases are going on
in courts within the areas. In some times, awaiting trial inmates with minor cases are also
kept in this type of prisons. When convicted, long term prisoners could be moved to
appropriate convict prisons to service their terms. The convicts prisons also, are prisons are
places where convicted inmates are kept for a short or long term imprisonment and receiving
vocational training for their rehabilitation. The farm centres according to Talba (2015) are
agricultural prison camps set up primarily to train prison inmates in agro-based vocations so
that after their incarceration, they will have agro-based skills to depend upon. The convicts
are expected to be taught to appreciate the dignity of labour. The farm centres are large
mechanized farms that are located in the food producing areas of the different geopolitical
regions of the country. Subsidiary farms and market gardens are agricultural extension
projects usually attached to some state prisons command headquarters for the same purpose
as state above. They are made up of vegetable-producing market gardens, poultry and piggery
6
farms etc. Apart from training inmates in all these agro-based vocations, these endeavors are
expected to yield revenue to the State.
The Borstal institutions according to Lawal (2015) are for the remand and treatment of
juvenile offenders. At the moment, the Prisons Service has only three of such in Kaduna and
Ilorin in the North and Abeokuta in the South. Plans are underway to build more to take care
of the cases of juveniles who are increasing in numbers and who because of their age should
not only be mixed with adult prisoners but should be deserving of different treatment
methods from those of the adults. For the purposes of staff development, the Nigeria prisons
run five Training Institutions: The Prison Staff College, Kaduna, which trains and retrains
superior officers; three training schools for the training and retraining of subordinate staff in
Kaduna, Lagos and Enugu and the Armed Squad Training School, Owerri for the training of
the armed squad personnel.
In the North West of Nigeria, there are seven States and 187 Local Government Areas
with 63 prisons: 14 prisons in Kaduna State, 14 in Kano State, 11 in Katsina State, 5 in Kebbi
State, 9 in Jigawa State, 5 in Sokoto State and 5 in Zamfara State. In an effort to revamp the
prison system in the country, Adeola (2012) reported that the Nigerian Prisons Service has
been renamed following the third reading and passage of “A Bill for an Act to repeal the
Prisons Act Cap. P29 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and enact the Nigerian Prison
and Correctional Service in order to make comprehensive provision for the administration of
prisons in Nigeria and for related purpose by the Senate”. According to the Bill, the change of
name of the sector is “to underscore the human aspect of the reform focus of prisons
administration and to conform to provisions in the international instrument”.
Reform and rehabilitation of convicts, can be actualized through a complicated set of
mechanisms consisting among others: conscientization, group work, recreational activities,
religious services and adult and remedial education programmes, skills acquisition
7
programmes, agricultural services and after-care services programmes (Orakwe, 2005). But it
seems like, the providers of rehabilitation services are either ill-equipped or do not have the
training to give wholesome services that can affect inmates’ lives positively. Recidivism,
whichis relapsing of discharged inmates back to criminal behavior, is on the increase in some
North West States’ prisons of Nigeria. Despite the fact that Hassan and Oloyede (2013)
revealed that rehabilitation services in Nigerian prisons are meant to reduce cases of
recidivism among prison inmates by empowering them to become useful citizens of the free
society after incarceration. It is unfortunate that the trade facilities for the rehabilitation of
inmates in some States of Nigeria are inadequate. In addition to this, Chukwumerije (2014)
revealed that statistics from 19 prisons across Nigeria indicated that more than 60 percent of
the inmates were recidivists (i.e. those who are discharged after their jail term and reconvicted
after some time). This seemed to indicate a relative weakness of the Nigerian
prisons to rehabilitate inmates.
Therefore, this could be checked through vocational training programmes that are
geared towards self- reliance on release. In spite of the present modest improvements of the
prison service, the prison inmates’ population in the country continues to witness a dramatic
increase in recent years of which Ogunleye (2014) noted that the figures from the prisons
indicate that there was a total of 48,408 prisoners in custody nationwide as at the year 2014.
Out of this number, 33,552 are awaiting trials while only 14,856 are convicts. About 70
percent of these persons “awaiting trials” are charged for offences ranging from armed
robbery to murder, arson, drugs trafficking and pipeline offences among others. Infurtherance
of the cases of recidivism among prison inmates in the country, it is not surprising then when
Chukwumerije (2014) commented that out of 6,183 inmates discharged only 917 were given
transport fare back home while only 119 could secure trade tools for self-reliant occupations
so far. In this perspective Yakubu (2006), stated that discharging a helpless ex-convict
8
without vocational skills and tools into the difficult environment is merely to create a stronger
case for a return to crime.
In essence, skills acquisition – call it technical training – is aimed at ensuring selfreliance
for the end products and thus practice must be emphasized over theory. Rogers
(2001) noted that entrepreneurship skills (an aspect of vocational skills) are life-skills of a
practical nature where they are properly delivered. Where theory takes a higher proportion of
a skills training scheme, the outcome may not meet the expectations of either the trainees or
the society.
The term “skill” as described by Eboh (2009) is the habit of doing something well,
especially skill gained through training or experience. In the word of Sanda and Abba (2015),
skill is the ability to perform an activity expertly. They further added that skill is a wellestablished
habit of doing things and involves the acquisition of performance capability
through repetitive performance of an operation. Abba (2009), classified skills into technical
and human skills that technical skills are those skills that call for proficiency in specific
activities, particularly those involving methods, processes, procedures or techniques for their
effective performance. Human skill on the other hand deals with skills acquire through years
of experience or training for proficiency on the job.
In the view of Abba (2009), a person who works productively is skilled because he
has acquired the habit of performing a task in an acceptable manner within his job, the
possession of skills marks a difference between a professional and an amateur. Skill is the
learned capacity to carry out predetermined results often with the minimum outlay of time,
energy, or both (Sanda and Abba, 2015). Skills can often be divided into domain-general and
domain- specific skills. For example, in the domain of work, some general skills would
include time management, teamwork and leadership, self-motivation and others, whereas
domain-specific skills would be useful only for a certain jobs like computing and marketing
9
trade. Skill usually requires certain environmental stimuli and situations to assess the level of
skill being shown and used.While the term “vocational skills acquisition programmes” are
vocational programmes that involves the acquisition of skills, knowledge and attitudes
necessary for effective employment in specific occupation. Vocational skills acquisition
Programmes delivered in prison involve instruction for a specific trade, occupation, or
vocation such as carpentry, welding, auto repair, building maintenance, and graphic arts
among others.
In an effort to reduce the rate of crimes, unemployment among the prison inmates
even inside and outside the prison wall and recidivism among ex-convicts in North West
States,Yakubu (2002) reported thatVocational Skill Acquisition (VSA) programmes for the
rehabilitation of prison inmates has been advocated, designed and provided for a wide range
of job-related skills in Kaduna, Katsina and Sokoto States of the study area. These
programmes as perceived by the prison officials are both relevant and essential for the selfemployment
of the inmates and for them to become self-reliant during and after their jail term
and keep away from re-entry into prison in the near future. It also involves the acquisition of
skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary for effective employment of the inmates in specific
occupations.
Perceptionin question can be conceptualised as the organization, identification, and
interpretation of sensory informationin order to represent and understand the environment.
According to Lawal (2015), all perception involves signals in the nervous systems which in
turn, result from physical or chemical stimulation of the sense organs. In the context of this
study, perception connotes the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory
informationin order to represent and understand the prison environment in relation to
rehabilitation of prison inmates through vocational skills acquisition programmes.
10
The available VSA programmes in North-West States as perceived by prison
officialsin Shattima (2015) include agro-based skills acquisition, carpentry and joinery work,
dress making, hair dressing, knitting, laundry and dry cleaning services, metalwork, soap and
pomade making skills acquisition programmes.
Agro- based vocational skills acquisition programme, is an occupational activity that
entails learning skills of farming in the area of animal husbandry, crop farming and arable
farming either through irrigation or rainy season farming. The agricultural produce is for
market and domestic consumption (Kristal, 2015). In the context of this study,agro- based
vocational skills acquisition programmes for prison inmates are educational programme
designed for the rehabilitation of prison inmates. This programme involves occupational
activity that entails animal production, crop production, pomology and arable crop production
programme. These activities aims at helping prison inmate acquire skills of farming
occupation for self-reliance after their jail term and as well generate personal income and
revenue for the prison while on their jail term.
Carpentry and joinery work vocational skills acquisition programme involves
acquiring skills in the art of working with timber in order to construct and maintain buildings,
furniture and other objects such as book cases, cabinets, doors, windows, stairs and such
special items by joining wood without the use of nails. Muhammed (2015) asserted that the
trade is also attached with the art of working with timber in order to builds items like book
cases, cabinets, doors, windows, stairs and such special items by joining wood without the
use of nails. In the context of this study, these activities are fulfilled by the prison inmates for
self-reliance during and after their jail term and as well generate personal income and revenue
for the prison while on their jail term.
Dress making skills / enterprise is typically desired by cloth wearing classes (Word of
craft, 2015). It also entails an activity that involves learning in occupations that entail
11
measurement, cutting of cloth of different types into different shapes and designed pattern
into a complete dress of different types (Igbo and Ileoeje, 2012). In the context of this
study,is a vocational skills acquisition programme designed for rehabilitation of prison
inmates.It is an activity thatinvolves measuring and cutting of cloth of different types into
different sizes and shapes and designed pattern to produce different types of dresses using
automatic and manual sewing machines for market and domestic use purpose. It also involves
occupational activity that entailsthe art of working with sewing materials and machines to
produce prison officials and other Para- military uniforms as well as men and women native
dresses by the prison inmates for self-reliance after their jail term and as well generate
personal income and revenue for the prison while on their jail term.
Hair dressing vocational skills acquisition programme; has been defined differently by
variously scholars. Victor (2006) defined the term as an establishment dealing with hair
treatments for men and women. It is an activity that involves provision of services related to
hair decoration for fashion and health benefit. Hair removal is offered at some beauty salons
through treatments such as waxing and threading. This is achieved using a combination of
hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques.Hair dressing skills acquisition
programme involves occupational activity that entailsthe art of working with hair dressing
machines to render internal and external hair style services by hair dressers.In the context of
this study, hair “dressing” is a vocational skills acquisition programme designed for
rehabilitation of prison inmates. This programme involves activities in occupations that has to
do with provision of services related to hair decoration, cutting and style in order to change or
maintain a person’s image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting,
and hair texturing techniques for fashion and health benefit. Hair dressing is offered at some
beauty salons through treatments such as waxing and threading.
12
Laundry and dry cleaning vocational skills acquisition programme; the term dry
cleaning refers to cleaning clothes and fabrics using a chemical solvent rather than water.It is
referred to as any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other
than water.In the context of this study,laundry and dry cleaning vocational skills acquisition
programme. In the context of this study, is a vocational skills acquisition programme
designed for rehabilitation of prison inmates. It is an activity that involves the art of working
with detergent, soap and other simple cleaning chemicals to wash clothes of different types
and rough carpet by the prison inmates for self-reliance after their jail term and as well
generate personal income and revenue for the prison while on their jail term.
Metalwork vocational skills acquisition programme: involves activities in occupations
that entail designing, processing, welding and fabrication of metal products. It includes
activities among others in welding and fabrication of metal products, soldering and brazing
and metalwork hand tools use skills. However these activities are also classifiably relative to
the unskilled, semiskilled or skilled workers. In Nigeria, the following are typical example of
metalworkers; Jeweler, auto body repair (panel beater), forge operators, machine operator,
fitter (iron bender), sheet metal worker, structural steel worker, tool maker, welder,
blacksmith etc. (Oranu, Nwoke & Ogwo, 2002). In the context of this study, metal work
skills acquisition programmeis a programme designed for rehabilitation of prison inmates. It
is an occupational activity that involves designing, processing, welding and fabrication of
metal products. Metalwork skills acquisition programme is an activity that entailsthe art of
working with metal sheet, iron, welding and cutting equipment and other welding and
fabrication equipment by the prison inmates to acquire metalwork skills for self-reliance after
their jail term and as well generate personal income and revenue for the prison while on their
jail term. Welding and fabrication are the major metalwork on practice in the prisons of the
study area.
13
Soap making vocational skills acquisition programme involves activities in
occupations that entail production of substance used for washing or cleaning, consisting of a
mixture of sodium or potassium salts of naturally occurring fatty acids (David, Anneken,
Sabine, Georg, Udo and Alfred, 2006). Hence, in the context of this study, soap making skills
acquisition entails vocational skills acquisition programme designed for rehabilitation of
prison inmates. It involves continuous processes of using smaller-scale production which
involves the traditional batch soap processes. In the North West States’ Nigerian prisons,
Double Boiler Hot Process (DBHP) is majorly adopted for soap making vocational skills
acquisition programme and two major types of soaps are produced in the prisons such as,
washing and decorative soap.
Pomade making vocational skills acquisition programmes; pomade is a word actually
originated from French. Their word pommade, meaning “an ointment” came from the Latin
pomum (fruit, apple) via the Italian words pomata from pomo, meaning “apple”, because the
original recipe contained mashed up apples in itRaymond and William (2015).In the context
of this study, pomade making entails an activity that involved processing of soy wax,
castorlatum, and essential oils to produce a greasy and waxy substance used to style hair.
Pomade is “-a scented ointment, especially one used for the scalp or for dressing the hair.”
The major types of pomades produced in the North West States’ prisons, are Vegan pomades
for prison inmates to learn skills of pomade making for self-reliance after their jail term and
as well generate personal income and revenue for the prison while on their jail term.
Knitting vocational skills acquisition programmes; knitting is a method by which yarn
is manipulated to create a textile or fabric. Knitting creates multiple loops of yarn, called
stitches, in a line or tube. Knitting has multiple active stitches on the needle at one time.
According toRutt (2003), different types of yarns (fibre type, texture, and twist), needle sizes,
and stitch types may be used to achieve knitted fabrics with diverse properties (colour,
14
texture, weight, heat retention, water resistance, and/or integrity). Like weaving, knitting is a
technique for producing a two-dimensional fabric made from a one-dimensional yarn or
thread. In weaving, threads are always straight, running parallel either lengthwise (warp
threads) or crosswise (weft threads). In the context of this study, is a vocational skills
acquisition programmes designed for the rehabilitation of prison inmates.
In the context of this study, it is an activity that involves a process by which yarn is
manipulated to create a textile or fabric. Knitting creates multiple loops of yarn, called
stitches, in a line or tube. Knitting may be done by hand or by using a machine.Two major
varieties of knitting are on practice in the prisons of North West, Nigeria: weft knitting and
warp knitting. This is to enable prison inmates learn knitting skills for self-reliance after their
jail term and as well generate personal income and revenue for the prison while on their jail
term.
As these skills acquisition programmes exist in Kaduna, Katsina and Sokoto states’
prisons, other four North-West States according to Mango (2006) such as Kano, Kebbi,
Jigawa and Zamfara States find it difficult to implement the programmes in their prisons.
This can be as a result of absence or inadequate Federal Government provision for vocational
skills acquisition programmes in its National Policy on Education for the rehabilitation of
prison inmates in the country. And also due to inadequate governmental and nongovernmental
agencies’ support to the prison authority for custody and rehabilitation of
inmates in the prisons. In line with this, Evawoma-Enuku (2001) revealed that education is a
marginal activity in Nigerian prisons. There is no known official policy on education
throughout the prisons in Nigeria. Evawoma-Enuku concluded that educational provision
varies from prison to prison.Lawal (2015) noted that the overall goal of vocational skills
acquisition programmes for the rehabilitation of prison inmates in the North West States’
prisons is to reduce inmates’ risk of recidivating by teaching them marketable skills they can
15
use to find and retain employment following release from prison. Stressing the importance of
VSA programmes for rehabilitation prison inmate, Evawoma-Enuku (2006) believed that if
prison inmates receive vocational training while in the prison, they will become functionally
rehabilitated for self-reliant. According to Onweonye, Obinne, & Odu (2013), reformation
and rehabilitation are current issues central to modern penal-thinking. Onweonye et-al further
added that the rationale behind skill acquisition programmes for prison inmates is three-fold:
to instill discipline in the inmates, create in them respect for law and inculcate dignity of
labour.
Therefore, the skills acquired by prison inmates while in prison become survival tools
for self-employment upon discharge. With the presence of these trade facilities in some North
West States’ prisons, Masari (2015) noted that some prison inmates have realized the
importance of work which can help them to re-enter the society after their release,
Acquisition of theses vocational skills enhanced the social and economic well- being of the
inmates within and outside the prison wall.
Social: The term social can be define as process of seeking or enjoying the
companionship of others; friendly; sociable; gregarious. A process of relating to, connected
with, or suited to polite or fashionable society.Whileeconomics is the social science that
describes the factors that determine the production, distribution and consumption of goods
and services. Economics has been called “the science of how people make a
living.”According to Andrew and Andrew (2008), economics is a study of man in the
ordinary business of life. It enquires how he gets his income and how he uses it.
Besides the traditional concern in production, distribution, and consumption in an
economy, economic analysis may be applied throughout society, as inbusiness, finance,
health care, and government. Hence,in the context of this study, economics is the study of
wealth and on the other and more important side, a part of the study of man. Economics is a
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science which studies prison inmates’ behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce
means which have alternative uses. Economics focuses on the behavior and interactions of
economic agentsand how economies work.
Well-being:Is a general term for the condition of an individual or group, for example
their social, economic, psychological, spiritual or medical state; a high level of well-being
means in some sense the individual or group’s condition is positive, while low well-being is
associated with negative happenings (Giboa, 2011).Inphilosophy: The term ‘well-being is
used to refer to how well a person’s life goes for the person who lives it. According to Daniels
(2012), well-being features in normative ethical theories, most notably utilitarianism. One
need not be a utilitarianor a consequentialist more generally, to think that well-being matters
morally.
In economics: The term is used for one or more quantitativemeasures intended to
assess the quality of life of a group, for example, in the capabilities approachand the
economics of happiness. As with the related cognate terms ‘wealth’ and ‘welfare’, economics
sources often contrast the state with its opposite. According to Tamir (2012), the term “wellbeing”
can simply be referred towelfare or wellness. A more current definition of wellness
and its distinction from health is the following: Wellness refers to diverse and interconnected
dimensions of physical, mental, and social well-being that extend beyond the traditional
definition of health. In the context of this study, well-being refers to the sum total of wellness
of an individual in terms of biological and physical health, emotional and psychological
wellness, mental and social states. It connotes lack of depression or anxiety. This state of the
mind is important as it determines the general health and well-being of an inmate. It also
includes choices and activities aimed at achieving physical vitality, mental alacrity, social
satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment, and personal fulfillment.In other words, although
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health is part of wellbeing, some people are able to maintain satisfactory wellbeing despite
the presence of psychological symptoms.
Cognitive well-being: Cognitive well-being is developed through assessing one’s
interactions with their environment and other people. (Giboa, 2011) noted that people tend to
assess their cognitive well-being based on the social classes that are in their community. In
communities with a wide variety of social statuses, the lower class will tend to compare their
lifestyle to those of higher class and assess what they do and do not have that could lead to a
higher level of well-being. In the context of this study whenever prison inmates interprets
their needs and wants as to being satisfied or not, they then develop their cognitive wellbeing.
Affective well-being: These are the different levels ofeffecton well-being: high
negative affect is represented by anxiety and hostility; low negative affect is represented by
calmness and relaxation; high positive affect is represented by a state of pleasant
arousalenthusiasm and low positive affect is represented by a state of unpleasantness and low
arousal (dull, sluggish)Well-being is most usefully thought of as the dynamic process that
gives people a sense of how their lives are going, through the interaction between their
circumstances, activities and psychological resources or sense of their own ‘mental capital
(Daniels, 2012)’. It could be said that well-being “is a state of complete wellness of
incarcerated prison inmates”.
Education: When talking about the school system, the idea of well-being is not as well
defined. According to Joshanloo (2015), it is argued that school should only be about learning
andeducationbut learners also learn about social skills and themselves. Main (2010) noted
that when individual learners feel like they belong, they are more likely to perform better in
school. As well as accessing an education, ideally they need to learn how to believe in
18
themselves and create purpose for themselves. If well-being is established in prison inmates
during their jail terms then it is more likely to play a part in their life as they get back to the
larger society after incarceration.
Financial wellbeing: The term “wellbeing” has traditionally focused on improving
physical, emotional and mental quality of life with little understanding of how dependent they
all are on financial health. However, financial stress often manifests itself in physical and
emotional difficulties that lead to increased healthcare costs and reduced productivity.
Social well-being: Is an end state in which basic human needs are met and people are
able to coexist peacefully in communities with opportunities for advancement. This end state
is characterized by equal access to and delivery of basic needs services (water, food, shelter,
and health services), the provision of primary and secondary education, the return or
resettlement of those displaced by violent conflict, and the restoration of social fabric and
community life. According Hatcher (2002), peace cannot be sustained over the long term
without addressing the social well-being of a population. Without basic necessities such as
food or shelter, large-scale social instability will persist because people will be unable to
resume the functions of normal lifesustaining a livelihood, traveling safely, engaging in
community activities, or attending school. Without helping people return to their homes or
new communities of their choice or providing a means for peacefully keeping away from
crimes and civil offences, prison inmates and ex-prisoners may not move beyond recidivating
back to prison or rebuild their lives.
In order to actualize social well-being, access to and delivery of basic needs services
is a condition in which the population has equal access to and can obtain adequate water,
food, shelter, and health services to ensure survival and life with dignity. These services
should be delivered in a manner that fosters reliability and sustainability. In the context of
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this study, the term “social wellbeing” is a sense of involvement with prison inmates and with
prison environment or with our communities. Many researchers believed that wellbeing is not
just about being happy or content, but also about being actively engaged with life and with
other people.
Economic well-being:Is a person’s or family’s standard of living based primarily on
how well they are doing financially.According to Lionel (2014), eeconomic well-being is
measured by the government to determine how their citizens are faring, as it is integral in a
person’s overall well-being. In the context of this study, the term “economic well-being” is a
prison inmate’s or members of the prison community’s standard of living based primarily on
how well they are doing financially. Without helping prison inmates return to their homes or
normal life and re-integrate with the larger society in normal way, or providing a means for
peacefully keeping away from crimes and civil offences, prison inmates and ex-prisoners
may not move beyond recidivating back to prison or rebuild their lives. Economic well-being
is measured by the prison authorities to determine how their inmates are faring, as it is
integral in an inmate’s overall well-being. Perhaps the most popular measures of economic
well- being are inmates’ income and inmates’ net worth, income measures the amount of
money that enters a prison inmates over a period of time (usually measured over a one- year
period), and net worth measures the amount of resources an inmate owns at a particular point
in time, less any debts the inmate owes.
Challenges:Challenge is a term which has been defined in different meaning by different
scholars. The term “challenges” according to Giboa (2011), are always accompanied by a
related action step that challengesyou to fulfill a task or take action against something you
want to achieve. It is like something that needs a lotof skill,energy, and determination to deal
with or achieve, especiallysomething you have never done before and will enjoydoing.In the
context of this study, challenges are related action step that challenges prisons to fulfill their
20
rehabilitation of prison inmates through vocational skills acquisition programmes effectively
or achieve the desired objectives of rehabilitation.
Strategy: Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term: which
achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a
challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations.
Strategies exist at several levels in any organisation – ranging from the overall business (or
group of businesses) to individuals working in it. According to Agbakwuru and Godfrey
(2016), it concerns strategic decisions about choice of products, meeting needs of customers,
gaining advantage over competitors, exploiting or creating new opportunities among others;
In the context of this study, the strategy adopted is based on operational strategy – is
concerned with how each part of the vocational skills acquisition programme is organised to
deliver the prison and programme unit level strategic direction. In other words, strategy is
about: Where is the VSA programmes for rehabilitation of prison inmates trying to get to in
the long-term direction; what kind of activities are involved in such VSA programmes
(scope); how can VSA programmes perform better than the other rehabilitation programmes
in the prison?; what resources (skills, assets, finance, relationships, technical competence,
facilities) are required in order to be able to compete? (Resources); what external,
environmental factors affect the VSA programmes’ ability to rehabilitate prison inmates
(environment); what are the values and expectations of those who are the managers in and
around the programmes. Strategies exist at several levels in any organization, ranging from
the overall business (or group of businesses) through to individuals working in it.While
reformation and rehabilitation are current issues central to modern penal-thinking.
Rehabilitation has long been a contentious topic in the fields of both criminology and
penology. Rehabilitation is a concept that has myriads of definition arising from the fact that
21
scholars define it according to the school of thought to which they belong. The term
“rehabilitation” itself simply means the process of helping a person to readapt to society or to
restore someone to a former position or rank. According to Ugwuoke & Ameh (2014)
rehabilitation has been considered a primary goal of the prison system throughout the
twentieth century.
For this research work, rehabilitation means to restore a prisoner to useful life, as through
therapy and education or to restore to good condition, operation or capacity. Rehabilitation
programmes in prisons include educational programs, pre-release programs and vocational
skills acquisition programs. A prisoner without adequate rehabilitation opportunity through
skills training and capacity building usually returns to the society which has incarcerated him
or her as a hardened enemy of that society. Therefore, rehabilitation seems to be a good
reason why some formal inmates could not return to jail. It appears that the time in
incarceration was spend proactively, changing some vital aspect of the criminal.
Rehabilitation gives prisoners the opportunity to increase their knowledge and also ensure
that inmates are socially well adjusted, psychological assessments are being meted to test for
mental and emotional disabilities that led to their incarceration in the first place.
The term “skills” are more commonly used in the context of trades, occupations, and
vocations and

 

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