A nation of filth and squalor

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) is charged with the overall responsibility of protecting and developing the Nigerian environment. Established by Decree 55 of December 30, 1988, the agency has failed in its responsibilities.  Nigerians love to refer to their nation as the “giant of Africa”. While indeed Nigerians are performing noteworthy feats worldwide, to […]

The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) is charged with the overall responsibility of protecting and developing the Nigerian environment. Established by Decree 55 of December 30, 1988, the agency has failed in its responsibilities.  Nigerians love to refer to their nation as the “giant of Africa”. While indeed Nigerians are performing noteworthy feats worldwide, to the ridicule of developed nations where Nigerians prosper in many fields including governance, their nation is a filthy, decayed infrastructure, poverty-ridden dumpsite.

Not only does Nigeria produce an inordinate amount of rubbish, which it cannot dispose of properly, it also imports tons of rubbish in the form of e-waste comprising broken down electronic equipment, microwave ovens, refrigerators, computers, etc which end up thrown way in the bush or discarded in poorly managed urban dumpsites.

Even as Nigeria is being ridiculed all over the world for its filth and squalor even in the capital city Abuja, our political officeholders leech on the economy and dress in their finery to gallivant around the world impervious to the ridicule in which they are held.

The biggest tragedy of their mis-governance is that in addition to a debt-ridden economy the legacy they will leave for future generations is an environmentally degraded nation. World economic experts have projected that current economic policies will perhaps get Nigeria out of its financial morass in 15 to 20 years’ time. This means in effect that all Nigerians over the age of fifty should not expect to enjoy an economically prosperous nation within their active lifetimes!

What is worse is that all of us should expect to continue living our lives in the midst of filth and squalor because the work of repairing the degraded environment has not even started! Apart from economic reasons, the “Japa” syndrome of Nigerians rushing to leave the nation for pristine environments is because Nigeria has become an environmental nightmare facing land degradation, deforestation, as well as water and air pollution.

In terms of air quality, available data indicates that air pollution in Nigeria is almost 10 times higher than the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended value!In the Niger Delta, it is estimated that due to environmental degradation over 50 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line even though there are so many ways of making a living off natural resources by fishing, tourism, salt production, and farming. The destruction of the eco-system has led to mass poverty because everything from the flaring of gas coupled with major oil leaks has ruined farmlands and polluted rivers turning the area into a wasteland.

The main causes of environmental degradation are economic growth, population growth, urbanisation, transportation and rising energy use, none of which successive governments have been able to manage successfully. All geopolitical zones of Nigeria are affected by environmental degradation ranging from desertification in the north, to gully erosion in the east, oil spillage in the south-south and ineffective town planning in the South West.

Perhaps the most devastating of all the urban environmental hazards which the nation is yet to come to grips with is plastic pollution. It is indeed a global problem that affects nature and biodiversity, the environment, health, food security and economies.

The toxic chemical additives and pollutants found in plastics threaten human health and an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic find their way into the oceans and seas each year! This plastic waste has been proven to cause cancer, congenital disabilities and lung disease, as well as change hormone activity, which can lead to reproductive or cognitive impairment.

In Lagos State some residents are lamentably opposing instead of commending the government’s proposed ban on single-use plastics including sachet water. Styrofoam (take-away packs) and single-use plastics take centuries to degrade and negatively affect the environment.

Even though the government’s policy is designed to establish sustainable guidelines for managing plastic waste and protecting public health, objectors ignore the injurious effects on the health of future generations and claim the ban would lead to loss of jobs and will not favour anybody. What they mean is that it will not favour them and definitely lead to a loss of poorly remunerated unskilled jobs. Blame lies at the doorstep of government who has failed woefully to provide pipe-borne water which can be purified at home with a filter.

There are those who fear that a ban on pure water sold in sachets will make relatively cheap drinking water become a thing of the past and will result in a serious outbreak of cholera. There is no doubt that if government invested in public water systems instead of luxury aircraft and SUVs there could be a reliable supply of clean water in both urban and rural areas.

In 2021 Nigeria passed the Climate Change Act which seeks to achieve low greenhouse emissions by developing a quite inappropriate carbon tax.  To nobody’s surprise, the Act has had negligible impact on the problems at hand. It is essential that the nation moves forward with a ban on disposable plastic cutlery, plastic straws and other single-use plastics. Only reusable items such as shopping bags and water bottles should be made of plastic.

Nigeria has great potential in the tourism industry. Even if it seems likely this generation of political leaders will fail in the task of bequeathing industrial prosperity and a good economy, the least they can do is strive to bequeath a pristine healthy environment.