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Presented at the conference @ LAUTECH on 19/5/2015 TueURBAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN NIGERIA:

A CASE FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN POLICY

BY

*Ibrahim, T. Akogun and **Bello, N. Akinsola.

Department of Estate ManagementFaculty of Environmental Sciences

University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria

AT

THE FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF URBAN ANDREGIONAL PLANNING, LAUTECH, OGBOMOSO, NIGERIA

VENUE: FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (LECTURE THEATRE)

THEME: CITIES AND INFORMAL URBANIZATION

DATE: 18th – 20th May, 2015.

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* e-mail: akogun2000@gmail.com; Phone No: 08066082580

** e-mail: bello4all007@yahoo.com; Phone No: 08033183613

Abstract

A highly visible dimension of urban problems in developingcountries is the shortage (if not a complete absence) of basicsocial and infrastructural facilities. Urban services like potablewater, electricity, drainage, sanitation, efficient refusemanagement machinery and other public utilities in the countriescompare favourably with those of the surrounding rural areasbecause of over-population. In Nigeria, the majority of urbanpopulation wallow in abject poverty. Almost every Nigerian urbanhome is crowded up and characterized with high room density, poorphysical quality and inadequate or total absence of basicfacilities calling for some urgent action in the form of UrbanBasic Service Programmes. The trend is frightening that a pragmaticand timely approach is highly necessary to curtail and amelioratethe deteriorating situation of urban environment. Relying onarchival records and observations, this paper examines the problemsassociated with the urban areas and identifies solutions capable ofenhancing a decent living environment for urban dwellers. Themethodology adopted is basically a review of literature relevant tothe topic whereby the problems associated with the urban areas suchas slum creation, urban sprawl, traffic congestion, were clearlyexamined, and realistic solutions proffered. Most of the policiesadopted in the past to resolve the problems seem ineffective and soit is necessary to evolve such pragmatic solutions as the onesidentified in this paper. It is recommended that a strategic andpragmatic policy is instituted to comprehensively deal with theurban environmental problems to make the urban environment inNigeria generally safe, clean, healthy and aesthetically pleasingfor all urban residents in Nigeria.

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Keywords: Environmental problems, urban centre, urban policy,

Nigeria.

IntroductionThe task of promoting urban environmental planning and management,no doubt, is a more challenging one. Over the years, urbandevelopment process which is by nature, rapid and spontaneous,could be argued to be in response to the two theories of unequalexchange and unequal development. The unequal exchange, refer tothe exploitative terms of trade between these societies and theindustrialised countries, which create an interesting gap indevelopment within the under-developed societies themselves,regions are incorporated into the international economy in adifferent manner, and this generates the unequal development ofsuch societies – the cause of “regional problem” (Denis, 1985). Inearly part of the last five decades, the developing countries felttheir economic problem was purely industrialization, which theyrequired to catch up with the advanced countries. Nigeria forinstance, after gaining independence in 1960, intensified andexpanded its scope of manufacturing activities in major urbancentres. Consequently, the structure of unequal development tookthe form of first, the concentration of employment and socialfacilities in a few urban centres; secondly, there was a remarkabledistinction between areas with marketing as well as socialfacilities. Since then, tremendous population pressure on the urbancentres has been chaotic. Houses are built and occupied withoutwater supply, electricity, appropriate air space, ventilation andsetback, hence, the resultant slum conditions have continued toworsen (Basorun, 2005). Nigerian cities are witnessing high rate ofenvironmental deterioration and are rated among urban areas withthe lowest liveability index in the world. It is estimated thatbetween 20 and 30 percent of the urban population enjoy decenturban life in the country (Daramola, and Ibem, 2010). The way inwhich settlements are arranged in different parts of the world hasits origin in the middle ages. Hence the original pattern of urbancentres as we have them today are influenced significantly by theincreasing complexity of the conditions in which development hastaken place in them and attempts to cope with the associatedproblems.

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The aim of this paper is to explore the environmental problems andsuggest remedies thereto, of our urban centres with a view toidentifying in Nigeria, the emergence of urban centre which isliveable, safe and secure, and which will function efficiently ashuman settlements in an orderly manner, and to ensure that theyserve as creative centres to further stimulate the potentials ofNigerian with a view to promoting the economic, social and culturaldevelopment of the country as a whole.Conceptual FrameworkThe concept of environment (Singh, 2003) has been viewed fromvarious perspectives and defined in different ways. The variety ofdefinitions and conceptions of environment is closely linked to thefact that the study of environment is multi-disciplinary, and thuseach discipline tends to develop and adopt definition(s) in linewith its interest. This multiplicity of definitions, concepts andusage of the term in various disciplines was clearly captured byPorteous (1977:139) when he stated that:

“the multiplicity of the usage and concept of the termenvironment have resulted in a variety of adjectival formswhich include social environment, molar environment,physical environment, home environment, psychologicalenvironment, behavioural environment, geographicalenvironment” (Porteous, 1977)

For instance, Bain (1994), a sociologist defined environment as allthe external and non personal conditions and influences that affectthe welfare of a people in a given area. Hagget, a geographer, onthe other hand, defined environment as “the sum total of allconditions that surround man at any point on the earth’s surface”(Efobi, 1994), while the Federal Environmental Protection Agency inNigeria (FEPA) stated that the environment includes water, air,land, plants, animals, and human beings living therein, and theinter-relationships that exist among them (FEPA, 1989). However, amore comprehensive and all embracing definition was offered byKeller who defined the environment as:

“total set of circumstances that surrounds an individual ora community, these circumstances are made up of physicalconditions such as air, water, and climate and landforms;the social and cultural aspects such as ethics, economics,

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aesthetics and such circumstances which affects thebehaviour of an individual or a community” (Efobi, 1994)

From these definitions, environment can be viewed as all physical,non physical, external, living and non living conditionssurrounding an organism or groups of organisms that determine theexistence, development and survival of organism(s) at a particulartime. It encompasses constantly interacting sets of physical(natural and manmade) elements and non-physical, living and non-living (e.g. social, cultural, religious, political, economic)systems which determine the characteristic features, growth andsustainability of both the component elements of the environmentand the environment itself (Johnson, 1992; Muoghalu, 2004).In Nigeria, for instance, several studies (Rashid, 1982; NEST,1991; Anih, 2004; Muoghalu & Okonkwo, 2004; Nduka, 2004; Mba, 2004;Ojeshina, 2005; Bashorun, 2005; Daramola and Ibem, 2010) haveidentified many of the environmental problems as having seriousadverse socio-economic and ecological implications. A majority ofthese problems, it is argued are traceable to a number of factorswhich include the colonial antecedent of most Nigerian cities(Ogbazi, 1992: 13; Ikya, 1993), the high rate of urbanization(NEEDS, 2004), the bad psychological orientation of urban residentson the environment as well as poor environmental managementpractices (Meale, 1991; Agukoronye, 2004). Agbola and Agbola (1997)and Areola (2001) clearly indicated that the spatial structure ofNigerian cities evolved before, during and after the colonial rulein the country. It is also suggested by demographic experts thatthe high rate of urbanization put at 5.3 percent in Nigeria whichis among the highest in the world has the tendency of spurring upenvironmental degradation (Goldstein, 1990). Closely related tothis is the fact that most urban areas in Nigeria have grown beyondtheir environmental carrying capacities and existing infrastructure(National Population Commission, NPC, 1998). For instance, the 2006National population census data (FRN, 2007) revealed that most ofthe urban areas in Nigeria with small land mass have their capacityto take further population increase already exhausted or extremelylimited. With a population figure of more than 140 million and landmass of about 924,000 Km2, current estimates indicate that 10percent of the land area accommodated 28 percent of the country’stotal population (Taylor, 2000). The implication here is that there

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is disequilibrium between the population and the environment, andthis has adversely affected the carrying capacity of the urbanareas in the country; hence the increasing poor quality of theliving conditions and the low livability index of urban areas inNigeria.Generally, environmental problems are mostly due to developmentalprocesses and are of local, regional and global effects. Theseeffects are viewed as consequences of human activities, and aremost often harmful on human beings, livelihoods, animal and plantlives presently or transferred to posterity (Simond, 1994; Acho,1998; Danish International Development Agency, 2000; Kjellstrom andMercado, 2008). This has far reaching implications on sustainabledevelopment, most especially in the face of declining economicfortunes. Therefore, urban environmental issues will remaindominant for sustainable development agenda in developing nationsin particular and the world in general in the next few decades.Definition and Characteristics of Urban CentreDefinition of urban centre varies somewhat between nations.European countries define urban area on the basis of urban-typeland use, not allowing any gaps of typically more than 200 metresand use satellite imagery instead of census blocks to determine theboundaries of urban area. In less developed countries, in additionto land use and density requirements, a requirement that a largemajority of the population typically 75% is not engaged inagriculture and fishing is sometimes used. In Australia, urbanareas are referred to as “urban centres” and are defined aspopulation clusters of 1000 or more people, with a density of atleast 200 persons per square kilometre (ASGC, 2001). According tostatistics in Canada, urban area is an area with a population of atleast 1000 people where the density is not fewer than400 personsper square kilometre (Urban Area statistics, 2009). Whereas inchina urban area also called urban district, city or towns withpopulation density of higher than 1,500 persons per squarekilometre, it is a zone (aire ubaine) encompassing an area of builtup growth (called an urban unit) in France. In India, all placeswith municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified townarea committee, etc; all other places which satisfied the followingcriteria: (a) a minimum population of 5000, (b) at least 75% ofmale main working population engaged in non-agriculture pursuits,

URBAN SYSTEM

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and (c) a density of population of at least 400 persons per squarekilometre (census of India, 2011). An urban area is characterised by a high population density andvast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urbanareas may be cities, towns or conurbations. But the term is notcommonly extended to rural settlements such as villages andhamlets. Urban areas are created and further developed by theprocess of urbanization. Unlike the urban area, a metropolitan areaincludes not only the urban area but also satellite cities plusintervening rural land that is socioeconomically connected to theurban core city typically by employment ties through commuting withthe urban core city being the primary labour market. In fact,urbanized area agglomerate and grow as the core population/economicactivity centre with a larger metropolitan area or envelop. TheNigerian Land Use Act (1978) defined urban area as the areadesignated as such by the respective Governor of each state. The Urban Centre as a SystemEvery geographical region (continent, country, state, localgovernment) constitutes a system characterized by a network ofurban centres which are operational sub-systems in a total system.As substantial development centres, urban centres in differentzones interact and operate with a high level of reciprocalinterdependency. For example, cities like Lagos, Ibadan, Benin,Port-Harcourt, Onitsha, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Ilorin, etc arestrategic regions connected by activities that keep the total(national) system going. An urban centre as a distinctive system,consists of parts (sub-systems) which are functionally interrelatedlike organs of the body, which result from environmental factorssuch as economic, technical developments, social, demographic andpolitical changes. They represent the urban mechanisms of mainlythe public and private organizations with a framework of controlwhich certainly determines its overall operation. In the analysisof urban system, three major structures are recognized: theeconomic, social and spatial structure (Basorun, 2005). These aredistinct aspects of the development processes which are generallydependent upon the objective environment. An appreciation of theextremely complex nature of each aspect will make it easier toapprehend the extent of their relationship in the global system.Any meaningful urban policy must recognize all these aspects.

Informal sector

Indigenous establishmentExpatriate firmsProfessional enterpriseHawker Petty tradersMarket sellers Shop keepersWholesalers

Small scale distributionTertiary activitySecondary activityPrimary activityLarge scale companyBusiness servicePublic service

Formal sector

Social Structure Spatial StructureEconomic Structure

Informal sectorFormal sector7

Fig.1: The Urban SystemSource: BASHORUN (2005)

Methodological Approach The bulk of the data used in this paper was derived from archivalsources and content analysis of different research findings inrelation to environmental problems in major urban centres inNigeria. Also a good proportion of the data were those compiledthrough observations.The Environmental Problems of Urban CentresThe environmental problems associated with urban areas can bevaried. Attempt is made here to identify and discuss the mainproblems which are urban sprawl, slum creation, inadequacy ofinfrastructures and social services, poor sanitary environment,traffic congestion, security challenges, weak administrativestructures for physical planning and management, multiplicity ofplanning agencies, uncontrolled intensification of land use at citycore, unplanned suburbs and pollution.Urban SprawlThe impression has been formed of the city or urban centre as agrowth centre of intense social and economic activities. The oil

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boom of 1970s tremendously escalated the economic and livingcondition of the people, hence, the natural increase in populationand the steady rural – urban drift culminated to bring about acutehousing problem. Abiodun (1985) observed that, housing problem inNigerian urban centres is exacerbated by a combination of factors.First, there is the fact that the bulk of the traditional housingavailable in our urban centre is mainly in a dilapidated conditionand unsuitable for habitation. Secondly, more houses are needed torelieve existing over-crowding in many of the Nigerian urbancentres. Thirdly, natural increase within the urban centrethemselves demand additional dwelling units to house the increasingpopulation. Fourthly, rural migration which has assumed greaterproportions during the last few decades, has aggravated the housingneeds of urban centres in Nigeria. In response to the great demandfor houses, unplanned and substandard private housing districtscontinue to emerge in many towns. This explains why our cities arecharacterised by shanty dwellings, squatter settlements or homes,too small to allow for a decent family life. The tragedy of thesituation is that the majority suffer inadequate water and powersupply, waste disposal arrangement and yet, over-crowded by poorunemployed peasants. Persistent spread of these structures,therefore, over a relatively large area in an untidy manner istermed urban sprawl. “The growth of slum in developing countries isan indication of rapid but unplanned urbanization, misallocation ofresources and poor urban management” (Olokesusi, 1987).

Slum CreationThe problems of urban renewal and slum upgrading have their originin colonial urban planning which was based on the principles ofsegregation and which separated Nigerian cities into “European” and“African” areas. The former was fairly protected because of itslayouts and substantial buildings; the latter was left in its pre-industrial and pre-colonial traditional condition. Colonial rural-urban migration which brought Nigerian from other parts of thecountry to particular cities was also subjected to the principle ofsegregation (Presidential Committee on Urban Development andHousing, 2002). Thus Nigerian cities developed to have two types ofslum areas: the inner city traditional centres and the centres ofmigrants.

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Urban sprawl could be likened to slum creation which is aproblematic phenomenon associated with urbanization in continentsof high poverty. Today, the problem is peculiar to cities in sub-Sahara Africa, where the rural areas are becoming depopulated day-in-out. The most worrisome aspect of this circumstance is that, therural population who troop into the city search for job which donot exist, and for post which in actual sense, they may not befound worthy to hold. Eventually, they remain unemployed for solong, and in a desperate move to find shelter at the least possiblecost, greater proportion of the population live in the deplorableand unsanitary residential environment. However, there is enoughevidence to conclude that slum creation remains a major feature ofthe inner city. The situation is compounded because many of thesecities from time lacked master plans, in the form of policy guidedecisions about their physical or land use development. Inadequacy of Infrastructures and Social ServicesThis, in fact, represents the unsatisfactory state of affairs inmany urban centres. Larger parts of the housing environment hasbeen rendered unattractive for lack of basic infrastructures likeroads, electricity, water supply, parks and playgrounds, healthfacilities, schools and open spaces. Shortage of these facilitieson one hand, discourage liveability, and on the other hand, hamperthe operation of government agency responsible for housing of theprivate individuals who wish to invest in housing. There is hardlya single dwelling unit in the urban centre that enjoys regularsupply of electricity and potable water. Even, newly developedneighbourhoods at the periphery exist without roads to servicethem; let alone the social amenities. Recreational and health needsof urban citizens are met with difficulties. Yet, environmentalresearches provide clear signals that the urban residents perceivesthese elements as positive features of the environment; and indicesused in accessing the functional efficiency as well as socio-economic development of human settlement. Poor Sanitary Environment Sanitation continues to be a central institution in contemporarysocieties. The environment in which people live, and how it isorganised has profound consequences, both for the society andindividuals. Previous discussions about the urban area havecontinually justified its existence through conglomeration ofheterogeneous individuals, and generated perspectives that can

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enhance our understanding of it as an industrial society. Infunctionalist accounts and explanations, the city could be seen asan interrelated entity, analogous to a biological system, whereeach part (i.e. residential, commercial, industrial, educationaland transportation) is viewed in terms of impact on the rest of thesystem. A lot of problems have been identified in the system,especially concerning sanitation. In Nigeria, high house occupancyratio ranging from 4 to 6 persons per room can be recorded forcities like Lagos, Ibadan, Sokoto, Ondo, Onitsha, Enugu, Port-Harcourt. In these areas households depend on the crude traditionalmeans of heating such as the use of saw dust and firewood. Majorityof the houses lack toilet facilities, while a substantialproportion make do with pit latrine. Most of the bathrooms arelocated outside the main building without drainages; likewise theroads, and where drainages are provided, they are constantlyblocked by garbage thereby creating swimming ponds for pigs andducks, and harbour for mosquitoes, if not flooding. Poorarrangements for refuse and sewage disposal systems compound thesituation as dunghills tend to be used as conveniences, thuspolluting the neighbourhoods. The problem is great in places likeLagos, Ibadan and Onitsha where uncollected refuse heaps overflowunto several major roads. Again, the persistent air pollution interms of vehicular and industrial noise, and large quantity ofsmoke and gaseous fumes that are generated (e.g. sulphur fumes)poses great danger to health.Traffic CongestionThe city as an engine of economic development, and centre ofindustry, commerce and administration, functions only with anefficient transportation system. It would be useful at this stageto establish that a reciprocal relationship exists betweentransportation systems and urban land use, as the former determinesthe intensity and pattern of activities within the city. Theconcentration of people and activities in the centres, the rapidlyincreasing number and complexity of functions they perform, and theresulting competition for space, have brought about ever increasingseparation between work places and residential areas (Filani,1987). Improvement in income of Nigerians, especially in wages ofcivil servants has led to increase in car ownership and automobiletransportation in recent time. The Federal, State and Private UrbanMass Transit Programmes have joined to increase the fleet of

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vehicles on Nigerian roads. Added to this is the increasing numberof motorcycles and tricycles. As all these help to reduce theproblem of transportation, the concomitant results of trafficcongestion become visible in the urban centres.Traffic congestion is one of the most predominant problemsencountered in most cities of the world. Nigerian cities are noexception (Ogbazi, 1992). Admittedly, people live at some distancesfrom their respective places of employment and usually make tripson roads within the city. The schedule of working hours in thecountry is such that allows for simultaneous movement around thespecific hours. In effect, peak periods are created by trafficbetween 7:30am and 9:00am and 4:00pm and 6;00pm during which longqueues of vehicles are found on major corridors of most cities ofNigeria. This suggested that the coincidence of traffic at theseperiods is necessitated by the desire of civil servants, tradersand other categories of workers to reach their places of work atthe appropriate time and return home early. Very few urban centreshave efficient and reliable public transport system; the narrownessof the road in most cases limits their capacity and constitutesconstraints on accessibility. With the number of vehicles as wellas trips demand from the central business districts, it is observedthat the existing road tend to carry excessive traffic burden. Itis apparent that majority of roads in the cities are in a severestate of disrepair, as a result of which there is concentration ofurban traffic on the main corridors, which sometimes may be oflonger distance to individual destinations. On-street parking andactivities of street traders or hawkers make the situation worstmost often. Progressive delay in movement in the cities thereforedoes not only reduce efficiency at work but increases boredom intransportation and environmental pollution.Security ChallengesUrban security is the quality or condition of being free fromdanger, damage or injury. It is a state of protection againstdebilitating life-threatening events. In urban centres, suchthreats can come from four main sources – environmental hazards ordisasters, interpersonal violence and social delinquency. All thesetake place in the context in which the local government and othergovernment agencies seem to have abdicated their responsibility tomake our cities safe and secure (Presidential Committee on UrbanDevelopment and Housing, 2002). Perhaps the most distressing

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feature of life in the present day Nigerian cities is the feelingof helplessness with which most residents approach problems oftheir safety and security that needs to be resolved at the level oftheir local government.It used to be Odua Peoples’ Congress (OPC) in the South-westernstates, Movement for Actualization of Sovereign States of Biafara(MASSOB), Movement for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOG) in NigerDelta, and presently, the Boko Haram in the North and FederalCapital City, killing hundreds of people, destroying expensiveproperties belonging to the public and private individuals andorganizations on daily basis. Aside these, we also have othermilitants, armed robbers and burglars that inflict all sorts ofthreat on residents at home, place of work, religious sites,markets, motor parks, on the road and other places within the urbancentres. It is very difficult to track down the elements behind theinsurgency.Weak Administrative structures for physical Planning and ManagementThe most fundamental problem which had badly affected theadministration of physical planning in Nigeria is lack ofacceptance of the role of the physical planning in the way thateconomic planning has been accepted as a paramount governmentfunction (Onibokun, 1981). Basically, master plans have beenidentified as means through which significant improvement could berealized in the land administration and management. The idea isbased on a proposal of mixture of factual circumstances and valuestatements, which attempts to capture the key features ofappropriate physical development planning. It initiates what to beplanned, developed, administered and managed, while alsoarticulating and coordinating all major proposals at differentpoints in time and space, so as to achieve the self-same purpose ofthe community on her geographical space (Ilesanmi, 1998). In hisview, master plan is a long-range plan, general in nature, anddealing comprehensively with all significant aspects of thedevelopment of the territories of a city. It is also seen as one ofthe foremost instruments through which the city council considersdebates and finally agrees upon a coherent, unified set of general,long-range policies for physical development of a community (Black,1975; Roberts, 1982 and Ogbazi, 1992).In Nigeria, as in many other developing nations, physical planningis restricted to town planning activities such as preparation of

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housing scheme, or layouts; arrangement of roads, building andstructures, recreational areas, a few public utilities andcommunity facilities, only to achieve a visually attractiveenvironment. In totality, this conception fails to accord aholistic emphasis to the major factors associated with physicalplanning in the urban areas. There is no specific ministry for thisactivity at the federal level. The Ministry of Environment is onlya multi-function organ of the government. The Department of Urbanand Regional Planning at the state and local levels are notencouraged to carry out this statutory function (i.e. master planpreparation) as evidenced by the meagre capital or recurrentallocations to the sector by successive governments. The situationbecomes worse as these centres are still demarcated into two ormore local government areas with different administrationstructures. For example, the cities of Ibadan, Oyo and Ilorin aredivided into eleven, four and five local government areasrespectively.Multiplicity of Planning AgenciesA lot of diversity has been noticed in the attitude of governmenttowards planning in recent years. For the mere fact that it isfaced with so many commitments in the environment the issue ofplanning has not been perceived as an isolated phenomenon, butsomething that cut across every aspect that affects the entirepopulation at each point in their life. Since there is no clear-cutdemarcation as to who is to do what in terms of planning, so manyministries are unnecessarily involved in the execution of the samefunction in a conflicting manner. It is common to find manyphysical development agencies in Nigeria, some of these are PHCN,Water Corporation, local Planning Authority, Capital UrbanDevelopment Authority, Local Government Authority, Federal andState Environmental protection Agencies, etc. Each of these isestablished for particular development activity within thejurisdiction of Local Government Authority in which the urbancentre locates. In serious struggle and competition for power, theagencies introduced different development plans that intersect theconcept of the other. A typical example is the area earmarked forindustrial neighbourhood by the Urban and Regional PlanningDepartment but later converted to housing estates by the Ministryof Lands and Housing; part of which may still be required by theCapital Urban Development authority for market establishment. The

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planning authority on its own, reserves the ultimate responsibilityof influencing actions taken upon the environment. It happens mosttimes that another agent of government presents to it a scheme forapproval on land, for which a different scheme had already beenprepared. It is therefore common to find overlapping functions inland administration by various agencies in the urban centres. Theproblem is in part, a result of multiplicity of planning agencies,and on the other hand, a product of poor coordination of planningactivities among the bodies. The factors hampering theeffectiveness of these agencies include inadequate enforcement,institutional problems, inadequate funding, uncoordinatedlegislation, mismanagement of resources, inadequate trained man-power, inadequate public awareness and involvement as well aspolitical interference which distort environmental programmes(Presidential Committee on Urban Development and Housing, 2002)Generally, there is a lack of coherent administration in the formof a central committee to harmonize and integrate the various plansof the agencies involved in urban physical development.Uncontrolled Intensification of Land Use at City CoreIt is axiomatic to say that the urban centre represents the hub ofeconomic activities. The central business district is a majorcommercial axis incorporating the main market, wholesales or warehouse, banking institutions and professional chambers. It is adesignated business core of high intensity where pressure frominterest groups prompts many more development projects. On accountsof the fact that most of the urban centres were initially pre-colonial cities which did not undergo proper physical planning fromonset, all new developments or extensions within the core area nowconstitute intensification of land use, which indeed, is a majorenvironmental degradation problem in our cities today. Until afterindependence, little or no attention was paid to effects ofenvironment on health by colonial masters. They looked at allaspects of social conditions, work, housing, health, recreation andsanitation as irrelevant to their colonial objectives. So, noeffort was made on the organization of settlement. All availablespaces were covered with buildings without adequate setbacks toroads, airspace and siting of essential community services. Whatwas peculiar to the city centres then was arbitrary demarcation offamily lands, while houses and compounds were built withoutreference to any specific system of layout. Even with the advent of

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modern techniques, it is absolutely difficult to normalize thiswrong. People have taken the advantage to complicate the physicallandscape of the central area. Even though the majority of thebuildings in the area are meant for residential, many are multi-purposely used especially for residential and commercial activities(Bashorun, 2005). The phenomenon of illegal rebuilding,partitioning, attachments or building extensions and newconstructions are pervasive throughout the city centres. Inaddition to these are some minor structures like kiosks ortemporary sheds, all jam-packed along major roads. The consequenceof this is the disorder and spurious development, as well ascreation of extensive high-density growth, which make accessibilityand habitation in greater parts of the central business districtdifficult.Unplanned SuburbsNo urban area is independent of its suburbs in any part of theworld. Both have complementary functions to perform in thedevelopment of the entire region. A review of the current urbansituation in Nigeria indicates that little priority is attached tothe implications of its spatial distribution to the ruralhinterlands. When cities fail to give adequate support to thesuburbs, it becomes strangled and reflects a kind of disequilibriain urban management. The growing failure of these centres usually,is the unfulfilment of the expectations both of those who live inthem, and those who have to depend on them for services (Mabogunje,1985). Planning of the suburbs encircles a number of activitiesranging from provision of welfare facilities such as educational,health and social amenities, to stimulating the productive capacityof rural populace in terms of expansion of their agricultural andeconomic base. Politically, every sphere of human endeavour isdealt with in the plan, in a way to generate overall solution toperceived problems in the city and the surroundings. This in itselfis a strong potentially beneficial force for the development of therural hinterland.Metropolitan centres of developed nations are considered to includethe suburban fringes or rather the non urban territories. Theseareas often encompass substantial amount of rural land. Forexample, in Japan, a large number of people who live in rural areasare included within the boundaries of urban areas (Brockerhoff,2000). The perception of urban administration in Nigeria for

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instance is quite different; there is rural-urban dichotomy. Thefocus of urban development is purely within the limit of urbancoverage, which in effect increases the wave of rural-urbanmigration. Consequent upon high demand for housing in the cities bythe low income migrants, the unplanned temporary residential unitsat the suburbs are first inhabited. Closely associated with thecongestion of these districts are other environmental problems suchas waste disposal, poor sanitation, shortage of facilities as wellas slum creation.Pollution Environmental pollution can be categorized into three groups.These are air or atmospheric pollution, aquatic or water pollutionand land or surface area pollution. The World Health Organization(WHO) (1990) defined air pollution as “limited to situation inwhich the outer ambient atmosphere contains materials inconcentrations which are harmful to man and his environment”. Man’sactivities on the earth surface have largely degraded the qualityof the lower atmosphere. The growth and development of industriesand Urbanization has contributed greatly to the excess carbonmonoxide produced by combustion and other human activities. Carbonmonoxide reacts with the blood vessel and prevent it from taking upoxygen and the people are suffocated. In Nigeria, several ruraltowns that had in the past enjoyed fresh and dry air are currentlyexperiencing air pollution problems (Obajimi, 1998). This is due toindustrialization process and expansion in human activities.Aquatic or water pollution is the discharge of unwanted biological,chemical and physical materials into water bodies from man’senvironment. The pollutants are usually chemical, physical andbiological substances that affect the natural condition of water.This incidence is responsible for the wide spread watercontamination in most Nigeria cities. Also solid wastes haveequally flooded the water ways in these urban centres. Land surfacepollution is the occurrence of unwanted materials or waste on land.The commonest pollutant on land is the waste products that areoften scattered on land area in the cities. According toOnwioduokit (1998), most environmental problems are due to theproduction or consumption of goods whose waste products translateeasily into pollutants. Ayeni (1978) and Sada et al (1988)believed that the emergence of urbanization is responsible for therapid accumulation of solid waste. Generally, it would appear that

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the growth of urbanization and industrial development coupled withimproper wastes management control have added a great dimension toland area pollution in Nigeria (Omofonmwan and Osa-Edoh, 2008). In the next section, the paper discuss the way forward and suggestsome basic points which will assist the government as well asprivate individuals and organizations in providing lastingsolutions to the problems. A pragmatic urban policy shouldincorporate the remedies in such a way as to derive the maximumbenefits through efficient application and implementation of themeasures.

Remedies to the Urban ProblemsIn the face of various legislations and interventions by governmentat all levels in the country, Nigeria’s urban problems still appearintractable. The CIA World Fact book gives the estimate of Nigerianpopulation as 155,215,573 as at July 2011at a growth rate of 2.75%while about 50% lives in urban centres (Daramola and Ibem, 2010).It was also estimated that in 25 years, the population will rise to300 million (UPI, 2012). The effective management of Nigerian urbanenvironment becomes imperative. There is a great challenge ofrestructuring the existing institutional arrangements for urbanenvironmental management. The following strategies andtechnologies, which represent new measures and policyinterventions, will enable the entire nation to achieve sustainablegrowth and development.

1. Sustainable City ProgrammeThe sustainable city programme is an approach, which seeks toimpose some order of development on Nigerian cities in the 21stcentury, drawing on the concept of sustainability. Sustainabledevelopment is defined as a “programme to change the process ofeconomic development so that it ensures a basic quality of life forall people and protect the ecosystem and community systems thatmake life possible and worthwhile” (Okunfulure, 1997). The peopleor citizens, the civil society organizations, the government andthe private sectors are crucial stakeholders, which could possiblybe brought together to harness the innate resources of the peoplefor sustainable urban growth. The partnership approach to urban

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development and management is seen as the most effective way ofharmonizing views and evolving lasting solution to urban problems.2. Environmental Planning and ManagementThis project is an environmental strategic exercise, which isdriven and carried through the stakeholders themselves, leading toagreed and implementable strategies, action plans and projects(Busari, 1997and Abumere, 2002). It is a new approach to urbandevelopment and management, still anchored on the concept ofpartnership, especially between technocrats (Estate Surveyors,Urban Planners, Architects, Land surveyors, Quantity Surveyors,Builders, etc) and the inhabitants of a particular environment orcity. Under the process, all the stakeholders in the city must beinvolved in problem identification, priority setting, projectimplementation, fund sourcing and project maintenance andmonitoring (Onibokun, 1997). It is important to note that thefunctions of the working group include sensitization, developmentof demonstration projects, development of strategies and actionplan. 3. Urban Basic Services The urban basic service is a mechanism adopted by UNICEF forupgrading and expanding facilities for health and educationservices as well as alleviating poverty in the targeted poorcommunities in the urban areas. The hallmark of the concept is theintegration of infrastructure provision with human settlementdevelopment with a view to reduce the level of urban poverty andentrenching a healthy living environment (Okoko and Omole, 2002).As a community targeted strategy, it attempts to develop autonomousurban communities and make services available especially to thedisadvantaged through integrated efforts and resources of bothgovernment and non- government organizations. The UNICEF andFederal Government of Nigeria entered into partnership to provideUrban Basic Services in six Nigerian urban communities – Lagos,Ibadan, Onitsha, Port-Harcourt, Kano and Kaduna. These are citieswhere growth has accentuated environmental difficulties, especiallyfor the poor at the inner core.4. Geographic / land information SystemThe 21st century is the information age. The overriding priority ofthe government of most poor countries is gaining access to accurateor up-to-date data for sustainable improvement of health, incomeand living conditions of the poor majority. With GIS, information

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about the geography, social and economic conditions, policies andinstitutions is readily accessible and planners are able to takesound decisions that will have lasting positive impact on people’slives. The development of GIS is vital for optimising theproductive use of a country’s human and natural resources. Itimproves governance and empowers the people to participate in theprovision, analysis and presentation of information for theenhancement of sustainable development. 5. Good Urban GovernanceWorld Bank (1995) defines good governance as “the manner in whichpower is exercised in the management of a country’s economic andsocial resources for development” (Kinuthia-Njega, 1999). GoodUrban Governance according to UN-Habitat (2000) is characterised bythe following:

- Sustainability in all dimensions of urban development, - Decentralization of authority and resources,- Equity of access to decision-making process by equal

representation of men, women and the poor, especiallyreflecting their needs and priorities,

- Efficiency in the administration and delivery of publicservices and in promoting economic development through soundfinancial and cost effective management of revenue sources andexpenditure,

- Transparency and accountability of decision makers and allstakeholders, providing universal access to and ensuring freeflow of information,

- Applying laws in a transparent and predictable manner andensuring high standards of professional and personalintegrity,

- Empowering the citizens to participate effectively indecision making, and

- Ensuring security of individuals and their livingenvironment.

6. Enabling ApproachThe enabling approach required for sustainability varies betweenprojects. It depends upon the nature of the projects, itsenvironmental context and the consequent arrangement of strategiesadopted. The approach represents a realistic coordinated plan forgood urban governance, emerging as a result for strong demand for

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representative democracy. The enabling approach is characterised byseveral strategies:

- Decentralization of responsibilities and resources to localauthorities based on the principle of transparency, inclusion,subsidiary, partnership and accountability,

- Encouraging and participation of civil society particularlywomen in the design, implementation and monitoring of localpriorities using a wide variety of partnership including theprivate sector to achieve common objectives,

- Building capacities of all actors to contribute fully todecision making and urban development process, and

- Facilitating networking at all levels and taking fulladvantage of modern information and telecommunicationtechnologies to support good urban governance and sustainableurban development (Adebayo, 2002)

7. Advocacy PlanningThe interest in the role of advocacy in planning has been generatedby the current efforts of planners to reduce barriers of politicsin the development of regions, cities and neighbourhoods. The humancommunity, by nature, comprises different groups of ethnic,religious, social and economic and each constituting a political orinterest group whose views are of great importance in planning. Theapproach sees the planner as a pluralistic. That is, one who mustact closely to that which is desired by the government and theconcerned groups in quest of lasting solution to environmentalproblems. It maintains that the sustainable development programmeshould represent the positions and interests of the multiplesegments of the society in a democratic setting. The planner as anadvocate of the interest of the government and the publictherefore, should initiate as many alternative plans as wouldaccommodate the views of both parties and present to the public fora logical conclusion.8. Urban Renewal and Slum UpgradingThe problems of urban renewal and slum upgrading have their originin colonial urban planning which was based on the principles ofsegregation and which separated Nigerian cities into “European” and“African” areas. The former was fairly protected because of itslayouts and substantial buildings; the latter was left in its pre-industrial and pre-colonial traditional condition. Colonial rural-urban migration which brought Nigerian from other parts of the

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country to particular cities was also subjected to the principle ofsegregation. Thus Nigerian cities developed to have two types ofslum areas: the inner city traditional centres and the centres ofmigrants. To date, government response to problem of urban renewaland slum upgrading has been minimal. The goal of urban renewal isto renew the slum areas of the cities such that the standards ofhousing and urban infrastructural services are brought to anacceptable level. It is aimed to pursue programmes of upgradingshanty towns and squatter settlements and also integrate theactivities of settlement upgrading with the overall developmentstrategy of individual cities through inclusive programme with aview to enhancing employment opportunities and the income of theurban poor.9. Security The goal and objective of urban security should be to make Nigeriancities a safe and secure place for all residents; and to makesecurity issues less a matter of law enforcement agencies of thecentral government. It should be of more concern and theresponsibility of accountable local government, the private sectorand civil society in each urban centre. The provision of safety andsecurity services can be professionalised through emphasizing theaspects in training of doctors, and paramedics for both curativeand preventive health care, environmental scientists and engineersas well as personnel engaged in law and order in our cities and thecountry at large. The number, quality and equipment standards ofthe Nigerian Police should be increased significantly to meet theinternational standard of one policeman per thousand inhabitants.10. Institutional FrameworkIt is observed that urban development is a multi-faceted processinvolving the combined activities of many institutions andagencies, and what many of the institutions deed for orderly andprogressive development of urban centres in Nigeria are still notyet in place. The participation of all stakeholders must beensured. They include all tiers of government, organized privatesector, individual, community, security agencies and non-governmental organizations in urban development. The otherinstitutions like capital market as instrument for financing urbandevelopment is hardly in place. Similarly, real estate developingcompanies are few and far behind because of lack of access to largetract of land for sizeable and profitable estate development.

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Concluding RemarksThe discussion so far has been on the complex environmental /socio-economic problems of our cities in Nigeria. The paper alsopresents some important policies which are useful for achievingsustainability and assures promise for future development of thecities. The challenges of a resource oriented environmentalplanning and management of the cities at this critical economicperiod and in the years ahead, present a need for consensusbuilding of partnership between stakeholders on the provision ofpublic services. The complexity of various economic, social,political and other factors that influence growth in the urbanenvironment often call for the formulation of comprehensivedevelopment policies capable of coordinating land use proposals. Itis imperative that a comprehensive planning and management strategyis adopted to ensure that the inadequacies in the areas ofprovision and maintenance of urban infrastructures are corrected.Urgent and comprehensive redress is required to transform Nigeriancities from the present chaos to functional representation of allgroups, with accountability, integrity and transparency ofgovernment action in pursuit of shared goals. Our local governmentsshould have the capacity to fulfil public responsibilities based onknowledge, skills, resources and procedures that draw on effectivepartnership. It is therefore recommended that a strategic andpragmatic policy is instituted to comprehensively deal with theurban environmental problems in Nigeria. The policy in this regardshould consist of measures capable of making the urban environmentin Nigeria generally safe, clean, healthy and aestheticallypleasing for all urban residents. All the three tiers of government– local, state and federal as well as Non – governmentalorganizations and civil societies should be mobilized and involvedin the task of taking responsibility for improving and sustaininghigh standard of environmental quality in Nigerian urban centres.

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