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URBANISATION PROCESSES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

BY

ANUKWONKE CHARLES CHIKODILI

Charlesjohnbosco@gmail.com, Barison4all@yahoo.com

+2348063206272

FEBURARY, 2015

Department of Environmental Management, Anambra State

University, Uli. Nigeria

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ABSTRACT

This paper takes a look at urbanization and environment in Africa megacities with

reference to Nigeria; it enumerates the problems caused by the continued influx of

migrant into cities and the attendant challenges these population impacts on the

environment. It found out that with proper management and governance, the chilling

prospect of a serious deterioration in quality of life, tremendous urban growth and

decay could be averted. The report noted that continuing rate of urbanization and

migration factor from rural to urban areas will expand the number of megacities, and it

concedes that megacities are often plagued by environmental deterioration, inadequate

housing, traffic congestion, social alienation slums, crime, pollution and waste

management problems as well as homelessness. Etc. The paper, observed that

megacities are important to a country's economic development, and also provide

residents with a satisfying quality of life, if properly managed. The report looked for

ways of solving the problems to a significant degree and observed that nearly in all

cases, the gaps are management related, and recommends ways of improving the

quality of citizen life by provision of adequate and quality housing, reduction in land

costs, healthy environment, clean water and sanitation services, security within the

city, employment opportunity, bolstering urban farming, and improving public

transportation at all cost.

This will be met through an approach on urban governance rooted in environmental

management for a resilient urban development in Nigeria.

Keywords: Urbanization, Urban, Governance, Environment, Challenges and

Management

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INTRODUCTION

Globally, more people live in urban areas than in rural areas, with 54 per cent of

the world‟s population residing in urban areas in 2014. In 1950, 30 per cent of the

world‟s population was urban, and by 2050, 66 per cent of the world‟s population

is projected to be urban. World Urbanization Prospects (WUP, 2014)

Just three countries-India, China and Nigeria -together are expected to account for

37 per cent of the projected growth of the world‟s urban population between 2014

and 2050. India is projected to add 404 million urban dwellers, China 292 million

and Nigeria 212 million. (WUP, 2014)

African countries have chronically faced the challenge of managing urban

development and still grapple with squeezed financial resources, urban governance

transformation, investing in urban infrastructure, managing the urban environment,

providing the social services and dealing with adaptation to and mitigation to the

threats of urbanization.

The factors responsible for the degrading built environment can be attributed to

rapid urbanization, rural-urban migration, and decades of steady economic

downturn, decay of urban infrastructure and poor housing quality (World Bank,

2005).

Osuide and Dimuna (2005) noted that the urbanization process in many developing

countries particularly Nigeria, has not been accompanied with a corresponding

supply of adequate houses, basic amenities and infrastructure. This has thus

contributed to myriads of urban environmental problems in Nigerian cities.

Urbanization or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of

global change. (United Nations, 2008).

Henderson (2002) sees it as an issue which in the last fifty years seems to have

been accompanied by excessively high levels of concentration of urban population

in very large cities. Furthermore, Wikipedia (2009) opined that urbanization is

characterized by physical transformation of the rural or natural landscape into

urban land uses owing to massive population migration and stabilization of this

population.

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One of the most visible and disturbing characteristics of the urban areas in Nigeria

is the decline of their infrastructural base.

Onibokun (1989:7) elucidates this point further by saying that “as urban

populations grow, and as available resources decline, public infrastructure is being

degraded to the point where cities are seriously losing their capacity to operate as

productive entities”.

While continents like Europe and America have stabilized their population growth

and economy to a large extent, most countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America,

are still grappling with the challenge of ensuring a decent livelihood to their

citizens. Specifically in Africa where there is high rate of overpopulation,

congestion, pollution, inadequate shelter, squalor, underdevelopment and

increasing incidence of poverty; the rapid urbanization has not produced any

appreciable improvement in the national economy and welfare of the citizens.

Rather, the uncontrolled and unplanned urbanization has brought about severe

socio-economic, cultural and environmental problems. (UNCHS, 2007; Jiboye,

2009; 2011a; Daramola & Ibem, 2011).

Existing studies have shown the rate at which urban growth are increasing in most

African countries, and the major factors for these rapid increases, relate to large-

scale migration into the urban centers for employment and wealth acquisition,

natural increase of the population, and lopsided concentration of investments by

both governments and private organizations (Ajala, 2005; Jiboye & Omoniyi,

2010).

In an earlier study, Akinbamijo (1996) submitted that the colluding forces of

urbanization, modernization and economic development bring in spatial and

dynamic problems that plague urban dwellers in Nigeria and third world cities. The

trend generates a series of problems of which housing, basic sanitation and

environmental pollution are paramount (Akinbamijo, 1996; 2004).

In Nigeria, the urbanization process is similar to what obtains in several other

developing countries; as the growth and complexity of human settlements and in

particular the rate of urbanization has been phenomenal (Ujoh et al., 2010).

Considering its 2006 population figure of over 140 million people – the highest in

Sub-Saharan Africa (Ajanlekoko, 2001; FRN, 2007; Jiboye, 2011a); available data

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however shows that the country has been growing at the rate of 5.5 percent

annually from 1980 to 1993, and recently, its growth has increased to the rate of

5.8 percent, which has resulted in a total urban population of 62.66 million people

(or, 43 percent of the national population). By projection, this proportion is

expected to increase to more than 60 percent by 2025 (UN, 2007). Consequently,

Nigeria has one of the highest urban growth rates, having cities ranked among the

fastest growing in the world

This process has resulted in a very dense network of urban centers (Oladunjoye,

2005); thereby constituting a major problem to the urban residents whose quality

of life and living conditions have deteriorated considerably (Ajala, 2005; Jiboye,

2009; 2011a).

However, it has been established that the degrading condition of the cities‟

environment in most developing nations affects the socio-economic and national

development (Ogunleye, 2005).

Therefore, a major developmental challenge facing the nations -particularly those

within the developing world, is how to cope with the increasing urbanization and

minimize its adverse consequences on the cities‟ environment as well as the overall

wellbeing of the people (Jiboye, 2011b).

In agreement with Owusu (2010), one can say that in many of these cities, pace of

urban growth has far outpaced the capacity of metropolitan and municipal

authorities to provide basic services that include adequate sanitation. This situation

has been further compounded by weak local government structures and the lack of

transparency and accountability in city governance.

There are two sides of the challenge with an urbanizing Africa, first is the speed of

urbanization which is high compared to other regions. Second is the vulnerability

of urban areas to the threats of the urbanizing environment.

Okpala (1986) was forced to conclude that city administration hardly keeps pace

with the scale and tempo of urbanization and its multifaceted implications in

Nigeria.

Member nations through held UN summits have emphasized on the need for good

and effective governance as a means of achieving sustainable development in the

cities. (Oladunjoye, 2005; UN-Habitat, 2007; UNDPI, 2008; Jiboye, 2011a).

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The paper thus examines the challenges of urbanization and management of this

process in Nigeria focusing on sub-Saharan Africa.

On the backdrop of the urbanization trends, the paper gives some pointers to

potential improvement in management of cities especially in urban governance and

in the context of environmental management.

NIGERIA: THE CASE STUDY

Nigeria was formerly British Colony in Africa that got her independence on 1st

October, 1960. Nigeria operates a Federal structure of government, made of 36

States and a Federal Capital Territory. It is politically divided into 774 local

government council areas. Nigeria has a land area of about 923,768km2 and the

spatial distribution of population in Nigeria is uneven, with about 64 percent of the

population living in the rural areas. The entire population of Nigeria as at 2006 is

put at 140.5 million (National Population Commission 2007)

Nigeria is the 13th largest oil producer in the world with 32 billion barrels of oil

reserves (DFID, 2005). Available data shows that over 70 per cent of the country‟s

annual earnings come from crude oil export proceeds; petroleum profit tax and

royalty. All levels of government in Nigeria depend heavily on oil revenue that is

subjected to massive shocks thereby threaten the integrity of the budget at all levels

of government (Central Bank of Nigeria 2004). In spite of the earnings from oil,

over 75 million people in Nigeria live in absolute poverty.

The problems of infrastructure deficiencies are particularly pronounced in the old,

indigenous core areas of the Nigerian cities, and in the outer spontaneous

settlements that accommodate the low-income population (Olanrewaju 2001).

Besides, it has been estimated that Nigeria requires some 8 million housing units to

accommodate her growing population by the year 2015. This is generally

considered unachievable in the face of the on-going sporadic rate of threats of

urbanization in Nigerian cities that are characterized by substandard housing.

Hence, there is the need to evolve a feasible strategy to address the foreseeable

risks of urbanization in Nigeria.

Aim & Objectives

The study seeks to explore the environmental management framework for arriving

at a sustainable urban development in the face of urbanization and environmental

problems in Nigeria.

The specific objectives of the study are to:

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i. Examine the dynamics of Nigeria‟s urbanization in relation to nature and

factors;

ii. Examine what constitutes an urban environment;

iii. Examine the factors/ drivers of urbanization in Nigeria with respect to

Sub- Saharan African;

iv. Examine the challenges of urbanization in Nigeria with reference to Sub-

Saharan Africa ;

v. Highlight on policy, urban governance and environmental management

as a promising strategy for maintaining a resilient urban development in

Nigeria.

Research Methodology

The major research instrument for this study was on qualitative published works on

related literatures in reputable journals on the discourse as well as my personal

observation within my closest city in Onitsha and other close cities in Nigeria.

Major experiences were also gathered on exposure and in attendance to useful

online interactions with experts in the allied discipline which facilitated a broader

understanding on the major concepts and issues.

Quantitative data from published sources where generated in relation to population,

urbanization and urban challenges in Nigeria and Sub- Saharan Africa. The results

obtained were summarized to enable an easy understanding of the salient issues in

urbanization and environmental management in Nigeria.

Urbanization and Environmental Management- A Review of Literature

Urbanization

Urbanization or urban drift refers to the process by which rural areas take on urban

characteristics. It is an index of transformation from traditional rural economy to

modern industrial one and thus a progressive concentration of population in urban

unit. (Davis, 1965)

Urbanization is also defined by the United Nations as movement of people from

rural to urban areas with population growth equating to urban migration (United

Nations, 2008). The urbanization process is much more than simple population

growth; it involves changes in the economic, social and political structures in a

region. While the current pace of urbanization is not unique in human history, the

sheer magnitude is unprecedented. Rapid urban growth is responsible for many

environmental and social changes in the urban environment and its effects are

strongly related to global change issues. The rapid growth of cities strains their

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capacities to provide essential services such as energy, education, health care,

transportation, sanitation and physical security. Cities have become areas of

massive sprawl, serious environmental problems and widespread poverty. The

intense concentration of population, industry and energy use has led to severe local

pollution and environmental degradation.

Urbanization can describe a specific condition at a set time, i.e. the proportion of

total population or area in cities or towns, or the term can describe the increase of

this proportion over time. The term urbanization can represent the level of urban

relative to overall population, or it can represent the rate at which the urban

proportion is increasing. Urbanization occurs naturally from individual and

corporate efforts to reduce time and expense in commuting and transportation

while improving opportunities for jobs, education, housing, and transportation.

Living in cities permits individuals and families to take advantage of the

opportunities of proximity, diversity, and market place competition. People move

into cities to seek economic opportunities. In rural areas, often on small family

farms, it is difficult to improve one's standard of living beyond basic sustenance.

Farm living is dependent on unpredictable environmental conditions, and in times

of drought, flood or pestilence, survival becomes extremely problematic. In

modern times, industrialization of agriculture has negatively affected the economy

of small and middle-sized farms and strongly reduced the size of the rural labour

market. The most adversely affected in this regard are the urban poor, who

constitute the majority in the developing countries of Africa and Asia wherein,

according to a UN Report, consists of cities which now account for over 90 percent

of the world‟s urban population growth (UN –Habitat, 2006).

Existing studies have shown the rate at which urban growth are increasing in most

African countries including Nigeria, and the major factors for these rapid increases,

relate to large-scale migration into the urban centers for employment and wealth

acquisition, natural increase of the population, and lopsided concentration of

investments by both governments and private organizations (Ajala, 2005; Jiboye &

Omoniyi, 2010).

Urbanization in Africa

According UN-HABITAT, urbanization in Africa is estimated to range from 3.4%

– 8% (UN Habitat 2011).The mega-cities of Africa are growing at a lower rate but

the medium size and secondary cities are growing faster (Potts 2012; 2012b). This

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two-way urbanization is pushing the extents of mega cities into rural hinterlands

and corridors along established transportation routes in Africa. These urban

corridors are forming around established urban areas along and connected to the

economic agglomeration zones. At the same time, large cities are continuing to fast

featuring a peculiar characterization of the urban spatial phenomena in Africa.

Urban corridors are now playing a significant role in unlocking the rural lands and

guiding population away from the primate cities in addition to opening

international boundaries that have remained hard in some regions hampering

integration and flows. There are some examples of the urban corridors most of

which are sub-national including; the Cairo-Alexandria, Port Said, Ismailia and

Suez; the Lagos-Ibadan in Nigeria and others (Frihy, 2010; UN Habitat 2008;

2011).

The other trends in Africa‟s urbanization are the growing number of urban

population without basic services such as water, sanitation and housing but also

vulnerable to climate change impacts. The slum population lives in hazard prone

areas including flood prone areas, disease outbreak areas like malaria, cholera and

ebola etc, landslide and erosion, seismic hazards and areas with high crime rates

Urbanization in Nigeria

The phenomenon of urbanization is a consequence of population increase and

migration from rural to urban areas and growth centers. The urban growth rate in

Nigeria today is put at 5.8% per annum (Draft National Urban Development

Policy: NUDP, 2004). Rural economy is principally agrarian. But, under

conditions of increasing population and diminishing rural resources, some

contingent of rural population migrates to urban areas for helpful job security,

higher education, higher income, better health and linger life. The result usually is

disappointment and disillusion as the poor in some cities have a better life than

those in rural areas. Old settlements are congested and crowded, new formations

emerge without preliminary design and planning, and without preliminary design

and planning, and without infrastructure.

The problem of uncontrolled urbanization in Nigeria is already with us in all our

cities. The NUDP, (2004) notes that, Nigeria towns are growing without adequate

planning. Millions of Nigerians live in sub-standard and sub-human environment,

plagued by slum, squalor and grossly inadequate social amenities. The result is

manifested in growing overcrowding in homes and increasing pressure on infra-

structural facilities and rapid deteriorating environment.

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In Europe, urbanization brought increased wealth and economic earnings, higher

education, lower fertility, better health, longer life and more amenities. But in

Africa, and indeed, in Nigeria, the opposite is the case. The Executive Director of

African Population and Health Research Centre, Nairobi, observes that in African

States, research has shown that urbanization is attended by reduction in earnings,

and other social indicators, adding that rural communities have better social and

economic indicators than those in urban slums.

Drivers of Urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa

Some of the urbanization drivers lie in the history of the urbanization process on

the continent and these are inherently both underlying and proximate drivers. The

underlying drivers of urbanization are mainly the demographic shifts of urban

population growth and rural to urban migration. These factors are lead to

urbanization through natural increase coupled with internal and international

migration (Nyakaana, J.B., H.Sengendo, et al.2004). Associated with the de-

mographic shift and related to proximate factors is the growth of slums, which has

been exponential in the last three decades. The other proximate factor for

urbanization relates with policies for the economic transformation such as in-

dustrialization, which have been pursued for the last five decades. African cities

predominantly play a major role as industrial and commercial hubs there by

attracting higher population. As part of the market forces industrialization

influenced by globalization has led to increase in consumption levels leading to

establishment of numerous industries and commercial centers along the urban

corridors. There has been proliferation of the „emerging‟ economic sector, which

absorbs most of the economically active population. It is important to note that the

growth of the emerging sector is not necessarily a problem due to its role in

providing employment to many in urban areas and contribution to the national

economies but the challenges of integrating such in spatial planning and

development is more evident (Blanco, et al.2009; Nkurunziza 2007; Rogerson

1996).Due to these factors, the expansion of urban areas is steadily advancing

leading to engulfing of adjacent rural areas and other urban centers to form urban-

corridors. These changes have far reaching implications to environment and social

well-being of the population and pose a challenge to sustainable urban

development (Simon 2010).

The other proximate driver for urbanization in some of the countries is the

balkanization (i.e. Creation of suburbs) of administrative regions in which smaller

districts or administrative jurisdictions have been curved out of larger

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administrative units. When balkanization occurs, towns are created or organically

grow and several of these towns rapidly expand outside their gazetted boundaries

and with no control in such adjacent areas, social, environmental and economic

problems set in more instantly. In countries that have experienced protracted civil

wars, the displacement of large populations has contributed to explosion of

numerous cities. For example countries like Rwanda, Democratic republic of

Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Angola and Kenya have experienced civil

strife that contributed to urbanization.

The growth of the private sector has influenced labor migrations into urban areas

as rural populations search for employment accelerating the housing sector devel-

opment and proliferation of the urban „emerging‟ sector but with limited access to

social services. The economic performance contributes to direct and indirect

employment that attracts big populations in the cities. On the other hand, the

planned employment opportunities are too few to absorb the labor and coupled

with increasing population, this creates an influx of excessive laborers.

Urbanization Trends in Nigeria

Urbanization is a global phenomenon and is a process of spatial concentration of

urban population that is premised on some basic push and pull factors called urban

transformation forces, which Agbola (2006) classified into three major processes.

These are (a) natural increase in the population (National growth rate or the ratio of

birth to death rates); (b) rural-urban migration, urban population growth.

However, Deblij (1996) posited that while urban growth depends on the natural

increase of the total population that is already urban; the growth of city population

through the natural increase has minimal effects on the process of urbanization.

Consequently, proportional increase in the population of urban dwellers is largely

due to transformational forces of rural-urban migration and area expansion. Thus,

resulting into the growth of settlements from villages to towns, cities and mega-

cities; as well as leading to the increase in the number of settlements through the

establishment of new ones. In Nigeria for instance, by 1952 National

Population Census, the population of Nigeria was put at 30.4 million, (table 1.0)

out of which 3.237 million people were living in 56 urban centers (Afolayan 1978).

A city was then regarded (defined) as a settlement that harbored 5,000 people.

Besides the Government Reservation Areas (GRAs) in the 3 regional government

headquarters at Ibadan, Enugu, Kaduna, and Lagos the National headquarters; none

of the remaining cities in Nigeria could boast of enjoying a re-planning project.

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The classification criterion for an urban center was increased to a threshold

population figure of 20,000 during the 1963 National Population Census. As

shown in Table 1.0, the 1963 census indicated that the population of Nigeria had

increased to 55.67 million people out of whom 10.6 million people were then

living in 183 cities and towns that constituted 19.1 percent of the total population

(Olujimi 2000). The 1991 National Population Census gave the population of

Nigeria at 88.5 million, and it shows that Nigerian urban population had risen by

36.3 percent with 359 urban centers existing in the country then (Odeyemi 2002).

By 2004, Agbola estimated the total population of Nigeria at 115 million and

speculated that Nigerian urban centers must have risen to 600 (Agbola 2004).

However, the speculation of Agbola (2004) notwithstanding, the fact remains that

population of Nigeria has been increasing tremendously. This is confirmed by the

provisional result of the 2006 National Population Census that indicated the total

population of Nigeria at 140,542,032 (National Population Commission 2007). In

the above described scenario, it is observed that compared to the growth rate of

about 3 percent for the total population, the urban population in Nigeria over the

last three decades has been growing close to about 5.8 percent per annum. This is

amongst the highest urban growth rates in the world due mainly to migration from

the rural to urban areas. For instance, Lagos, a former capital of Nigeria is growing

in size by more than 10 percent per year, which will make it the third largest city in

the World by 2020 (DFID 2005).

One significant feature of the urbanization process in Nigeria and most of the

developing countries is that, unlike America and Europe, much of the growth is

taking place in the absence of significant industrial expansion. However, the

explosive growth of the Nigerian urban centers has not only progressively

complicated and exacerbated inter-related problems of human settlements and the

environment, but has also greatly accelerated poverty, the demand for

infrastructure, basic services and housing in expanding urban centers, otherwise

resulting into urban sprawl.

Urbanization and Environmental Effects.

Urbanization refers to the increase in the proportion of the world‟s population that

lives in “Cities”, generally represented by towns, urban area and others spatial

forms. Urbanization is not always attributed to high density. Industrialization has

frequently been used interchangeably with Urbanization. In some part of the world

industrialization and urbanization have gone hand in hand and have developed

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together. In the process of developing, one may eventually exceed the other. For

example, it is possible to have large agglomeration of people at relatively high

densities without Industrialization; e.g. large cities in china also in Nigeria some

state may also fall into this category in Nigeria e.g. Ekiti State and Osun- State,

here there is high level of urbanization; but low level of Industrialization, which

implies that, the available Industries are not sufficient for the population available.

Also it is possible to have industrialization without a high level of Urbanization.

Therefore, the two terms should not be used interchangeably because there is no

correlation between them, though they tend to take place at much the same time..

The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1991) focused global attention on

environmental problems, and many of those that are found in Third World cities

feature in Agenda 21, one of the Summit's documents. Whether trees have a role in

improving Third World urban environments is explored in which the role of trees

in providing urban dwellers with material benefits, and thus contributing in another

sense to sustainable development, is also discussed. First, however, the present

existence of trees, and potential for their increased cultivation, is considered in

terms of town/city layout.

The urban heat island has become a growing concern and is increasing over the

years. The urban heat island is formed when industrial and urban areas are

developed and heat becomes more abundant. In rural areas, a large part of the

incoming solar energy is used to evaporate water from vegetation and soil. In

cities, where less vegetation and exposed soil exists, the majority of the sun‟s

energy is absorbed by urban structures and asphalt. Hence, during warm daylight

hours, less evaporative cooling in cities allows surface temperatures to rise higher

than in rural areas. Additional city heat is given off by vehicles and factories, as

well as by industrial and domestic heating and cooling units. This effect causes the

city to become 2 to 10o F warmer than surrounding landscapes. Impacts also

include reducing soil moisture and intensification of carbon dioxide emissions.

Urbanization and Urban Growth

Nigeria has been experiencing a rapid rate of urbanization. In 1952, 10% of the

population lived in urban centers with a population of 20,000 people and above.

This increased to 20 and 38% in 1970 and 1993 respectively. By the year 2010, it

is estimated that 60% of the population will live in cities. The growth in the size of

cities has been equally rapid, in 1960; Lagos and Ibadan were the only two cities

with more than 500,000 people. The number increased to 9 by 1980, and 14 by

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1990. This is expected to rise substantially by 2010 (UNCSD, 1997, Agenda 21 -

Nigeria).

A feature of urban environments, especially in Africa is the influx of rural dwellers

into the urban areas in search of jobs. These jobs are sometimes unavailable and

large segments of the unemployed in this migrant group are usually without a

sustainable means of livelihood and may eventually be classified among the urban

poor, thereby making up a part of the estimated 70% of the urban population that

live in unplanned squatter settlements with no basic infrastructural services in

cities like Lagos (NHCS, 1998)

Causes of Urbanization

Population Reference Bureau (2012) has projected that the number of megacities

(cities with over 10 million inhabitants) will rise from 16 in 2000 to 27 by 2025

and 21 of these cities will be in less developed countries of the world. Hinrichsen

(2011) further projected that as urban areas - particularly smaller towns and cities

continue to grow in size; by 2030 about five billion or 61% of the estimated 8.1

billion people are expected to live in cities. Similarly, Africa is said to be

experiencing one of the fastest rates of urbanization in the world, with sub-Saharan

Africa leading the way. By 2030, Govender (2002) equally projected that Africa

will have 760 million urban residents. By 2050 that figure is expected to grow to

1.2 billion. All these projections are indicative of the rate of growth and expansion

of urban areas. The causes of urbanization and urban poverty are categorically as

follows:

(i) Natural Increase

Migration of people from the rural areas and other countries to the urban areas,

naturally increase the population of such urban areas. Natural increase rate of

population as one of the crude rates is defined by Lucas & Gilles (2003), as the

number of live births minus deaths expressed over the mid-year population of a

particular year.

Obienusi (2008) had noted that natural population increase was higher in the urban

areas than rural areas. Although the National Demographic and Health Survey data

of 2008 indicated otherwise, Obienusi further stated that high concentration of

potential mothers across urban areas ranges from 43.1 and 51.9 %; thus giving rise

to natural population increase in urban areas. Indeed, while the average fertility

rate in Nigeria in 2004 was put at 5.2 per woman, it was noted that in some urban

areas, the rate could be as high as 6-8 per woman. NPC (2009) found out that

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though the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) was 6.4 and 4.6 urban and rural, respectively,

the crude birth rate in the urban area was 36.2/1000. As health services and

nutrition tend to improve in some urban areas, death rate may decline giving room

to natural population increase.

(ii) Colonization

Abumere (2002) observed that Nigeria is the most urbanized country in Africa as a

result of the spread of urbanization across the country. He noted that from the 1991

population census, the number of settlements with population of 20,000 or more

was 359, and was expected to rise to 680 in 2002. Historically, the rate of increase

in the number of urban areas in Nigeria

(iii) Trade and Commerce

Most of the urban areas evolved as a result of trading activities. It has been noted

that most urban town developed faster as a result of trade and commercial activities

that took place and is still taking place in such town. George (2009) tracing the

history of the growth of Lagos, stated that Lagos became a trade centre from the

early 17th century when the Aworis moved Ebute-Metta to Iddo and later to Lagos

Island around Tinubu Square, which became the heart of business activities in

Lagos. Other towns like Oshogbo, Kano, Ibadan, Onitsha, Aba, Calabar, Port

Harcourt, etc. have had their fair share of urban drift as a result of trading

activities. Some of the cities enlarged as a result of quest for blue collar jobs.

(iv) Under-development

Uneven development in Nigeria started when the colonial masters concentrated the

provision of infrastructures along the coast in the southern part of Nigeria, where

their operations were concentrated. This trend and development continued into the

post-independent Nigeria, that it became very difficult to correct. Such uneven

distribution of infrastructures leads to underdevelopment of the inter-land. Another

most common cause of underdevelopment in Nigeria is high concentration of

uneducated population in certain part of country, particularly in the Far North East,

North West and some areas in the west.

(v) Insecurity and Conflict

Insecurity and conflict of different proportions often drove some people to urban

areas, where they hoped to be better protected. Day in – day out, we hear of

communal conflicts resulting from people contesting ownership of a piece of land

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or trying to shift boundaries of existing settlements. In most cases, dangerous

weapons are deployed to fight one another, resulting into panics and loss of lives

and property. When such situation occurs, people are forced to leave their place of

abode and relocate to nearby towns where they may decide to rent an apartment

and start a new life. Presently in Northern Nigeria, such conflicts, results to

upsurge of migrants to the cities.

Effects of Urbanization

The effects of urbanization can be listed below as:

Increase slums and squatter settlements

Chaotic transport situation and traffic congestion

Global warming

Environmental degradation

Pollution (air, water, land, noise)

Destruction of ecosystem (fauna & flora)

Municipal waste problems

High prevalence of communicable diseases

Challenge of sustainable development

Shortage of potable water supply

Inadequate electricity supply

Population explosion

Illegal development

Violation of land use policy and guidelines

Urban violence

High crime rate and other social vices

Urbanization and Housing Quality

As a result of urbanization and lack of economic opportunities in rural areas, many

people move to the cities. They move to the cities that are already dealing with

issues of overcrowding, infrastructure and high cost of living. This forces them to

seek shelter in slums. United Nation Habitat in 2006 found that 90% of slum

residents are in the developing countries with struggling economies.

In addition, cities were not mean to handle millions of people streaming in when

designed. This impact the availability and affordability of housing, forcing millions

to live in substandard dwellings.

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Effects of Urbanization on Housing Quality

The rapid increase in the population of the urban centers has resulted in an increase

in the cost of living, because of higher demand on urban commodities that are

getting shorter in supply by the day. Thus there is a dearth and high cost of urban

land, and high cost of housing, which is often in short supply and out of the

economic reach of the majority of the urban households who incidentally fall into

the low-income category. The greater percentage of the poor in the urban area lives

in the slum area of the city. This is mainly because substandard accommodation

there is very cheap and the neighborhoods are in close proximity to their work

places.

Substandard housing is the type of housing that does not meet the standards for

living by people. These standards are usually set by governments and deal with

how safe the dwelling is for people to live. For example, there may not be

appropriate heating, plumbing, electricity or proper sanitation. Often substandard

housing is deteriorated housing that has not been repaired or temporary housing

that does not meet building codes.

Unfortunately, the number of people living in the slums or substandard housing is

increasing. Crime rates are also high in this area, since there is very little light at

night and police protection.

Substandard housing is a serious issue. It can be a place where diseases spread

quickly because of lack of sanitation and garbage disposal problems. Lack of clean

water for washing and drinking can also cause diseases.

Urban Management (in Relation to Urban Administration)

No matter how superb the planning and provision of infrastructure within a given

community may be, if effective management is not put in place, decay easily sets

in. The management of urban plans and infrastructures provided entails

enforcement of regulation and standards, monitoring of public utilities and putting

in place effective maintenance mechanism.

According to Kayode (2008), urban management is concerned with the policies,

plans, program and practices that seek to ensure that population growth is

matched by access to basic infrastructure, shelter and employment. The urban

environment is made up of concentration of many people, buildings and economic

activities and their supporting infrastructure like roads, water, drains, and

electricity and communication services. All these must be managed in a

18

responsible manner to support healthy living. Although urban management is the

responsibility of all individuals living in a defined geographical space in a

particular time, it is largely dependent on the government to direct and drive the

process for effective management with sound policies, regulation and enforcement

of standards and efficient utilization of available resources.

Urban management is very crucial to the survival of town and cities as dynamic

living organisms and complex system. For this reason, there must be a robust

management program in place to ensure that what is provided work to serve the

purpose and is adequately maintained.

Theoretical Issues

Basic issues significant to this discussion include; Sustainable development, urban

governance and environmental management.

Sustainable Development

The concept of “Sustainable Development” has been in existence even before the

turn of the century. It is a socio-ecological process characterized by the fulfillment

of human needs while maintaining the quality of the natural environment

indefinitely. This concept came into general usage following publication of the

1987 report of the Brundtland Commission - formally, World Commission on

Environment and Development. It is this Commission, set up by the United

Nations General Assembly that coined the most often-quoted definition of

sustainable development which is “development that meets the needs of the present

generation without Compromising future generations to meet their own needs”

(WCED, 1987; Jiboye, 2011c; Daramola & Ibem, 2011). However, several other

definitions have been given to explain this concept; one of such emanated from the

National Affordable Housing Agency of Britain, describing it as a means of

ensuring a better quality life for everyone, now and for generations to come

(NAHA, 2006).

It is the process of building our communities so that we can live comfortably

without consuming all of our resources. This implies, living in a sustainable way

by conserving more of the things we all need to share - this is not just about

consuming resources, but includes changing our culture to make conservation a

way of life (Mediawiki, 2008).

Although, the visions of sustainability vary across regions and circumstances, a

broad international agreement has emerged that its goals should be to foster a

transition toward development paths that meet human needs while preserving the

19

earth‟s life support systems and alleviating hunger and poverty - i.e., that which

integrate the three pillars of environmental, social and economic sustainability

(William et al., 2002). Viewed from another perspective, sustainable development

entails the attainment of equilibrium among three contending sub-systems which

have economic, socio-cultural and environmental dimensions (Padisson, 2001;

Daramola & Ibem, 2011). In recognition of the pressing environmental and

developmental problems facing the world, the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio-de

Janeiro, adopted Agenda 21, which produced a global programme of action for

sustainable development in the 21st century (UNCHS, 1996; Lawanson, 2005;

UN-Habitat, 2007; Oduwaiye, 2009); stating as its primary objective the need to

reduce absolute poverty of the world‟s poor by providing lasting and secure

livelihoods that minimize resource depletion, environmental degradation, cultural

disruptions and social instability. Thus, Agenda 21 stresses the importance of good

governance through effective partnerships among stakeholders in improving social,

economic and environmental quality in the urban areas (Jiboye, 2011b; c)

Consequent upon the adoption of Agenda 21, the 2002 World Summit on

sustainable development in Johannesburg further espoused the intrinsic link

between socio-economic, cultural and environmental development as well as the

right of the individual to improved living condition in any given society or nation.

Thus, a socially, economically or an environmentally sustainable system should

achieve distributional equity, provision of adequate social services including

health, education, housing as well as functional and livable environment among

many others (Lawanson; 2005; Jiboye, 2011c).

Urban Governance

McCarney et al. (1995) defined governance as “the relationship between civil

society and the state, between rulers and ruled, the government and the governed.

According to the definition provided by the United Nations processes and

institutions, through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise

their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences”. Aluko

(2010) also defines governance as the act or process of governing a nation, state, or

legal entity. It is the activity of governing a country, controlling, ruling, managing,

regulating, influencing, or directing a place. Governance recognizes that power

exists inside and outside the formal authority and institutions of government. Most

formulations of governance recognize government, civil society and the private

sector as the key actors. At the local level, these groups can be further specified to

20

include: Central government, state or provincial government (where applicable),

local authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based

organizations (CBOs), and the private sector.

In the urban context, governance is the sum of many ways individuals and

institutions plan and manage the common affairs of the city (Adegun, 2011).

Governance is a neutral concept in which the actors, mechanisms, processes and

institutions can produce positive or negative results, hence the notion of “good

urban governance”. As indicated in the UNDP policy document, good governance

is a necessary ingredient to achieve equitable and sustainable growth and

development. In other to support the implementation of the Habitat Agenda goal of

“sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world”

At the UN-Inter-Agency meeting in 2001, five principles of good urban

governance were adopted which consisted of effectiveness, equity, participation,

accountability and security; and these formed the framework for developing

indicators for the Urban Governance Index (UN-HABITAT, 2004). The Agency

defines the principles as follows:

Effectiveness of governance measures efficiency, subsidiarity and strategic

vision.

Equity addresses sustainability, gender equality and intergenerational equity.

Accountability measures transparency, rule of law and responsiveness.

Participation includes citizenship, consensus orientation and civic

engagement.

Security addresses conflict resolution, human security and environmental

safety.

These principles demonstrate that good urban governance is vital to improving the

quality of life in cities. At the global and regional level, the index is expected to

facilitate comparison of cities based on the quality of their urban governance. At

the local level, the index is expected to catalyze local action to improve the quality

of urban governance by developing indicators that respond directly to their unique

contexts and needs. Good governance has eight major characteristics. It is

participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective

and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that

corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the

voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also

responsive to the present and future needs of society (UNDP, 1997; Jiboye,

2011b). However, a World Bank Research in 2002 had demonstrated that good

21

governance correlates with positive development outcomes. The survey concluded

that: “the result of good governance is development which gives priority to the

poor, advances the cause of women, sustains the environment, and creates needed

opportunities for employment and other livelihood”. (UN-HABITAT, 2004;

Jiboye, 2011b).

According to Ujoh et al., (2010), it is the process that refers to the growth both in

size and numbers of urban center. This process, as explained by Adesina (2003),

has been responsible for transforming towns, cities and metropolitan areas, while at

the same time depopulating the rural setting through a process of direct rural-urban

migration.

Findings and Results

From the available literatures on case studies of urbanization, cities and urban

environment suffer greatly from the threats of urbanization coupled with rapid

growth of population. It is evident and glaring that urban environment degrades at

very alarming rates and constitutes a havoc. There have been incidence of urban

slums and sprawl mainly seen in cities of Lagos, Ibadan, Ogbomoso and Onitsha,

urban traffic congestions in cities like Port Harcourt, Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Asaba,

Onitsha and Ikeja; all forms of pollution air, water, noise and land pollution in

many cities, destruction of ecosystem as a result of deforestation and urban

development giving rise to great urban heat islands in many cities; indiscriminate

solid and liquid waste disposal and management in Lagos, Aba, Onitsha; illegal

development in cities without master plan, spread of biological hazards like

malaria, Ebola, Cholera etc in cities, urban violence and other crime and social

vices including child trafficking, prostitution and kidnapping.

Table 1.0: Urban Population Growth Trend in Nigeria 1952-2006

Year Total National

Population (Million)

No. of Urban Centers

(20,000+)

1952 30 million 56*

1963 55.67 million 183

1991 88.5 million 359

2004** 115 million 600

2006 140 million N.A

Sources: Afolayan (1978), Olujimi (2000), and Agbola (2004). Notes * The Classification

number for an urban center was 5,000 persons then. **Estimated Figure by Agbola (2004);

N.A.=Not Available.

22

Table 2.0: Percentage of Nigerian Population Living in Urban Areas from

1921-2020

Year Total Population Urban Population as % of

Total Population 1921 18,720 4.8

1922 20,056.0 6.7

1952/54 30,402.0 10.2

1963 55,670.0 19.2

1972 78,924.0 25.1

1991 96,684.0 33.0

2002 120.0 42.0

2006 140.0 *

2020 160, 000. 0 68.0

Source: Aluko and Gbadegesin, (2010, p. 245)

According to Akinbamijo O. B (2012) in a study conducted in Oshogbo, Nigeria,

Waste disposal method applicable in the area consist of burning or incineration,

incidential open space, disposal in open spaces, and public management in the

percentage 37.1, 22.4, 13.4 and 27.2 respectively

This shows the extent of urban practices as regards to waste management in

Oshogbo and likewise in many cities in Nigeria.

Despite the provision and availability of some basic infrastructures like water,

electricity, telecommunication and road networks in Oshogbo, the level and

condition of these facilities are still very inadequate as a result of the rapid rate of

urbanization and population growth witnessed in the town in recent times. The

quality of housing amenities and infrastructures is generally poor and falls below

the expected standard. This haphazard urban development and sprawl is prevalent

in many cities in Nigeria.

Prevalence of some diseases has been tied to environmental conditions such as

gastro enteritis disorders, typhoid fever, malaria, E- bola etc.

Epidemiological findings linked the occurrence of such diseases to bad

environmental hygiene from slum development and overcrowding. It is also further

posited that of the total global diseases burden, communicable diseases loom large

especially in countries like Nigeria.

23

The Need for Effective Governance in Sustainable Urbanization in Nigeria.

Development as a concept has different definitions. Citing Ake (1996), Nakpodia

(2011) notes that development is not a project but a process. It is the process by

which people create and recreate themselves and their circumstances to realize

higher levels of civilization in accordance with their own choices and values.

Therefore, development under the contemporary paradigm refers to a qualitative

improvement in the standard of living of human beings rather than a quantitative

increase in the economic indices; it is measured in terms relative to the individual‟s

access to economic, social and environmental factors which are necessary to

improve his standard of framework towards achieving “sustainability”. Thus, a

socially, economically or an environmentally sustainable system should achieve

distributional equity; provide adequate social services including health, education,

housing as well as functional and livable environment among many others (Jiboye,

2009; Jiboye & Omoniyi, 2010).

The problems of slum formations and urban degeneration in Nigeria are common

occurrence in major cities particularly, in Lagos and Ibadan which are probably

among the largest cities in the country (Fourchard, 2003)

Over the past decades, these problems have constituted major challenges to

sustainable urban development. Official response to the situation through urban

renewal, slum upgrading and outright clearance has been counter-productive in

stimulating any form of sustainability. For instance, the effect of Maroko slum

clearance in Lagos in the early 1990s has led to several untold hardships and

consequent homelessness amongst most of the affected victims (Jiboye &

Ogunshakin, 1997; Abiodun, 1997). Therefore, the need to achieve sustainability

of the cities‟ urban environment is central to the achievement of a virile and

sustainable nation.

However, existing urban realities have shown that a lot of work needs to be done if

Nigeria is to achieve any sustainable development. Considering the extent of

problems necessitated by rapid urban growth in Nigeria, there is the need for a

radical approach towards achieving a desirable sustainability of the urban

environment. This need centers on ensuring good and effective governance which

seeks to employ sustainable development strategies entrenched in Agenda 21; to

integrate all aspects of development socially, economically, culturally and

environmentally in achieving distributional equity and providing adequate social

services including health, education, housing as well as functional and livable

environment among many others.

24

Conclusion

The study has discussed the essential connections between urbanization and

environment management in Nigeria. Through the information sourced from

literature review on urbanization and environmental problems. It is evident that

urbanization sets in flood gate of environmental problems in urban environment

with attendant social, economic and environmental implications.

According to WUP, 2014, as the world continues to urbanize, sustainable

development challenges increasingly concentrates in cities, particularly in the

lower-middle- income countries where the pace of urbanization is fastest.

Integrated policies to improve the lives of both urban and rural dwellers are

needed.

In general, the pace of urbanization tends to slow down as a population becomes

more urbanized.

At the same time, cities offer opportunities to expand access to services, such as

health care and education, for large numbers of people in an economically efficient

manner. Providing public transportation, as well as housing, electricity, water and

sanitation for a densely settled population is typically cheaper and less

environmentally damaging than providing a similar level of services to a

predominantly rural household. Urban dwellers also have access to larger and more

diversified labour markets, and enjoy healthier lives overall.

Governments must implement policies to ensure that the benefits of urban growth

are shared equitably and sustainably. The Rio +20 Conference outcome, “The

future we want”, recognized that cities can lead the way towards economically,

socially and environmentally sustainable societies, but that a holistic approach to

urban planning and management is needed to improve living standards of urban

and rural dwellers alike.

Sustainable urbanization requires that cities generate better income and

employment opportunities expand the necessary infrastructure for water and

sanitation, energy, transportation, information and communications; ensure equal

access to services; reduce the number of people living in slums; and preserve the

natural assets within the city and surrounding areas.

Diversified policies to plan for and manage the spatial distribution of the

population and internal migration are needed. History has shown that policies that

aim to restrict rural-urban migration are ineffective at forestalling city growth, and

can even produce economic, social and environmental harms

25

Policies aimed at a more balanced distribution of urban growth, avoiding excessive

concentration in just one or two very large urban agglomerations within a single

country, can also support sustainable development. These policies, as well as those

promoting the growth of intermediate-size cities common in Latin America, can

help to address the problems of excessive centralization of economic and

administrative functions, while also responding to the challenges of providing

urban infrastructure and basic social services for the urban poor, and mitigating the

negative environmental impacts often associated with large and rapidly growing

urban agglomerations.

In order to systematically track levels and trends in urbanization in Nigeria and to

monitor progress in sustainable development goals in urban and rural areas,

Governments, with the support of international cooperation, should continue their

efforts to produce more extensive and better quality data on the size, distribution

and characteristics of the population.

Successful sustainable urbanization requires competent, responsive and

accountable governments charged with the management of cities and urban

expansion, as well appropriate use of information and communication technologies

(ICTs) for more efficient service delivery.

There is a need for building institutional capacities and applying integrated

approaches so as to attain urban sustainability without neglecting the potentials in

urban governance in planning, economic, social and technological improvements

rooted in public participation to assist in maintaining a sustainable environmental

management in cities in Nigeria.

26

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