The legal status of sustainable development in the Nigerian environmental law

Sustainable development underpins environmental governance in all jurisdictions, but its legal status is still controversial. The major problem which Nigerian courts and policy-makers will continue to face when implementing and enforcing sustainable development in environmental governance is whether it is a moral or legal concept and, if it is the latter, whether it has metamorphosed into a legal principle or the rule of law having a normative value. This article argues that the legal status of sustainable development in Nigeria depends on which legal instrument it is incorporated and whether it is expressed in a general or specific mandatory language. Also, its legal status depends on the pronouncements of Nigerian courts on it. Methodologically, the qualitative content analysis is used to ascertain the legal status of sustainable development in the statutes and case law examined. In order to enhance the implementation and enforcement of sustainable development in the Nigerian environmental law, the conclusion of this article adopted as recommendations the latter part of its argument that sustainable development should be made an essential part of the right to life, the relevant constitutional provisions on the environmental should be amended to reflect it and, in addition, section 20 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 should be transferred to Chapter IV of the Constitution, which deals with fundamental human rights.Keywords: Sustainable development, legal status, implementation, enforcement and qualitative content analysi

Achieving Sustainability of Marine Fish Stocks in Nigeria: Can the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Make a Different?

Globally and in Nigeria, Marine Fish Stocks (MFS) are in a deplorable state and the consequences are unimaginable. Having identified this as one of environmental causes of the world’s greatest challenges—how to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050—the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted a resolution on Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Agenda), which contains, among others, Goal 14 that specifically deals on how to conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. How this goal will impact on the sustainability of MFS in Nigeria is the burning issue for policy makers, fisheries managers and academics. This article argues that the implications of the Agenda on the sustainability of MFS in Nigeria depends on, first, the extent Nigeria has integrated sustainable development into its marine fisheries law; second, the extent which Goal 14 and its associated targets have addressed the causes of the deplorable state of Nigeria’s MFS and, third, the extent Nigerian Marine Fisheries Law (NMFL) has implemented the targeted activities. The major findings of this article are (1) NMFL does not integrate sustainable development, (2) the Agenda does not address all the factors causing the poor state of Nigeria’s MFS, and (3) the level at which the NMFL has implemented the targeted activities under Goal 14 is low. In order to achieve sustainability of Nigeria’s MFS, this article recommends, among others, the enactment of a new NMFL that integrates sustainable development and contemporary conservation, management and compliance measures recommended or prescribed in the Agenda and other UN instruments on marine fisheries

Microbial Spectrum and Antibiogram of Non-surgical Wounds in Children in a Rural Setting in Nigeria

The aim of this study was to determine the microbial spectrum and susceptibility pattern of non-surgical wound infections in children in a rural setting in our environment. This study was a cross sectional study of children aged 0 to 15 years in Bakassi, Nigeria. The children were screened for non-surgical wounds using an interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaire. Identified wounds were evaluated clinically for signs of infection and specimens were collected and cultured using standard microbiologic techniques. Susceptibility test was performed on all the isolated Micro-organisms. Data were collected and analysed using SPSS version 20 for windows. Sixty four wound infections out of a total of 115 wounds giving an infection rate of 55.7% were encountered. Of 64 wound cultures, 46.9% (30/64,) yielded mono-microbial growth, while poly-microbial growth of two and three microorganisms were obtained in 46.9% (30/64) and 1.6% (1/64) specimens respectively.A total of 92 organisms were isolated belonging to seven different species. Staphylococcus aureus (n= 57/92, 62.0%) and Streptococcus pyogenes (n = 30/92, 32.6%) were the predominant pathogens isolated. High rate of community acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (38/57, 66.7%) was observed. The microbial spectrum of non-surgical wounds of children in rural communities is wide. The high rate of antimicrobial resistance particularly MRSA and high predominance of S. pyogenes are potential sources of dire consequence in management and long term morbidity

Hydrogeophysical Investigation in Parts of the Eastern DahomeyBasin, Southwestern Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Groundwater Resources Development and Managemen

Geoelectrical resistivity measurements were conducted in five locations within the eastern portion of the Dahomey basin for the purpose of subsurface evaluation and detecting saturated zones. The locations are Covenant University (L1), Bells University (L2), Oju-Ore-Ilogbo Road (L3), Citation: Oyeyemi, K.D.; Aizebeokhai, A.P.; Olaojo, A.A.; Okon, E.E.; Kalu, D.V.; Metwaly, M. Hydrogeophysical Investigation in Parts of the Eastern Dahomey Basin, Southwestern Nigeria: Implications for Sustainable Groundwater Resources Development and Management. Water 2023, 15, 2862. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15162862 Academic Editors: María del Carmen Cabrera Santana, Albert Casas Ponsati and Alex Sendros Received: 19 June 2023 Revised: 28 July 2023 Accepted: 30 July 2023 Published: 8 August 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Obasanjo-Ijagba Road (L4), and Iyana Iyesi (L5). The study was carried out to avert the common challenges of drilling low-yield groundwater boreholes in the area. A total of 30 Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) and five two-dimensional Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) data sets have been acquired along the study areas. The geoelectrical resistivity results were integrated with the borehole logs to generate the spatial distribution of the subsurface lithologies in the area. The delineated subsurface lithologies include the topsoil (lateritic clay), clayey sand, sandy clay, fine silty sand, coarse sand, and shale/clay units. The fine silty sand and coarse sand units were identified as the two main aquifer units within the area. The depths to the upper aquifer unit in the area include 31.7–96.7 m, 38.5–94.0 m, 30.7–57.5 m, 39.1–63.4 m, and 46.9–57.5 m for locations L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5, respectively. At the same time, the depths to the lower aquifer unit in the area include 43.4–112.7 m, 52.2–108.0 m, 44.2–72.5 m, 53.7–78.5 m, and 63.5–72.9 m for locations L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5, respectively. The estimated hydraulic parameters for both aquifers show they are highly productive with mean porosity, mean hydraulic conductivity, and mean transmissivity of 20–22%, 12.4–17.0 10 2 m/s, 1.56–2.18 m2/s for the upper aquifer, and 48–50%, 371–478 10 2 m/s, 50.00–62.14 m2/s for the lower aquifer. By focusing on these aquifer systems during exploration, sustainable groundwater resources can be secured, providing relief to homeowners within the study area who might otherwise face the frustration of drilling unproductive and low-yield boreholes. However, it is crucial to consider the presence of sub-vertical faults in the study area, as these faults can significantly impact groundwater development and management. These sub-vertical structural faults may lead to changes in the permeability, hydraulic conductivity, and transmissivity of the delineated aquifers, affecting their productivity across the divide and ultimately influencing the overall water availability in the area. Careful consideration of these geological factors is essential for effective aquifer management and sustainable groundwater utilisatio

Field Observations and Geophysical Research Applied to the Detection of Manganese (Mn) Deposits in the Eastern Part of Oban Massif, South-Eastern Nigeria: An Integrated Approach

The growing need for an industrialized world, especially in Africa, cannot be feasible without adequate mineral resources. Thus, the search for more mineral deposits will continue to be necessary. An integrated approach involving geological mapping and a high-resolution geophysical (aeromagnetic) investigation was conducted to assess the manganese mineralization in parts of the Oban Massif, southeast Nigeria. The aeromagnetic data were processed using regional-residual anomaly separation techniques, first vertical derivative (1VD), analytical signals, source parameters imaging (SPI), and Euler deconvolution to better understand magnetic source distributions and their depths of occurrence. The geological investigation revealed a dominant variety of metamorphic rock types, including migmatitic (banded) gneisses hornblende granite gneisses, amphibolites, charnockites, and some quartzite ridges. Also present are some indications of pockets of dolerites. The study area also observed epithermal Mn+Fe+Qtz vein type mineralization associated with hydrothermal alteration zones whose orientation coincides with dominant structural orientation from aeromagnetic interpretation. Analysis of aeromagnetic data shows that the study area is dominated by ENE, NNE, and E-W structural directions (near-surface basement structures), with the ENE trends related to mineralization in the area. The manganese mineralization within Oban Massif is structurally controlled. The depths of the magnetic anomalies in the study area were estimated using SPI and Euler decomposition algorithms. SPI delineated the shallow, intermediate, and deep magnetic anomalies at 84–142 m, 152–200 m, and 215–656 m, respectively. Euler decomposition, however, revealed that shallow, intermediate, and deep depths occurrence of the magnetic anomalies are at 200–377 m, 393–472 m, and 499–793 m, respectivel

Assessing the suitable electrical resistivity arrays for characterization of basement aquifers using numerical modeling

Numerical modeling analysis was used to assess the suitable electrical resistivity arrays for the characterization of geological structures, including dyke, horst, graben, sub-vertical, and vertical structures. These geological structures usually make up the aquifers interested in the hydrogeological evaluation of crystalline basement terrains. Six electrode configurations, including Wenner alpha (α), Wenner beta (β), Wenner gamma (γ), Schlumberger array, dipole-dipole array, and pole-dipole array, were used to assess the geological structures for groundwater exploration. The synthetic models of the geological structures were generated using RES2DMOD code, and 5% noise was added to all the models. The generated models were inverted using the RES2DINV code. The results show that the most suitable arrays for dyke and graben structures are Wenner alpha, while Wenner beta is the most suitable for the horst structure. The Schlumberger array was the best for both sub-vertical and vertical structures. This study has demonstrated the efficacy of numerical modeling in assessing the best resistivity arrays for 2D electrical resistivity imaging for groundwater exploration prior to geophysical field investigation

Field Observations and Geophysical Research Applied to the Detection of Manganese (Mn) Deposits in the Eastern Part of Oban Massif, South-Eastern Nigeria: An Integrated Approach

The growing need for an industrialized world, especially in Africa, cannot be feasible without adequate mineral resources. Thus, the search for more mineral deposits will continue to be necessary. An integrated approach involving geological mapping and a high-resolution geophysical (aeromagnetic) investigation was conducted to assess the manganese mineralization in parts of the Oban Massif, southeast Nigeria. The aeromagnetic data were processed using regional-residual anomaly separation techniques, first vertical derivative (1VD), analytical signals, source parameters imaging (SPI), and Euler deconvolution to better understand magnetic source distributions and their depths of occurrence. The geological investigation revealed a dominant variety of metamorphic rock types, including migmatitic (banded) gneisses hornblende granite gneisses, amphibolites, charnockites, and some quartzite ridges. Also present are some indications of pockets of dolerites. The study area also observed epithermal Mn+Fe+Qtz vein type mineralization associated with hydrothermal alteration zones whose orientation coincides with dominant structural orientation from aeromagnetic interpretation. Analysis of aeromagnetic data shows that the study area is dominated by ENE, NNE, and E-W structural directions (near-surface basement structures), with the ENE trends related to mineralization in the area. The manganese mineralization within Oban Massif is structurally controlled. The depths of the magnetic anomalies in the study area were estimated using SPI and Euler decomposition algorithms. SPI delineated the shallow, intermediate, and deep magnetic anomalies at 84–142 m, 152–200 m, and 215–656 m, respectively. Euler decomposition, however, revealed that shallow, intermediate, and deep depths occurrence of the magnetic anomalies are at 200–377 m, 393–472 m, and 499–793 m, respectively

Knowledge, Awareness and Practice with Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes among Healthcare Providers in a Ghanaian Tertiary Hospital

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a significant problem in global health today, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where antimicrobial stewardship programmes are yet to be successfully implemented. We established a partnership between AMR pharmacists from a UK NHS hospital and in Ho Teaching Hospital with the aim of enhancing antimicrobial stewardship knowledge and practice among healthcare providers through an educational intervention. We employed a mixed-method approach that included an initial survey on knowledge and awareness before and after training, followed by qualitative interviews with healthcare providers conducted six months after delivery of training. This study was carried out in two phases in Ho Teaching Hospital with healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, medical doctors, nurses and medical laboratory scientists. Ethical approval was obtained prior to data collection. In the first phase, we surveyed 50 healthcare providers, including nurses (33%), pharmacists (29%) and biomedical scientists (23%). Of these, 58% of participants had engaged in continuous professional development on AMR/AMS, and above 95% demonstrated good knowledge on the general use of antibiotics. A total of 18 participants, which included four medical doctors, five pharmacists, four nurses, two midwives and three biomedical scientists, were interviewed in the second phase and demonstrated greater awareness of AMS practices, particularly the role of education for patients, as well as healthcare professionals. We found that knowledge and practice with AMS was markedly improved six months after the training session. There is limited practice of AMS in LMICs; however, through AMR-focused training, we demonstrated improved AMS skills and practice among healthcare providers in Ho Teaching Hospital. There is a need for continuous AMR training sessions for healthcare professionals in resource-limited settings