Street littering in Nigerian towns: towards framework for sustainable urban cleanliness

An aspect of solid waste management that has become almost intractable to local authorities in Nigeria is street littering. In a study carried out across the country in April/May 2008, this paper tried to expose some of the major factors that contribute to street littering. Six thousand subjects living along 120 streets (6 streets per town) were interviewed in 20 towns in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Data was collected for a period of five days and were focused on several questions bordering on street littering (why they littered, what they littered, where they littered, etc.), and their personal information (age, sex, income status, educational levels etc.). Data was analysed using univariate and multivariate models. Results showed that the litter problem was quite intense in all the streets surveyed. The level of education, age and income of subjects were major determinants of their littering habit. We also found that subjects littered the streets for several reasons (absence of bins, inefficiencies of local authorities, ignorance, weak legislation, anger, stress, etc). Finally, the study presented a framework for a sustainable urban cleanliness in the country.Key Words: attitude, behaviour, cleanliness, littering, street, sustainable

Effect of Gas Flaring on Buildings in the Oil Producing Rural Communities of River State, Nigeria

Many rural communities in the Nigeria Delta Region have been exposed to the flaring of Associated (AG) gas due to increased extraction of petroleum in the area. The study aimed at assessing the effect of gas flaring on the built environment using buildings as the main observed objects. Two rural communities (Obrikom and Omoku) were used for the case-control study. The study, carried out within a period of 11 months, combined modeled and measured estimates, considered emissions inventory and location data and combined expert judgment to assess possible effects of gas flaring on a sample of 106 buildings. Results shows that SO2, NO2 and PM10 were the major pollutants that may have acted as causative agents of the observed impacts (corrosion of roof tops, coloration of walls, leakage of roof tops etc), due to their toxic properties. There was high positive correlation between pollution levels and the level of impact on the sampled buildings (OR = 3.2, 95%, C.I. 1.3 – 6.7). The study concluded that epidemiological studies on the communities around gas flaring points have become imperative to determine the health effects from continuous exposure.Key Words: buildings, degradation, effect, exposure, emissions, gas flarin

Sanitation Indicators in the Rural Communities of the South-Eastern Nigeria: Additional Evidence of Policy Failure in Rural Development

The study tried to examine the conditions or rural sanitation in the South-East region of Nigeria. The objective is to investigate the prevailing situation of sanitation indicators as a way of evaluating national policy outcomes in the sector. Copies of a well-structured questionnaire containing pertinent questions on socio-economic and key sanitation variables were distributed to 1062 subjects in rural communities of the five South East states of Nigeria. After collation and analysis, results showed that the problem of rural sanitation in the region is poorly understood: policy-makers have consistently focused on the improvement of water supply and public toilets at the detriment of other sanitation variables. Consequently, the study recorded poor results on personal hygiene (25%), disposal of household refuse (49.9%), water treatment before drinking (4.8%), anal cleaning with leaves/grass after toilet (18.3%), non washing of hand after toilet (55.5%) etc. The high willingness expressed by subjects to improve their sanitation (88%) shows that the major problem of sanitation in the area remains that of promotion rather than administration. These poor results on sanitation indicators in the region , the vanguard of rural development in Nigeria, have come as an additional evidence to the long list of failures recorded in the implementation of rural development policies in Nigeria.Key Words: development, failure, indicators, policy, rural, sanitatio

Impact of European union micro-projects Programme in water and sanitation on rural communities of the Niger delta region of Nigeria

Many studies in Nigeria have revealed that the Niger Delta Region is the least served in terms of basic infrastructure such as electricity, roads, water and sanitation. This study examined the impact of the European Union Micro-Projects Program in the rural areas of Imo State, in the heart of the Niger Delta Region. Five hundred and forty subjects were randomly selected and interviewed in 15 rural communities that benefited from water and sanitation projects between 2003 and 2007. Impacts were evaluated in the areas of water supply and sanitation in terms of quality, quantity, distance and time. Results showed considerable improvements in the quantity of water supply (62%), water quality and sanitation (49%), reduction in distance from water sources (87.1%), time for water collection (57.5%) and incidence in water-borne diseases (40.7%). The success recorded in this externally funded program resulted from many factors, of which the most important is the adoption of the participatory development model by the donor agency in project execution.Key words: donor agency, micro-projects, participation, rural population, sanitation, water