Nigeria



Nigeria

Introduction

Nigeria emerged on the map of the world on 1st October 1960 after gaining its independence from British. Federal Republic of Nigeria is located in West Africa is most populated country of Africa and also the most populous country with black ethnic background in the entire world with population of 162,470,737 (World Bank, 2011). Political system of Nigeria is federal republic and has major population of Muslims in the North and Christian in the South. The official language of Nigeria is English and its Capital is Abuja.

Discussion

Some of major economical and environmental parameters of Nigeria are discussed below

Environmental Status

Nigeria is rich in mineral resources especially oil resources such as petroleum, natural gas, coal. The deposits of iron, tin, limestone, zinc and niobium are also found in Nigeria. The delta region of Nigeria houses one of the largest oil industries. Oil resources also cause environmental threats such as oil spills. According to the department of Petroleum Resources, between the period of 1976 and 1996, an estimated magnitude of 1.89 million barrels were spilled into the delta of Nigeria and the primary reason of spilling is corroded carriers of petroleum including pipelines and tanks. Petroleum handling and producing infrastructures of Nigeria are old and lack maintenance and inspection which causes the phenomenon of corrosion.

Along with the oil resources, the waste management system of Nigeria, including sewage treatment is also poor and there are not many facilities available for waste treatment and disposal. Even in the major cities of Nigeria, the management lacks an appropriate treatment and disposal system of domestic and industrial waste and the cities are usually subjected to high levels of waste pollution. The accumulated wastes are dumped into or alongside canals or sewerage linens. Nigeria also faces the issue of deforestation and soil degradation caused by the unregulated ...