Nigerian environmental and natural resources need more protection

Posted by Nickky Nickel on August 25th, 2018

Judging by the large amount and varieties of resources (renewable and non-renewable) in Nigeria, the country ought to be one of the most developed in the world. However, the country remains at the bottom ladder of the world developing countries – but there are many reasons the country is in this situation.

Apart from inconsistent government policies and corruption, the way Nigeria resources are managed neither help the country economically nor help the environment sustainably. Ever since the discovery of the crude oil, also called the black gold, the Nigerian economy has been structured to revolve around the non-renewable resource.

And due to the exploration of crude oil and industrial processes, the Nigeria environmental and natural resources have suffered, most especially in the Niger Delta. Rivers, which serve as the source of drinkable water and source of fishing, have been polluted; lands, on which food ought to be planted, have been contaminated – and all these make indigenous Niger Delta people suffer.

The people that leave out of the Niger Delta have their own environmental problem, too – due to the release of industrial chemicals into the land, air, and water. The rains that fall in Nigeria are now acidic, and the water pumped into homes isn’t safe for drinking. We now experience flooding and other environmental problems more than the usual, and all these have had negative impacts on the livelihood of people in the country.

To combat these environmental problems, some environmental NGOs in Nigeria have been created, with all of them doing one thing or the other to ensure the negative impacts are mitigated and also to ensure that environmental hazards are prevented. The programmes of the environmental organisations in Nigeria include environmental and conservation awareness, training, tree planting, researches, and establishment and management of natural resources – such as protected areas.

It is a good news that their efforts are yielding results, but looking at the scale at which the Nigerian environment is still getting degraded by the day, it is obvious that the natural and environmental resources in the country need more protection. More conservation agencies in Nigeria are needed to ensure the environment is conserved for posterity.

Moreover, the current organisations that are dedicated to environmental conservation in the country should be encouraged. If you are a concerned Nigeria, there are a couple of ways you can help our environment. First, you can donate to organisations working on protecting the environment – there are few of them in the country. Second, if you have what it takes, you can also start an environmental NGO.

Through donation and start your own environmental, you would contribute your quota to help to protect our environment.