Environmental sustainability and development in Nigeria: beyond the rhetoric of governance

Abstract

In Nigeria, like most present day societies, various measures have been embarked upon with regards to environmental sustainability as an aspect of socio-economic development. This is no doubt not unconnected with the recognition of the role of the environment in facilitating optimal social functioning and therefore, the need to protect it not just for the present but for the future as well. However, while these various efforts are reflected in a plethora of existing government agencies and documents, there has also been a corresponding increment in the challenges facing the environment. From desertification, deforestation, environmental pollution and many others, the environment in Nigeria has continued to suffer. With a combination of neo-Marxist political economy and decision-making theory as its tools of analysis, it is the contention of this paper that environmental policies and governance in Nigeria have continued to be a reflection of contradictions in deeds and intentions as policies counteract each other. Based mostly on secondary data and the review of existing literature, this paper summits that government pronouncement and actions on environmental sustainability must reflect linkages with other policies of development in order to ensure structural harmony and therefore, achieve full impact if success is to be ensured

Keywords: Environmental sustainability, Development, Governance. Nigeria