ABSTRACT
This study is to examine the influence of politics
on solid waste management and identify all those political issues that have
affected the management of solid wastes in some chosen local governments in Oyo
state between 2011 and 2016. The
objectives of the study are to examine the influence of economic, social,
cultural and political factors on solid waste management in the state. The
method of award of solid waste management contracts to Public Private
Partnership (PPP) and to assess the ability of local governments in terms of
finance to manage solid wastes. The
study was also undertaken to evaluate the effects of politicization of solid waste
management on the residents of Oyo state.
Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed
for the study with the use of both qualitative and quantitative data. The sample size was 400 and the instruments
for collecting data was a self-designed questionnaire, interview guide and
review of existing literatures. The
study covers 6(six) local governments in
Oyo state namely, Akinyele, Surulere, Ibadan North East, Orire, Ibarapa central
and Ido local governments. These local
governments cover the geo-political zones and cognisance was also taken of the
low, medium and high density in terms of solid waste generation. Stratified sampling was used to divide the
population into sub-groups while the respondents were selected in proportion of
age, level of education, financial status and profession. 25 respondents were interviewed. ANOVA and regression analyses were used to
test the hypotheses.
The findings indicated that Ho1:shows the
joint effect of independent variables (Economic factor, Social Factor,
Political Factor and Cultural Factor) to the prediction of the Effects of
Politicisation of Solid Waste was significant.
Also H02 shows in the table that there was significant
relationship between Effects of Politicisation for Solid Waste Management and
Ineffectiveness of Local Government to manage Solid Waste (r = .476*, N= 354,
p<.05).
The conclusion reached from the results and finding
is that there is politicisation in the solid waste management sector and it is
having a negative effect in the performance of the sector. It was therefore recommended that political
will is necessary for there to be effective performance of solid waste
management in the state.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study
Human's existence is highly connected to
the environment and the importance of the environment cannot be
overemphasised. The environment has
created a comfortable habitat for man through science, technology, religion and
politics. Albeit the environment is a
pre-requisite for good and sound health, ignorance of humans to laws of nature
and over-exploitation of natural resources have negatively impacted on the
environment. Factors such as
overpopulation, industrialisation, urbanisation, citizens' life-style,
rural-urban migration, globalization, social development, unchecked
technological advancement, resources exploitation, intensive agriculture and
lack of adherence to environmental regulations have further aggravated the
problems of the environment (Ross, 2012).
One of the dreadful consequences of
population growth and urbanisation is the problem of solid waste management.
This is because, as population increases, so does the unhealthy by-products,
which are in form of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes resulting from human's
activities. The issue of solid waste management is a global concern and many
nations, especially developing nations are struggling to find permanent
solution to the problem inherent in solid wastes. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, at the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, about 178 governments
converged together and agreed that a more sustainable solid waste management
was needed in both developed and developing nations. The discussion centred on looking for ways to
minimise wastes, maximise reuse, recycling and promote sound environment with
ability to have a proper disposal and treatment system of solid wastes in all
nations of the world. Although many nations are making incredible efforts
towards achieving a proper solid waste management system and practice, not much
has been achieved in many developing nations even twenty four years after the
conference. Solid waste management still
remains a significant environmental challenge in many places in developing
countries and especially in Nigeria. In many parts of Nigeria, wastes are still
disposed in undesignated areas, open places, gutters, rivers, sometimes on road
medians causing environmental and public health problems (Bhatia, 2013).
Various governments of the world,
particularly developing countries are finding it extremely difficult to have an
effective solid waste management. This is because so much garbage is still
lying uncollected in the streets causing inconveniences and environmental
pollution resulting in serious health risk.
Many nations are beginning to realise that the factors responsible for
the low performance of solid waste management are social, economic, political,
technological and cultural. An important factor which has been neglected in the
issue of solid waste management is political will and support from the three
tiers of government.
The indiscriminate littering and dumping
of wastes among the people in many developing countries is inimical to solid
waste management and does have negative effects on the environment. The aim of
solid waste management is to prevent or reduce the impact of waste on human
health and local amenity and to maintain cleanliness and public health of a
community.
The management of solid wastes has
become not only one of the most challenging environmental issues but also a
serious political issue that has remained unresolved in many parts of
Nigeria. The method of collection,
transport, treatment and disposal of solid wastes is relatively a difficult
problem in many parts of the nation. Research bodies and policy makers all over
the world are concerned on what should be the best approach to solid waste
management since most efforts being made by professionals in many cities, local
governments, States and federal authorities have proven unsuccessful.
The extent to which waste management is
effective and sustained depends greatly on the system of governance and the
nation's political will and machinery. This will range from the national,
through State to the local governments. All tiers of government is involved in
the issue of solid waste management in formulating laws and ordinances as
requirements for the disposal of solid wastes and even in the management of
wastes. Environmental issues are handled
by the Ministry of Environment at the federal and State levels and
Environmental Health department at the local government levels in Nigeria
(Arinze, 2014).
As observed by Ajani (2008), the methods
adopted for solid waste management in many places in Nigeria and in particular
in Oyo State have not matched up with the challenges of solid wastes, as wastes
generation exceeds collection capacity.
Oyo State is part of the 36 States in Nigeria and has an estimated
population of seven million people. Governments at all levels in Oyo State have
not been able to device adequate plan or policies that will resolve the
challenges of solid waste management and it appears that Oyo State does not
have a proper waste management scheme as management of solid waste in every
part of the State has been a great challenge for decades. It is evident that solid waste management in
Oyo State is plagued with inefficient collection methods, insufficient coverage
of the collection system, improper disposal, lack of institutional arrangement,
insufficient financial resources, absence of bylaws and standards,
inappropriate technology, poor data information for planning, wrong attitude of
waste generators amongst others. These challenges are causing serious health
concern with significant environmental, social and health costs in Nigeria and
especially in many local governments of Oyo State, where there are dumping of
garbage by road sides, in rivers and many other open spaces which facilitates
breeding of disease vectors such as flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats and
other pests.
The Oyo State governments have continued
to make concerted efforts to curb the challenges plaguing solid waste
management sector in the State. In 1984, the Federal government of Nigeria
introduced the monthly sanitation exercise for every last Saturday of every
month to allow people take care of their surroundings. The Oyo State government, became part of the
programme and the people of Oyo State were made to observe the exercise while
officials of the Ministry of Environment go out to monitor the activities of
the public.
Between 1988 and 1996, the Oyo State
government implemented the Oyo State Urban Rehabilitation Project which was a
programme designed for: Channelization of the Ogunpa river, establishment of
the Ibadan Solid Waste Management Authority and Rehabilitation and Urban
renewal of Yemetu Aladorin, Mokola and Ogbere rivers. Oyo State has a long history of flooding as a
result of solid waste management problems.
Most of the flood disasters in the State have been as a result of the
indiscriminate dumping of solid waste in the Ogunpa and other rivers in the
State. Examples of such floods are that
of 1902, 1924, 1956, 1960, 1963, 1978 and the most devastating of them all
before that of August 2011 was the one of 1980 that claimed so many lives and
destroyed properties worth millions of naira.
This made the Oyo State government to approach the World Bank for the
rehabilitation and chanellisation of the Ogunpa River in 2011.
In 1997, there was an initiative by the
State government to turn waste to organic fertilizer. The plant for this was commissioned in 1998.
Also, in 1999, the Oyo State government introduced Kerbside Sweeping in preparation
for the World Youth Soccer Tournament.
From thence, street sweeping, registered refuse collectors to collect
refuse all became parts of the efforts of the government to curb the challenges
of solid waste in the State. There was
also the introduction of refuse drums and containers for the residents to
collect and empty their refuse.
In 2009, the Oyo State government
increased the routine maintenance of Urban Roads Environment in Ibadan
metropolis from 40 to 52 and also increased the monthly allocation of the Ministry
from N3,348,879.4 to N9,856,003.38.
Between 2009 and 2010, additional
sweepers were employed and the State government bought additional trucks. Also bought were the smaller trucks called
Ro-Ro for routs that are too small for the big trucks to ply.
The 2011 flood was not really caused by
the Ogunpa but as a result of overflows of other rivers such as, Ona, Ogbere and Dandaru which was also a
great calamity to the State. The flood
led the State government to approach the World Bank for funds to finance
infrastructures in Oyo State. The funds
from the World Bank made the channelization of the Ogunpa river possible. But in spite of all the efforts, Oyo State is
still plagued with serious solid waste management problem.
Thus this study focused on examining the
problems of solid waste management in Oyo State from the standpoint of
politics, the practitioners involved in the management, the socio-cultural
practices and biases amongst the practitioners and their impacts upon the
environment.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Successive administrations in Oyo State
have continued to make concerted efforts towards curbing the menace that arises
with the challenges of management of solid wastes and have devised different
kinds of mechanisms to control the proliferation of solid wastes in the State
some of which were mentioned above, but most of the efforts have proved
ineffective and yielded little results and it appears there is no effective
permanent solution to this perennial problem.
The Ogunpa disaster in 1980 during the tenure of late Chief Bola Ige
which claimed over 200 lives and damaged properties worth millions of naira
(Etuonovbe, 2014) and the occurrence of sporadic flooding in many parts of the
State during raining seasons, has made it obvious that there is urgent need for
a strong political wheel to drive and re-engineer the entire process of waste
management in the State. For it has
been discovered that the floods are largely caused by lack of proper waste
disposal system, indiscriminate dumping of wastes and poor urban planning in
the State resulting in blockages of curvets, drainages and river courses.
Oyeniyi, (2011) postulated that Ibadan,
the capital city of Oyo State, has been described as one of the dirtiest in
Africa. Suffice to say that the
indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes on streets, in gutters, culverts and
other places resulting in flood, causing destruction of roads and other
infrastructures and sometimes loss of lives during rains is a growing cause of
concern in many parts of the State.
Going through the city from Elizabeth Road in Mokola through to Sabo,
from Sango to Ojoo, going through the Iwo road axes, Molete and other parts of
the State, the heaps of solid wastes on the roads create an unpleasant sight,
oozing out terrible stench, causing damage to the environment and endangering
public health. In addition, from the
research carried out by Bakare (2014), Nigeria generates around 3.2 million
tons of solid waste annually and only about 20-30% is collected. The research went further to State that, from
this amount, Ibadan alone generated 579,723 tonnes in the year 2000 and
996,102tonnes in 2010 and it is estimated that by year 2020 it would have
increased to the tune of 1,114,000 tonnes of solid wastes.
Several agencies are often involved in
solid waste management at the federal, State and local government levels. The problem however, is that these agencies
are not given clear roles or functions in solid waste management. And this has sometimes led to duplication of
efforts and lack of effective legislation on solid waste management. In addition neglect of the economic, social,
political, cultural and psychological factors in the area of formulating and
implementing policies/programs to ensure environmental sustainability is of
immense importance and is a great problem in the issue of waste management in
the State.
The study identified those policies,
laws, institutional, political, socio-cultural, financial, economic and
technical aspects of solid waste management that should be given optimum
attention with all seriousness. The study also presented a critique of the
current solid waste management practices, policies and politics in some
selected local government councils in Oyo State.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The
main objective of the study was to investigate the politics of solid waste
management in local governments of Oyo State.
The specific objectives are to:
1. examine
the social, economic, cultural and political factors on solid waste management in Oyo State;
2. assess
the ability of local governments in
terms of adequate funding to effectively
manage solid waste in Oyo State;
3.
appraise the engagement of
Public Private Partnership (PPP) as solid wastes
consultants based on their competence and pedigree; and
4. evaluate
the effect of politicization of solid waste management on the residents of Oyo
State.
1.4 Research Questions
Based on the Stated problems of the
study, the following research questions were raised:
1. How
do social, economic, cultural and political factors affect solid waste management
in Oyo State?
2. Why
are local governments in Oyo State not able to effectively manage solid wastes?
3. How
does the engagement of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) affect the performance of solid waste
management in Oyo State?
4. What
are the effects of politicization of solid waste management on the residents of Oyo State?
1.5 Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested at
5% level of significance:
H01: There
will be no joint effect of independent variables of economic, social,
political and cultural factors on politicisation of solid waste management.
H02: There is no significant
relationship between solid waste management
and ineffectiveness of local governments to manage solid wastes.
1.6 Significance of the Study
Many studies have been carried out on
waste, waste management and solid waste management, but this research is
different because it is carried out to specifically review the effects of
politics on solid waste management and why there is still so much garbage on
our streets in spite of all the strategies in waste management that have been
put in place. More so, not many
publications have been written to provide the type of information needed on
ways to tackle solid waste management problems in developing countries
especially in Africa where the political systems and institutions are still
evolving. That is, those processes that could address solid wastes management
problems of African continent with its political nature and system which is
different from that of developed nations where political systems and
institutions have been entrenched to ensure that the institutions function
irrespective of whichever party is in power ensuring minimal or no political
intervention in solid waste management.
The study would therefore make
recommendations that researchers and policy makers can use to proffer solutions
to the observed lapses in the entire process of solid waste management by
critiquing each segment of the process to ensure effectiveness of performance
which should result in a healthier and cleaner environment. In addition, the
study would examine the socio-political relationships between interest groups
and stake holders involved in solid waste management which would in turn help
decision-makers, policy makers and should be useful for future researchers of
the environment in local governments of Oyo State.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This research
work was a general appraisal of the 33 local governments in Oyo State of
Nigeria but focus was made of six local governments in the State. These local governments were chosen from all
the senatorial districts in the State and these are: Oyo Central Senatorial district - Akinyele Local government
(Moniya) and Surulere (Ireesaadu) Local
government, Oyo North Senatorial
district - Ibadan North East Local government (Iwo-road), Orire Local
government (Ikoyi-Ile) and Oyo South
Senatorial district, Ibarapa central (Igboora) and lastly, Ido local government
(Eleyele - Eruwa road). These local
governments were chosen as they cover the geo-political zones. The six local
governments have been chosen taking into cognisance the low, medium and high
density in terms of solid waste generation based on the population of the local
governments. The study covered the
period between 2011 - 2016 being the period the State government placed
emphasis on its resolve to curb environmental challenges in the State.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
The major terms used in this research
work are hereby explained thus:
Solid
Waste: Solid wastes are those wastes that are not in
liquid or gaseous form but are solid in form.
They are all the rubbish, refuse, garbage, trash and materials no longer
in use and are ready to be discarded.
Politics: This is the ability to participate in
decisions of the State and also employ political power to produce intended
effects on other people. Politics can
also be defined as the authoritative allocations of values for a society. That
is, the political activities within a State which answer the questions of
"who gets what, when and how".
Environment: The environment from a literary point of
view, is generally viewed as encompassing the natural world including flora and
fauna and human civilisation.
Solid
waste management: This
involves management activities associated with generation, storage, collection,
transfer, transport, reuse, recycling, processing and disposal of solid wastes.
1.9 Chapter outlay of the Study
This research work has been presented in
five chapters. Chapter one contains the introduction, the background to the
study, Statement of the study, the research questions, research hypothesis,
significance of the study and objectives of the study. Chapter two discussed
the theoretical framework and review of relevant literatures while chapter
three discussed the research methodology
and the research design, sample and sampling procedure. Chapter four is the explanation of data while
chapter five is the summary, conclusion and has offered recommendations.
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