Environmental planning, administration and management in Nigerian Cities: The example of Benin City, Bendel State
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.4230080102 |
| Author | Gideon E. D. Omuta |
| Published date | 01 January 1988 |
| Date | 01 January 1988 |
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT,
Vol.
8,
1-14
(1988)
Environmental planning, administration and
management in Nigerian cities: the example
of
Benin
City,
Bendel State
GIDEON
E.
D.
OMUTA
University
of
Benin
SUMMARY
Third World cities are characterized by weak administrative and managerial capacity for
environmental planning. Benin City, Nigeria, is no exception. Benin's environmental
problems result largely from its unplanned land use and weak development control. These
problems include lack
of
open space, substandard housing and an increasing volume of
refuse. The administrative arrangements to handle environmental problems include the
Town Planning Division, which enforces building and housing codes and land use regu-
lations; and the Task Force on Environmental Sanitation, responsible for solid waste
management. However, these arrangements have not produced satisfactory results. Failure
has been due partly to the
ad
hoc
organization
of
environmental administration; the
overlapping perception of environmental problems; the alienation of the public; dispersal
of
authority; and the scale of jurisdictional units. Effective environmental planning adminis-
tration must adopt a holistic approach, which recognizes the need for
a
comprehensive
environmental planning and a concentration of environmental authority. This is based on
the premise that environmental issues are the responsibility of one agency but an obligation
for
all.
Structurally, the concentration of environmental authority hinges on the principle
of cooperative leadership by the Federal Government. This calls urgently
for
the establish-
ment
of
a
Federal Environmental Protection Agency at the centre, and Environmental
Management Boards at state levels. The Boards would provide an administrative umbrella
under which the management of various aspects
of
the environment are coordinated. In
order to maximize the cooperation
of
the public, the traditional power structure of the
Oba (paramount chiefs and community leaders) must be involved in the conception and
implementation of environmental planning. Citizen participation would in turn be maxim-
ized if the neighbourhood is adopted
as
the jurisdictional unit, upon which environmental
administration and management are systematically built.
INTRODUCTION
Although in every country in the world today there is at least some concern about
environmental problems, the degree
of
seriousness
of
attention, and level
of
administrative and management capacity, varies considerably.
Thus,
while a dec-
Dr Omuta
is
Senior Lecturer in the Department
of
Geography and Regional Planning, University
of
Benin, PMB
1154,
Benin
City,
Nigeria.
027 1-2075/88/0 1000 1-14$07.00
@
1988
by John Wiley
&
Sons, Ltd.
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