Many are not aware that there exist laws that govern our interactions with our environment. And to some others, adhering to these laws seems to be a major challenge. DOYIN ADEOYE writes on why Nigeria’s environmental laws have made little or no impact over the years.

Nigeria, like any other nation faces diverse environmental problems. Ranging from erosions, deforestation, oil spillage, water, land and air pollutions, and illegal waste disposals, among other issues, these problems can either be natural or manmade.
Many are unaware that the simple act of dropping a pure water sachet or PET bottle on the street, or burning of refuse, constitutes environmental crimes, which violates environmental laws and policies, and warrants punishments.
Although, the role of enforced policies in curbing environmental crimes is important as it serves as an effective tool for environmental protection, many of Nigeria’s environmental laws are yet to fulfill the purpose for which they were made.
Various administrations over the years have enacted environmental policies to combat the constant degradation of the environment, some of which include the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act, Oil Pipelines Act, Environmental Impact Assessment Act, The Land Use Act, Hydrocarbon Oil Refineries Act and Water Resources Act, among others.
As administered by the Federal Ministry of Environment, NESREA Act of 2007, which replaced the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) Act, has a role of the protection of the environment and the sustainable development of Nigeria’s natural resources. Section 27 of the Act prohibits, without lawful authority, the discharge of hazardous substances into the environment. And this offence is punishable under this section, with a fine not exceeding, N1 million and an imprisonment term of five years. In the case of a company, there is an additional fine of N50,000, for every day the offence persists.

This, however, is no deterrence for many companies, as many of them are guilty of environmental pollutions.
According to Professor Jacob Sonibare, an air quality and noise specialist with the Environmental Engineering Research Laboratory, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), lack of political will is responsible for inadequate enforcement of environmental laws in Nigeria.
“It has to do with individuals and corporate organisations. For example, for corporate organisations, there is a law that says that you cannot flare natural gas; if you do so, you will pay. However, because the penalty, that is the money to be paid is so small, the corporate bodies will prefer flaring and paying. And also, this money is paid to the Federal Government and not the community where the gas flaring occurred. So that is one of the reasons corporate bodies don’t adhere to environmental laws. The laws are there, but there is nobody enforcing them,” he said.
The Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act, which oversees purposeful planning of the country states in Section 73 of its Act that “the Control Department shall regulate the dimensions, appearance, display, sitting and manner in which an advertisement billboard shall to be affixed to land.”
Yet, individuals and organisations erect billboards without permissions; while movie posters, religious and education flyers are pasted across walls, on traffic circles, and every other place, with little or nothing being done about it.
While many Nigerians engage in illegal dumping of refuse, little do they know that the Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions) Act prohibits, without lawful authority, the carrying, dumping or depositing of harmful waste in the air, land or waters of Nigeria. In fact, the Section 6 of the Act, provides for a punishment of life imprisonment for offenders, as well as the forfeiture of land or anything used to commit the offence.
In his opinion, General Manager, Oyo State Waste Management Authority (OYOWMA), Mr Joseph Alabi, stated that environmental crimes continue to exist as a result of people’s attitudes.
“Many people are indifferent to environmental issues, especially as regards solid waste. But I believe that through mobilisation, education and enforcement, a lot can be achieved.”
Section 1 (1) of the Oil in Navigable Waters Act, prohibits the discharge of oil from a Nigerian ship into territorial waters or shorelines, requiring the installation of anti-pollution equipment in ships. The Section 7 requires the records of occasions of oil discharge.
Even the Nigerian constitution, as the national legal order, recognises the importance of improving and protecting the environment. Section 20 of the Constitution makes it an objective of the Nigerian State to improve and protect the air, land, water, forest and wildlife of Nigeria.
Yet, despite these steps, the purpose and impact of these environmental policies are hardly felt, probably because many of them lack objective structures for implementation. So the question remains, why do individuals, corporate organisations, and even the government itself, do not comply with these environmental laws?
According to Professor Chinedum Nwajiuba, Executive Director, Nigerian Environmental Study/Action Team (NEST), enforcing of laws in Nigeria seems to be a problem.
“Whether environmental laws or not, enforcing of laws in Nigeria is generally an issue. Also, most of the issues bother on livelihood; if you have regulations that is restricting deforestation, for instance, and people in the villages need energy, they may not likely to be wrong if the most important thing for their survival is to cut down trees.
“Many people are also not even aware that these laws exist. So there is a need for information advocacy, enlightenment and education for people to be basically aware of these laws,” he said.
In the same vein, Professor Sonibare, noted that the laws are there, but there is nobody to enforce them.
“The Lagos State government last year closed down churches and mosques as a result of noise pollution, and people started protesting. yet the act was in their interest.
“The laws are there, but there is nobody to enforce them. Some of them are enforced, but are not properly put in place because of corruption. Also, the political will to enforce them remains an issue. Because there is no one enforcing the laws, people are also not properly informed about the laws. For instance, anyone can put loudspeakers on their cars, advertising a crusade or selling a product. This is wrong. Such person may be doing it because he is not informed, and at the same time because nobody is enforcing the law in that regard. So there are lapses on both sides,” he said.
It is no gainsaying that the Nigerian government is usually good at coming up with policies, but the effective implementation remains the problem.
“Everyone is guilty of abusing our environment. I am not an environmentalist, but it is mere reasoning to know that dumping of refuse on the street is wrong. But until there are agencies to handle environmental issue with iron hand, environmental laws cannot be effective. In fact, Nigerian environmental laws are mere paperwork, because a law that is not implemented is no law,” Mrs Jumoke Bello, a teacher, said.
Dr Ibrahim Imam of the Department of Public Law, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) noted that Nigerians basically have lackadaisical attitude towards environmental issues.
“There are environmental laws, but unfortunately Nigerians’ attitude to the implementation of laws is not right. The political will to enforce laws is always lacking in most cases, despite the fact that we are members of the international community, or that we have signed a lot of conventions, we have still not shown commitment.
“For instance in the area of forestry; we talk about desert encroachment because government fails to take care of issues that can solve that problem. When there is no kerosene available for people, a lot of trees will be cut down every day, and the government is not doing anything positively to address these issues,” he lamented.
It is important to note that although challenges of enforcement of environmental laws are universal, with stricter punishments for offences, a lot of grounds will be covered.
There is also a need for awareness programmes on why people need to care more for the environment.
“Continued enlightenment is the major key. It is unfortunate that at this present age, people still dump refuse in the drainage during the raining seasons. So they need to be educated and enlightened about the hazards of not keeping our environment clean,” Dr Imam said.
Professor Sonibare, also urged state governments to do more in combating environmental crimes.
“Before the advent of the democratic government in 1999, there was FEPA, which empowered state governments to set up their state environmental agencies as well. That is why today you still have Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA) and the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA). But since FEPA was changed to the Federal Ministry of Environment in 1999, the bureaucratic ways of doing things in the ministry have actually weakened the agency.
“So other states need to go back to what Lagos and Ogun states are doing today. These two states have their ministries of environment, but along with the ministry, they retained their environmental protection agencies.”