Toyin Falola - Environment and Economics in Nigeria

Routledge African Studies

1 Facts, Fiction, and African Creative Imaginations

Edited by Toyin Falola and Fallou Ngom

2 The Darfur Conflict

Geography or Institutions?

Osman Suliman

3 Music, Performance and African Identities

Edited by Toyin Falola and Tyler Fleming

4 Environment and Economics in Nigeria

Edited by Toyin Falola and Adam Paddock

Environment and Economics in Nigeria

Edited by Toyin Falola and Adam Paddock

First published 2011
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2011 Taylor & Francis

The right of Toyin Falola and Adam Paddock to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Environment and economics in Nigeria / edited by Toyin Falola and Adam Paddock.

p. cm. (Routledge african studies ; 4)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-415-89592-7 (hardback)

1. Sustainable developmentNigeria. 2. NigeriaEconomic policy. 3. NigeriaForeign economic relations. 4. NigeriaEnvironmental conditions. I. Falola, Toyin. II. Paddock, Adam.

HC1055.Z9E5365 2011

333.709669dc22

2011008737

ISBN13: 978-0-415-89592-7 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-80749-1 (ebk)

To
Dr. Ademola Babalola of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria for his kindness and generosity

Contents

TOYIN FALOLA AND ADAM PADDOCK

KAIRN KLIEMAN

S. U. FWATSHAK

OLAYEMI AKINWUMI AND MAILAFIYA ARUWA FILABA

T. T. ASOJO AND S. O. IJAOLA

DONALD O. OMAGU

DELE ASHIRU

SAMUEL OJO OLORUNTOBA

MICHAEL SHARP

S. O. IJAOLA AND T. T. ASOJO

CHARLES UKEJE

JAMAINE ABIDOGUN

ALEXANDER KURE

ARINPE ADEJUMO

TOYIN FALOLA AND ADAM PADDOCK

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Preface

Environment and Economics in Nigeria argues that issues relating to development and economics are closely connected to environmental resources; a largely extractive Nigerian economy means that perennial questions about environmental knowledge and who should benefit from an abundance of natural resources dominates historical and contemporary Nigerian society and politics. Environmental awareness represents an increasing international concern that affects the developing world in a variety of ways and Nigeria offers a divisive example of the contentions between environmental conservatism and desires for long term economic growth. The oil industry figures prominently in the chapters that follow owing to its post-colonial importance to Nigerias revenue stream and the attending environmental strain oil companies place on local inhabitants and ecology. Yet, the chapters that follow are not limited to the affects of multinational oil companies, but they reflect a variety of environmental issues as well as how Nigerians, historically and contemporaneously, view their environment. Contestations over access to natural resources are not new but the players have changed overtime. In the pre-colonial era local rivalries or resistance to the slave trade reflected strategies used by local groups to evade or combat hostiles, strategies in which the environment figures prominently. The colonial era represents a period where British colonial environmental ideals clashed with indigenous environmental knowledge, often culminating in a benefit to the British export trade and occasionally resulting in devastating affects to local environments. Finally, the post-colonial period finds contentions arise between local people and the national government and local people versus the interests of multinational corporations. Each party stands to either gain or lose much.