The Nigerian Situation
Debarati
Guha Sapir stated that vulnerability to natural disasters is almost a
direct function of poverty. In these eternal words lay a very strong
message for Nigeria. While the outpouring of emotions and sympathy on
the part of Nigerians remain commendable in the event of the Haitian
quake, the sad fact is that our dear country is not immune from
calamities. In fact, we seem to be on an unavoidable path towards the
fate currently befalling Haiti. While Haiti may be said to be primarily
an agro-based economy primary dependent on coffee crops for sustenance,
Nigeria seems to be multi-dimensional but not practically faring
better. The monumental wealth from crude oil which has massively
transformed other economies has so far failed to impact positively on
the Nigerian citizenry. By the UN estimates of 2009, Haiti has a
population of about 1 million whilst Nigeria has about 150 million
people. Herein, the difference ends. In terms of other socio-economic
indices, the closeness between the two countries make for a very
uncomfortable reading, definitely not reflecting the obvious
resource-based and population advantages of Nigeria. Here is a Central
Intelligence Agency fact file on the two countries:
Haiti Nigeria
Population
9,035,536 149,229,090
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$11.53 billion (2008 est.) $336.2 billion (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 145 country comparison to the world: 36
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)
$6.943 billion (2008 est.) $207.1 billion (2008 est.)
GDP – real growth rate
1.3% (2008 est.) 5.3% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 168 country comparison to the world: 82
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP – composition by sector
agriculture: 28% agriculture: 18.1%*
industry: 20% industry: 50.8%
services:
52% (2004 est.) services:
31.1% (2008est.)*
Life expectancy at birth**
total population: 60.78 years total population: 46.94 years
country comparison to the world: 181 country comparison to the world: 212
male: 59.13 years male: 46.16 years
female: 62.48 years (2009 est.) female: 47.76 years (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate
2.2% (2007 est.) 3.1% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 28 country comparison to the world: 23
Population below poverty line
80% (2003 est.) 70% (2007 est.)
(Source: Central Intelligence Agency: The World Fact Book. Available online:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html)
Despite
Nigeria’s obvious advantages as reflected in our various GDPs, it is
disheartening to note that generally, life expectancy is higher in
Haiti than in Nigeria. Also, there is just a marginal difference in the
number of people living below the poverty line as compared to Haiti.
These are not heart warming statistics for Nigeria, a nation that
managed to crawl out of low to medium category in the Human Development
Index (HDI) list in 2009.
Environmental degradation is no
strange bed fellow to Nigeria. Deforestation is a perennial problem
that government efforts are yet to provide a solution to. Nigeria
currently has one of the highest rates of forest loss (3.3%) in the
world – does this smack of Haiti? Since 1990, Nigeria has lost some 6.1
million hectares or 35.7% of its forest cover – another Haiti in the
making? Between 1990 and 2005, Nigeria has lost a staggering 79% of
its biodiverse ecosystems (old-growth forests) and has been losing an
average of 11% of its primary forests per year – double the rate of the
1990s. Thus, Nigeria has the dubious distinction of having the highest
deforestation rate of natural forest on earth.
Nigeria’s
wildlife population has also plummeted from poaching and habitat loss.
This has contributed to the increasing problem with desertification and
soil erosion. The teeming urban and rural populations of south east
Nigeria are daily living with the miseries induced by severe erosions.
Of concern is the severe environmental degradation going on in the
Niger Delta of Nigeria. It is sad that despite the riches that this
region has contributed to our national economy, it is still a region of
perpetual conflicts, hatred, under-development and pronounced abject
poverty – no thanks to the failures of the Nigerian state.
The Niger Delta
The
Niger Delta is a riverine area sitting atop a land mass of about 70,000
square kilometres (about three times the size of Haiti) with a
population of about 2000 communities. The environmental pollutions in
this region include marine and air pollution, oil spillage, gas
flaring, land degradation, sedimentation, siltation and biodiversity
depletion. A department of petroleum resources indicated that over 95%
of the oil spillage in this region is never recovered. Here is a region
that faces acid rain, gas flaring and other gaseous emissions from
various sources, including vehicular emissions. Nigeria is reputed to
flare more natural gas associated with oil extraction than any other
country on earth, costing the country more than US $2.5 billion per
year. To have a proper dimension of this natural waste, the amount of
associated gas (AG) wasted annually in Nigeria equals 25% of total UK
gas consumption and about 40% of the entire African continent’s gas
needs by 2001 estimate. The environment can do better without gas
flaring. AG can be used or re-injected into the ground as obtains in
Western Europe. Gas flaring remains a condemnable act by the
international community as it is noted to contribute significantly to
climate change consequences of which would be extremely severe in a
developing country like Nigeria and the semi-arid Sahel regions of
sub-Saharan Africa. Alarmingly, the Niger Delta covers low-lying plain
areas which are very vulnerable as they lay only a few metres above sea
level.
Seismic activities in Nigeria
And
if there is any delusion as to our immunity from earthquakes, the mild
earth tremor in the Southwestern Nigeria in 2006 should serve as a
wake-up call. Though not specifically within the major earthquake zones
of the world, cases of landslides, coastal erosions, and earth tremors
have been recorded. The history of earth tremors in Nigeria dates back
to 1939 (Akpan et al, 2009). Remote sensing, geological and geophysical
studies revealed have revealed what is popularly known as the “Ifewara
fault zone” which has been linked with the Atlantic fractured system.
Fractures often predispose to natural hazards such as volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, tsunami and earth tremors. The first reported
occurrence of an earth tremor in Nigeria was in 1939 in Lagos, Ibadan
and Ile-Ife, all in the southwestern part of the country. Subsequent
occurrences have been documented for 1984, 1990, 1997, 2000 and 2006
with intensities ranging from III to IV on the Modified Mercalli
Intensity Scale. Though Nigeria is reported to have commenced the
establishment of a Nigerian National Network of Seismic Stations in
cities like Abuja, Kaduna, Ile-Ife, Awka, Abakaliki, Minna, Ibadan,
Nsukka and Oyo town, the ponder is on what measures we have
pro-actively taken as a nation to prevent a natural calamity of the
Haitian magnitude from occurring in our country.
Conclusion
Ecological
disasters magnified by many years of chaotic planning, infrastructural
inadequacies and bad governance are gradually taking their toll on
Nigeria. Carbon monoxide poisoning and severe noise pollution arising
from incessant power problems are time bombs which our fragile economy
may not be able to withstand. Our problem is not helped by lack of
committed political and visionary leadership. While the stress on
nature and environment is eating deep into the fabrics of our
geographical boundaries, the nation is immersed in horrifying mundane
problems of social instability borne out of political prevarications
and insincerity. Poverty is a visitor many Nigerians have no option but
to embrace. Yet, the words of Debarati Guha rings clearly, sending out
its ominous warning to those willing to listen – vulnerability to
natural disasters is almost a direct function of poverty.
Bibliography
1.
Seth Borenstein. July 2010. Haiti history: A disaster-prone zone.
Accessed online at
http://www.3news.co.nz/Haiti-history-A-disaster-prone-nation//tabid/417/articleID/137257/Default.aspx.
2.
Katherine Arie. AletNet. Sep 2004. Talking Point: Why is Haiti so
prone to disaster? Acceesed online at http://www.alertnet.org/the
facts/reliefresources/109655418734.htm
3. Jeffrey Masters. Hurricanes and Haiti: A Tragic History. Accessed online at http://www.underground.com/education/haiti.asp
4. Wikipedia – the free encycopedia. Accessed online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti
5.
Akpan, O.U, Yakubu, T.A & Ologun, C.O. 2009. Seismic activities in
Southwestern Nigeria. Accessed online at
http://www.iaspei.org/downlaods/Abstracts 2009/S8.pdf
