Environmental Degradation and the Lingering Threat of Refuse and Pollution in Lagos State

The rapid environmental degradation taking place in Nigeria is increasingly becoming a major threat and is gradually changing the landscape, destroying the sources of livelihood. That is why the problems of pollution and waste management are getting more serious and complex in towns and cities than in villages, and more in densely populated areas than in regions of sparsely settlements. The sudden explosion of refuse dumps in most parts of Lagos led to the creation of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). With the management outfit, the situation is nearing an alarming state. In fact, the metropolitan city is under serious threat of being submerged in rapidly waste and filth. The questions are what is really wrong and where lies the solution amongst the various environmental policies? These questions and many others issues are what this paper were concerned with using empirical data from the metropolitan Lagos. The two major sources of data collection which include primary and secondary data were utilized. The household questionnaire survey was 200 that were randomly administered in the Local Governments of Oshodi-Isolo and Mushin as case studies. The justification of the two selected local governments is based on the fact that they are heavily populated residential areas with heavy wastes generated. The data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics such as frequencies and cross-tabulation. The results revealed that the government agency and the private operators responsible for solid waste management are both proven inadequate to cope with the volume of wastes generated within the city.