Paper Title
The Relevance of Geography in Environmental Sanitation in Nigerian Urban Centres
Abstract
Waste management constitutes one of the major problems of Nigerian urban centers. Today, heaps of wastes have become a common thing as public buildings, market places, industrial estate and even homes are not left out in this issue of waste management. After waste generation from public buildings, market places and homes, the urban dwellers try to clear and evacuate them through various means. One problem with the evacuation of this waste is the fact that during evacuation, some of these wastes litter the cities thereby polluting the cities and also reduce the aesthetic beauty of the cities. Apart from this is the problem of health hazards posed by these wastes in our cities. In view of the inability of urban dwellers to manage their wastes, the governments both at the state and local levels now set up their environmental units to clear and dispose these wastes. Since environmental sanitation takes place in space, it is a geographical phenomenon. In this paper therefore, an overview of the environmental sanitation with reference to sources of waste generation, clearance and disposal in Nigerian urban centers is undertaken. This is followed by the relevance of geography in environmental sanitation. In conclusion, recommendations are made on how environmental sanitation can be organized taking the geographical perspective into consideration.