Annals of the Social Science Academy of Nigeria 14&15(1) 2002/3 DOI: 10.36108/ssan/32002.5141.0120
Democracy, Environment and Security in Nigeria: Problematising the Environment in the Post-Military Era
Okechukwu Ibeanu
MacArthur Foundation, Abuja, Nigeria
Abstract
The Nigerian environment was adversely affected by prolonged military rule. Isolated internationally and pressured locally to democratize, successive military regimes intensified exploitation of natural resources, especially petroleum, to fund repression and corruption, thereby destroying the environment. Return to democratic government has raised hopes of redressing the environmental and social damages of military rule., though there remains skepticism about mainstreaming the environment in public policy. This paper discusses the link between environment protection, human security and democratic governance. It identifies two contending paradigms in the environment security debate, namely the modernist colonial and the traditional organic, and argues that the continued dominance of the former, especially in the extractive industry, is conducive to environmental damage. Focusing on the Niger Delta, the paper advances four planks on which environmental restoration and human security could be achieved namely, assessment of vulnerabilities of people to environmental change/degradation, reform of institutional frameworks for dealing with vulnerabilities, community control of local resources and better environmental management and secure livelihoods.