Abstract
Environmental problems are being experienced in almost all countries of the world today, the extent and the intensity of the problem, however, differ from country to country. Nigeria as a whole has long been facing many environmental problems, mainly from oil extraction activities by the multinational companies which have, to a large extent affected the ecological environment. The average rainfall ranges from about 500mm/year in the north to over 2000mm/year in the south. The country is blessed with mineral, physical, biological and energy resources. In general, the environment provides all life support systems in the air, on water and on land as well as the materials for fulfilling all developmental aspirations. The growing impact of Urbanization, Industrialization, and Technological advancement have negatively affected the environment over the years. The most pronounced environmental problems in Nigeria are related to oil extraction activities of the multinational companies. Here, many forest areas were cleared for either heavy machine installation or running of pipelines from one destination to another. These environmental problems resulted from rampant incidents of oil spillage and sporadic spread of petroleum resources within the natural environment. This in turn caused a great deal of damage to the entire ecosystem, including aqueous environments, aquatic animals, as well as the health status of the concerned communities which in most cases can lead to death.
Lovely N. Douglas, pp 104 – 112
