CORRUPTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION IN NIGERIA AND ITS NIGER DELTA

Abstract

Over the years, oil exploration has been central to the Niger Delta's political economy and as such scholars have concentrated their efforts on the implications of its impact on the region. There are a number of factors that are causing and exacerbating environmental degradation. Aside from oil exploration, other factors include urban development and lumbering. This paper examines the impact of these development efforts on the ecological systems of the region and the role corruption plays in leaving these problems unaddressed and as such making environmental devastation an unwarranted consequence. The paper also illustrates how ecological governance can provide solutions to the environmental devastation. The central concern of this paper is the condition of the Niger Delta although the discussion alludes to the Nigerian State in general.