Nigeria

Geographic Information System (GIS) Assessment of the Impact of Flooding on Residential Buildings in Akure, Nigeria (Published)

Flooding has caused the deaths of people, collapse of buildings, destruction of properties, and a lot of worries to occupants in Nigeria. In spite of persistent incident of flooding in many areas, the researches that are aimed at lessening the impacts of flooding, especially on residential buildings close to riverbanks are few. The study assessed the influence of flooding on residential buildings in Ajeromi Community of Ondo State, Nigeria using Geographic Information System (GIS). A triangulation research approach involving structured questionnaire, personal observation and the application of Geographic Information System (GIS) were used. Data were collected from the occupants of buildings and GIS was used to collect information on the geo-referencing of affected buildings showing river channels, contours, and the topography of the area. From the result, the major effects of flooding were; paint defects, present of rot and mould, damage to the finishes of buildings, wall dampness, and cracking of ground floor due to uplift pressure. The major reason for vulnerability of these residential buildings to flooding were heavy rainfalls and climate changes, construction of buildings closes to waterways, and poor physical planning of the community. Flood resilience measures for residential occupants in the areas includes adequate channelization of waterbodies and avoidance of waterways when constructing buildings. All the results correlated with the findings of results from physical assessment and GIS geo-referencing. Based on the findings, GIS can be used to assess residential buildings to prevent flooding and enhance flood resilience.

 

Keywords: : GIS, Flooding, Impact, Nigeria, Residential Buildings

Generation of Architectural and Other Safety Measures Against Crises and Killings at Residential Environments in Plateau State of Nigeria (Published)

Over the years there have been series of crisis in Plateau State of Nigeria and they have led to massive killings and destruction of valuable properties; this is a very serious problem. Hence, it became necessary to conduct a research work with the aim of overviewing the cases of crises and killings at residential environments in Plateau State, in order to generate architectural and other safety measures to reduce their future occurrences in Nigeria. The research focused on desktop study as the instrument for data collection; reviewed different newspapers in Nigeria with available crisis and killing cases in Plateau State, in order to get relevant information to the research. Thus, table was used for the presentation and analysis of the research data, so as to generate results and the results were checked by using contents analysis technique, in order to validate them. Among the architectural research findings is: 1,290 houses were burnt during December, 2023 crisis in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State and some other research findings are: the security agencies knew that an attack was coming before the 2023 Christmas eve massacre; the security forces know the attackers, and they even know their hideouts for two decades. Among the recommended architectural safety measures to reduce future crises and killings is: the design of the members of roof, door, window, ceiling and any other part of building that can easily burn with the use of wood should be fire retardant type, in order to reduce death, massive destruction of houses and valuable properties in times of fire attack from the terrorists. Some other recommended safety measures are: there should be advanced training of security agencies on immediate defensive responses against the terrorists been rumored of their coming to the state; urgent investigations must be made on the security forces that knew the attackers and their hideouts for two decades without revealing the information, so that the defaulted members of those security forces can receive a very severe/appropriate punishment, in order to stop this kind of bad service in Nigeria.

Keywords: Crises and Killings, Nigeria, Plateau State, Residential Environments, Safety Measures

Study on Heavy Metal Contamination from the Soot of Flared Gas on Selected Vegetation of Jeddo Community, Delta State, Nigeria (Published)

Soot is a black solid dispersed in air, which comes from the combustion of hydrocarbon molecules. From this study, some samples of Telfairia  Occidentalis, local leaves (ugu) were collected from both Jeddo community (close to Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company WRPC and other artisanal refineries) and Osubi Community (where there are no gas-flaring activities); all located in Okpe local government of Delta State, Nigeria. The vegetables were taken to the laboratory for analysis: to ascertain the level of heavy metal contamination from the soot that came from the gas-flaring and artisanal refineries in the area. From the result obtained, it was discovered that Zn, Cr, Cd and Pb in the vegetation had higher values above the WHO (1996) permissible limit, while Cu and Ni present in the vegetable, had values below the WHO permissible limit. This implies that soot from artisanal refineries had negative impact on the leafy vegetables (T. Occidentalis) in Jeddo community. These results then make the vegetation samples from Jeddo community unsafe for human consumption. The policies regulating the refineries should be enforced to achieve a safer atmosphere in the environment.

Citation: Obi-udu I, Uwadiegwu B.O., Okoye O.N.N., Onwuka S.U. (2022) Study on Heavy Metal Contamination from the Soot of Flared Gas on Selected Vegetation of Jeddo Community, Delta State, Nigeria, British Journal of Environmental Sciences, Vol.10, No.6, pp.,66-72

Keywords: Contamination, Gas-flaring, Heavy Metals, Nigeria, Vegetation, soot

Impact of Seasonal Variations and Oil Activities on the Total Concentrations, Geochemical Fractions, And Human Health Problems of Trace Metals in Soils Within the Oil-Bearing Communities of South-South Region of Nigeria (Published)

The impacts of oil activities and seasonal variations on the total concentrations, geochemical fractions, and human health problems of trace metals in soils within oil-bearing communities of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were examined. Top soils were obtained from Eket, Onna, Esit Eket, and Ibeno local government areas between January and December, 2017. Samples were also collected from Etinan local government area of the State and used as the Control. The samples and Control were subjected to standard analytical procedures and analysed for their physicochemical properties and total metal concentrations. The modified BCR methods were employed for the speciation of metals. The findings revealed that the pH levels were higher during the dry season while, the electrical conductivity, organic matter, and cation exchange capacity of the studied soils were higher in the rainy season. The total mean concentrations of Pb, As, Cd, Cr, Fe, and V were higher in the dry season whereas, Ni was higher in the wet season. Though, their concentrations were within the acceptable limits. Generally, the concentrations of all the parameters in the studied soils were higher than at the control site. Pb, As, Ni, and V existed predominantly in the reducible fraction, Cd and Cr in acid extractable while, Fe existed mostly in the residual fraction in the studied soils. However, at the control site all the metals except Cd existed mainly in the residual fraction. The study showed that all the studied locations were highly contaminated with these metals and substantial seasonal variations were also recorded for the pollution indices. It was also noted that, seasonal changes and oil activities were the key factors affecting the quality of the studied soils. Daily intake rates for the metals through exposure to soil for both the young and old populations were within their required oral reference doses. The non-carcinogenic risks recorded for both populations were less than one. However, both populations were exposed to high Pb and the younger ones were more susceptible. The study revealed the influence of seasonal change and oil activities on the mobility and toxicity of metals in the studied soils.

Citation: Ebong G.A., Moses E. A., Akpabio O. A., and Inam I (2022) Impact of Seasonal Variations and Oil Activities on the Total Concentrations, Geochemical Fractions, And Human Health Problems of Trace Metals in Soils Within the Oil-Bearing Communities of South-South Region of Nigeria, British Journal of Environmental Sciences, Vol.10, No.6, pp.,29-65

Keywords: Multivariate Analysis, Nigeria, Trace Metals, human health risks, metal speciation, oil-bearing communities, soil pollution

Development of a Quality Assessment System for Building Contractors in Lagos State, Nigeria (Published)

In the past few decades, Nigeria has witnessed increases in activities in the construction sector, but there have not been developed a robust quality assessment system for building contractors in Lagos State, Nigeria. The aim of this study is to develop a quality assessment system for building contractors in Lagos state. In order to realize this aim, the study assess an adopted conceptual framework as well as areas of improvement with regard to how their organization does quality assessment.The study employed a descriptive case study design where data was collected from senior managers, project managers, engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, and technical managers working with building construction companies in the Lagos Metropolitan Area using the mixed method approach. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaire from 109 randomly selected participants and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with 9 purposively selected respondents and analysed using the thematic analysis technique. The improvement areas identified were: Staff education and training, Information technology, Involvement of senior leaders, customization of existing quality assessment tools, partnering with contractors, suppliers and other stakeholders, change management and involving other stakeholders. This study recommends that developing a model for guiding the process of assessing quality among Lagos and Nigerian contractors should incorporate prescribed steps, methods, tools, and procedures that local contractors should use in the assessment of quality. This model will help to standardize the processes of assessing quality within the Lagos construction industry

Keywords: Building Contractors, Development, Lagos State, Nigeria, System, quality assessment

An Analysis of the Relationship between the Costs of Title Registration and Property Investment Yields within Owerri, Imo State of Nigeria (Published)

Land is required for various forms of investment. However, to use land for/as investment, security of title is essential. Security of title is practically achieved through title registration. Primarily, without such title registration, security of investment in land is not guaranteed and therefore investment in land becomes very unattractive and sometimes even impossible. Every investment is fundamentally targeted at the investment yield, hence the need to reconcile the process of securing such an investment. This process is inescapably associated with costs. The effect of such costs on the investment yield becomes imperative. This paper investigated the impact of the total cost of land title registration (direct cost – officially approved fees paid in the cause of title registration + indirect cost- the impact of bureaucratic delays during title registration and the impact of changes in  government policies) on property investment yield in Owerri, Imo State.  The empirical research methodology was employed while survey research design was adopted for study. Research questions and hypotheses were also formulated to guide the study in consonance with the objectives. Primary data was obtained from a questionnaire administered to forty respondents. These 40 include investors in landed property that are registered with the Imo State Ministry of Lands, Survey and Physical Planning. The study utilized mean scores to answer the research questions and Analysis of variance to test the hypotheses formulated. The hypotheses tested revealed that direct cost of title registration and bureaucracy (indirect) have a significant relationship with property investment yield in Owerri, Imo State; while cost of title registration and changes in policy by government equally showed some significant relationship with property investment yield in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria at 5% level of significance. The empirical findings from data analysis helps us to conclude that there exist a significant relationship between cost of title registration, property investment yields in Owerri, Imo State and changes in government policy. This relationship was observed to be inversely proportional to the yield on property investment in Owerri, Imo state. This paper criticized the registration process of land in Nigeria, which is both slow and expensive and proposes an efficient, simpler, easier and less expensive land registration process that will encourage investment in Nigeria.

Keywords: Cost, Nigeria, Owerri, investment yield, property investment, title registration

Facilities Management Impact on Public Organisations in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria (Published)

Facilities Management although not fully recognized and implemented is becoming an increasingly important factor in every aspect of management due to the special impact facilities management have on public organizations in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.This study assessed the impact of facilities management on public organization in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The study adopted field survey method using structured questionnaires, personal interviews and observations. Other instruments for data collection are archival documents and government sources. The sample size was determined using Taro Yamane’s formula. Random sampling technique was used to select the sample from the public organizations. The data collected was subjected to descriptive statistical analysis using Microsoft Excel Spread sheet, SPES (Statistical Package for Environmental Sciences), percentage tables and pie chat. The hypotheses were tested with arithmetic mean, standard deviation, co-efficient of variation and relative importance index. The result of this analysis showed that the impact of facilities management on different public organizations varied significantly. The study found out that facilities management practice has positive impact on public organizations in Port Harcourt, Rivers Sate but the resources allocated for public facilities management are not adequate.  On the other hand, the factors militating against Facilities Management on Public Organization were identified and ranked by the respondents with the state of the economy in the nation. Based on the findings, the study concludes that the impact of Facilities Management on Public Organization in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State is very low and immature. It was recommended amongst others that individuals, public workers and governments should be on deck to improve the impact of facilities management on public organizations despite the economy of the nation while fighting corruption at all levels by the governments. Improvement of public basic facilities such as electricity power supply, basic facilities and others will positively rub on the public sector.

Citation: Fidelis Ifeanyi Emoh, Chioma C. Okechukwu, Esther I. Oladejo (2021) Facilities Management Impact on Public Organisations in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, British Journal of Environmental Sciences, Vol.9, No.6, pp. 19-36

 

Keywords: FM impacts and challenges, Nigeria, Rivers State, facilities management, public facilities, public organizations

Microbial Succession of Hydrocarbon Impacted Sites in a Rural Community in South-South, Nigeria (Published)

Hydrocarbon pollution has greatly altered the normal microbial flora of our environments, this has lead to the succession of oil degrading microbes in oil impacted sites. This study is a comparative study of the microbial flora of hydrocarbon impacted and the non-impacted site in Ogale community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State. A total of 12 samples were collected, 6 from oil impacted site and 6 from non-impacted site. Sample were coded A –F. Physicochemical parameter of soil was determine, microbiological examination were conducted to determine the bacterial and fungal communities present at each site. Result shows that higher population of oil degrading microorganisms were found on the hydrocarbon impacted site, prominent among them were Micrococcus ,Acinetobacter ,Corynebacterium , Bacilus, Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium ,Actinomycetes, fungi isolated from impacted sites includes Candida , Rhizopus  mucor and Aspergilus  while the non-impacted site has ; streptococcus, staphylococcus, E.coli, and Actinomycetes species. There were also fungal isolate of which only Candida was the only isolate.

 

Keywords: Nigeria, comparative, hydrocarbon, impacted sites, microbiota

Strategies for the Maintenance Management of Hostel Buildings in Nigeria (Published)

A directive was given in 2004 by the Federal Ministry of Education that federally-owned tertiary institutions should hands off hostel management. Consequent on the directive, Nigerian tertiary institutions now have both institutional and non-institutional hostels serving tertiary institutions. This no doubt has a lot of implications on the nature of management and maintenance of hostels in Nigeria.This paper assessed maintenance management strategies adopted in the maintenance of hostel buildings in Nigeria and formulated  guidelines for the maintenance of the hostels using the field data collected from the Federal Polytechnic Oko for the case-study. In order to achieve the  objective of the study, opinions of hostellers, school management, maintenance heads and private developers were sampled through structured questionnaires. The data collected were quantitatively analysed and the result of the analysis indicated the following as the problems of maintenance; non-availability of funds, indiscipline and lack of functional operational frame work and regulatory body, climatic conditions, lack of good maintenance culture, lack of skilled maintenance personnel, use of foreign building materials and unethical behaviours as some of the key factors responsible for poor maintenance work and management of hostels in tertiary institutions.  Effective strategies that should include a stipulated guide overseen by a body of professionals to enforce maintenance in hostels to avoid complacency, the adoption of a maintenance manual to be strictly monitored and the use of a computerised management system that will ensure proper maintenance records were recommended. 

Keywords: Maintenance Management, Nigeria, Strategies., Tertiary Institutions, computerised maintenance management system, hostel buildings

Assessment of Facilities in the Male Hostels of University Environments in Nigeria (Published)

The number of students seeking and getting admission into universities increases every year, and this has led to the failure of the original design of university hostels. Furthermore, student hostels in Nigeria have not received the desired attention from the government and management of institutions; there have been reported cases of students taking ill in hostels as a result of poor sanitary conditions. Thus, these have led to the study of university male hostels with the aim of assessing their facilities, in order to generate guidelines to improve the design, quality and worth of university hostels in Nigeria. To achieve this, primary and secondary research data were collected. The primary research data were from questionnaires administered to 100 students who are residents of the university hostel and direct observations of facilities in the university hostels. The secondary data were reviews of relevant literature from journals, books and other academic materials. Tables and photographs were used to present the research data. Among the findings of the research are: adequate storage facilities are not provided in the hostel bed rooms, and this has made the students to keep their properties indiscriminately; poor maintenance of hostel facilities is a challenge faced by the students. Among the recommended guidelines are: adequate storage facilities should be provided in the hostel bed rooms in the universities at the design stages to stop the students from keeping their properties indiscriminately; the university hostel facilities should be well maintained.

Keywords: Nigeria, Students, Universities, facilities, hostels