RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL

SANITATION IN EDE, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

A PRE-FIELD
DISSERTATION IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(PhD) IN SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

Presented by

EMUROTU, Andrew Eriabome

 What is Environment?
According to Kumar, “environment” is derived from
'environ' which is a French verb that means "to
surround or to encircle.”

He quoted Simon Ball and Stuart Bell, who argued

that the term “environment” is a challenging term
to define because, in the words of Albert Einstein,
"The environment is everything that isn't me.“
Anil Kumar (2018) “Brief Introduction of Environment, Ecology and Environmental Pollution” p.315.
 What is Environment?

Environment is therefore the entire surroundings

of the land, air and waters. It is the physical
tangible and visible surroundings which include
roads, streets, gutters/drainages, rivers, and
other water ways, buildings, plants (trees, grasses
and so on)
 Sanitation

The National Sanitation Foundation of the United

States defines sanitation as a way of life that
manifests itself in a clean house, farm, company,
neighborhood, and society.

J. E. Park (2011). Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 21st Edition, Bhanot Publishers,
India.
 Sanitation

WHO’s definition

“the establishment of facilities and services for

the secure disposal of human waste.”

UNICEF and World Health Organization (2012). Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: update,WHO Geneva
 Environmental Sanitation
Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) (1999. p
1) posits that:
“a clean, secure, and enjoyable physical environment is
what is meant when we talk about environmental
sanitation”

All the activities involved in ensuring that the above is

achieved, is known as environmental sanitation exercise
 Reasons for Environmental Sanitation
Divine Responsibility to care for the environment

According to Sadiq et al. (2018), maintaining proper

sanitation is essential to upholding everyone's human
rights and sense of worth.
A dirty environment is a reflection of the low value
people place on aesthetics. There is an old wives tales
which says “cleanliness is next to godliness”, hence the
prophet of Patmos declared that God shall “destroy them
which destroy the earth” (Rev. 11:18)

Q. O. Sadiq., C. K. Ezeamaka, M. G. Daful, T. W. Anjide, Sani H. and M. Ogbole (2018). “ Environmentzl sanitation practices in
Kuchigworo and Garamajijio along airport road, Abuja”. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning. Vol. 11(11). P.172-182. DOI:
10.5897/JGRP2018.0711
 Reasons for Environmental Sanitation
Health Concern

 Schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) - More than 200 million

individuals are infected by the disease, which is widespread
in 74 underdeveloped nations. Of these, 20 million are
severely affected by the ailment.

 Diarrhea - estimated 1.6 and 2.5 million people die from

diarrhea each year.

WHO and UNICEF (2008). An Advocacy Guide - 5 Steps for Planning and Evaluating World Water Day Activities
WHO (January, 2012). Global Task Force on Cholera: Cholera Country Profile, www.who.int/features/factfiles/environmental_health/en/. [Accessed February 2023].
 Reasons for Environmental Sanitation
Health Concern

 Cholera - Nigeria recorded 41,787 cases between

January and December 2010, with 1,716 fatalities
from 222 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in 18 States
of the nation. According to Premium Times Oct. 13,
2022,NCDC reported that in 2022, out of the 2,187
confirmed cases of Cholera in Nigeria, 233 died.
All these, according to WHO, is the result of improper
environmental cleanliness.
 Introduction

Due to the effects of indiscriminate disposal of waste on

health and the ecosystem, various efforts are being made
by government agencies, non governmental agencies and
religious groups to ensure a clean environment.
Religion, as a purveyor of beliefs and practices, can, and
had always been a social agent of contributing to the
impartation, sensitization and mobilization of people
within a given community, especially on the health and
environmental effects of indiscriminate disposal of waste
in the society.
 Introduction

One of the practical steps taken by religious

denominations in the environmental sanitation
exercises include cleaning and sweeping of their
immediate environments, cleaning of streets,
clearing of blocked water canals, and disposing waste
as much as possible. This is part of their social
corporate responsibility.
 Statement of the Problem

The health and ecosystem problems caused by

indiscriminate disposal of waste has led to the
environmental sanitation drive by government agencies,
non governmental agencies, religious denominations and
other groups. However, of all these agencies and groups,
only religious denominations are giving no recognition.
 Statement of the Problem

The 2005 National Environmental Sanitation Policy

(NESP) recognised the contributions of government
sanitation agencies and others like the Academia,
Organised Private Sector, Civil Society Organisations and
the communities, but made no mention of religious
denominations, despite the age long role they have
played to achieve a cleaner environment.
 Statement of the Problem

Furthermore, there is an array of literature on the

contributions of government agencies like the Osun
State Environmental Protection Agency (OSEPA) and
other groups like SRADev Nigeria, Friends of the
Earth International, Nigerian Conservation
Foundation (NCF) and Nigerian Environmental
Society (NES), but none on the contributions of
religious denominations, especially in Ede.
 Statement of the Problem
It is this gap, this lacuna, that this work intends to fill, by
researching and bringing to the limelight the
contributions of religious denominations, and
ascertaining the why, when, how, effects and challenges
of their environmental sanitation efforts in Ede town.
This will positively improve the perception index of the
religious denominations within the society and will also
provide literature for further research work.
 Research Questions
1. What practical steps do religious denominations take
in contributing to the environmental sanitation in Ede?

2. Why do these religious denominations participate in

the cleaning of environmental cleaning in Ede? What is
their motivation or inspiration?

3. When do they do these activities? Daily, weekly,

monthly, quarterly, biannually or annually?
 Research Questions
4. How do they engage in this community service of
environmental sanitation?

5. What are the effects of the environmental sanitation

activities of these religious denominations?

6. What are the challenges encountered by these

religious denominations in the cause of sanitizing the
Ede environment?
 Objectives of the Study
1. assess the contributions of religious denominations to
environmental sanitation in Ede.
2. provide documentation on the activities of these religious
denominations which will serve as reference material for future
research work.
3. This work will serve as a material to be used to educate the
indigenes of Ede and others on the social, ecological and health
implications of indiscriminate disposal waste materials in Ede and
the need for constant environmental sanitation.
4. To make recommendations that will enhance environmental
sanitation exercise.
 Significance of the Study

The significance of a thing lies in its intent and import.

Given the importance of religion as a purveyor of
beliefs and practices, its contribution in the
environmental sanitation exercise to reduce the
effects of waste is indispensable to the search for a
cleaner Ede and by extension Nigeria. This will bring
about an aesthetic environment and perhaps eradicate
the diseases and health complications brought about
by disposing waste in environmental.
 Scope of the Study

Although, there are three major religions in Ede –

African Indigenous Religion, Christianity and Islam,
this work, however, shall focus on the contribution
of Christian and Islamic religious denominations
alone. This is because there is no evidence of an
organised participation of the African Indigenous
Religion on environmental sanitation in Ede.
 Research Methodology

The research method to be adopted in this work is the

oral interview method, where an interviewer engages the
interviewee, in a face-to-face or/and telephone
conversation, and ask relevant questions for the purpose
of gathering useful information for the research. To this
end, the leaders and stakeholders of these religious
denominations shall be interviewed by the researcher.
The information gathered shall be objectively
documented and shall form the basis for further
recommendations.
 Research Methodology

i. Study Area, Study Design and Time Frame

The sample area shall be some selected religious
denominations within Ede town, and the time frame
shall be within the period of the research.
 Research Methodology

ii. Study Population, Sampling Technique, Inclusion

and Exclusion Criteria
 The study population shall involve leaders and
stakeholders of four religious denominations.
 Only adults will be involved, excluding children and the
physically challenged
 Six questions shall characterize the conduct of the oral
interview (what, why, when, how, effects, challenges)
drawn from the Christian and Muslim faiths.
 Research Methodology

iii. Sample/data Collection

Sample/data shall be collected from some selected areas in
Ede North and South Local Government Areas.
v. Data Analysis
Not necessary, but compilation and documentation of data
shall be done.
 Research Methodology
5. Ethical Issues
i. Ethical Clearance, Advocacy and Mobilization:
Normal procedure will be followed
ii. Full Disclosure:
Due to the researcher’s deficiency in the Yoruba
language, the service of an interpreter shall be
employed.
Foreasy access and response, there will be
mobilization
 Research Methodology

iii. Consent: Individual’s consent shall be obtained

prior to the interview
iv. Voluntariness in Participation: Response shall
be according to individual’s willingness
v. Confidentiality: shall be fully assured. There
shall be no disclosure of the respondents’ identity where
reluctance is expressed, as the work is interested in the
collection of data alone and not the identity of the
respondents.
vi. Safety: No harm is envisaged
 Theoretical Framework

The work shall adopt the theoretical framework of

environmental sociology and sociology of health and
illness.
Environmental sociology examines how social
behaviours, like the use of transportation,
consumption of energy, and waste and recycling
practices, shape environmental outcomes, as well as
how environmental conditions shape social
behaviour.
 Theoretical Framework

Sociology of health and illness on the other hand

examines the interaction between society and
health, and observes the way members of a given
society behave and the consequent effect on
wellness or illness. In other words, sociology of
health and illness looks at how social life affects
health and vice versa.
 Definition of Terms

Environment – in this work refers to the physical tangible and

visible surroundings which include roads, streets,
gutters/drainages, rivers, and other water ways, buildings, plants
(trees, grasses and so on)
Wastes – are unwanted and unusable materials or substance
which are discarded after primary use. These wastes could
include industrial, commercial, domestic and agricultural wastes.
Examples of some wastes include municipal solid waste
(household trash or refuges), hazardous wastes (acid, chemicals),
waste water (sewage which contains bodily waste like faeces and
urine, and surface runoff), and radioactive wastes and so on.
 Definition of Terms

Biodegradable – are wastes which emerge from

households and can be decomposed by micro-
organisms. Examples of these include human and
animal waste (excreta), plant products like dry
leaves, grass, fruits and flowers. Others include
food wastes, wood and remains from the dead
creatures. The acronym for biodegradable in this
work shall be BD.
 Definition of Terms

Non-biodegradable – are wastes that cannot decompose

or dissolve naturally. These include materials like
aluminium, iron, plastic bags, plastic bottles and some
medical waste. The acronym for non-biodegradable in
this work shall be NBD.
Ecology – is the study of the relationship between living
things and their environment; and in this work, most
specifically, is the way human beings interact with their
environment in relation to disposal of waste.
END OF PRESENTATION

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