International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: The environment is life. Environmental dynamics are the crossroads of basic living standards. This explains the emphasis often placed on issues that border on the environment. Concerted efforts have been made and are still being made in the light of environmental sustainability as expressed through policy and regulatory frameworks. In Nigeria, the regulatory framework assumes the form of environmental waste management agencies whose core mandate borders on the conceptualisation and implementation of environmentally friendly policies. Effective communication plays a key role in the foregoing matrix. Policies must be communicated for safe practices to be inculcated and harmony in the ecosystem attained.
Objective: This study investigated how the environment is being communicated to Nigerians bearing in mind the approaches of environmental waste management agencies as underscored by the sustainable development milestones. Anchored on the Agenda Setting theory, the study sought to evaluate how these waste management agencies deploy communication in their day to day operations.
Method: The peculiarities of the study necessitated the mixed method of quantitative and qualitative approaches, using descriptive survey and in-depth interview respectively. Instrument for data collection were structured questionnaire and interview guide. Since Nigeria operates a federal system of government, each state of the federation has its waste management agency. To this end, six waste management agencies were purposively selected to reflect the geopolitical posture of Nigeria. While the questionnaire was used to elicit responses from residents, the interview guide was used to evaluate communication approaches and bridges as deployed by the agencies with a view to actualising their core mandate. A sample size of 400 was drawn from a population of 16 million that make up the selected six states using the Taro Yamane sample size determining technique. Actual respondents were reached through a multi-stage cluster sampling procedure using a 3 step skip interval. For the in-depth interview, personnel of the waste management agencies were selected based on their positions and responsibilities. Instrument reliability using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation showed a correlation coefficient of 0.93. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Yin’s Explanation Building Technique.
Result: Data as analysed show that the waste management agencies have communication strategies that encompass mainstream, social, and below the line media. Results further reveal that the core nuggets of these communication strategies were not duly followed, thereby accounting for their abysmal rating on the key performance index.
Conclusion: The study concludes that extrapolation, maintaining a clean public environment remains a mirage in Nigeria with efficient and effective waste disposal quite elusive. The overriding inference is that the thrust of communicating the environment has been compromised at the altar of ineffective communication delivery, thereby, accounting for Nigeria’s weak bridges and milestones in the light of SDG 15. Unique contribution: This study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights into the communication approaches, bridges, and milestones of environmental waste management agencies in Nigeria. The findings have implications for environmental communication, waste management policy, and practice.
Key Recommendation: It is therefore recommended that there should be a mainstreaming of consciousness by waste management agencies to communicate effectively by incorporating conviviality, exigencies and eco-friendly dispositions in their operational repertoire.