Restructuring Urban Solid Waste Management and Housing Problems for Economic Development : A Case of Nigeria

The paper focused on the need to reform solid waste management and housing problems as among the factors for the economic development of Nigeria. This is based on authors' perception that decent housing and environment ensure quality of life and by extension a measure of development. The authors unraveled that housing and solid waste problems in Nigeria stemmed from increasing population, insufficient funding, lack of better condition of living in rural areas, thus leading to rural-urban migration. Consequently, there is a high concentration of people in Nigerian urban places and the insufficient availability of housing has compelled Nigerians to live in slums and shantytowns. This has raised the solid waste generated by households, businesses, artisans and markets thereby reducing the living standard. The efforts put in place by the government over the years to manage the situation have failed to achieve much, hence adversely affecting economic development. Based on the foregoing, among the recommendations made to revive the ugly trend are: repositioning the state of Nigerian rural areas; establishment of mortgage banks in every state of the country; increasing private sector participation in both housing provision and solid waste management and promotion of greater awareness on the need for proper waste disposal by all and sundry