**6.2 Environmental pollution**

The rapid increase in Kano city's population due to urbanization and the increase in the city's economic activity as a result of the unprecedented growth has resulted in numerous environmental challenges. This is due to the discharge of residential or domestic waste, commercial, industrial, institutional, and other waste sources into the environment, which manifests into various forms of land, water, and air pollution, causing potential harm to the health and well-being of the city's inhabitants. A study by [61] indicates that approximately 3085 tons of waste are generated daily in Kano metropolis, with only about 36 percent evacuated. This is due to various challenges resulting from inadequate institutional and technical capacity, financial constraints, economic and other social factors due to Kano city's increasing population. A breakdown of the waste generated in Kano city revealed that residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional waste accounts for 62.5%, 26.9%, 2.9%, and 5.9%, respectively, with other sources of waste in the city accounting for 1.9%. [61] also revealed that Kano city is facing the challenge of inefficient waste management practices due to the lack of appropriate landfill and other recycling approaches in the city. This is evident in the city's indiscriminate waste disposal and the growing number of open dumpsites around the city in areas such; Gandun Albasa by Zoo road, Mopol Barracks by Hotoro road, Kasuwan Kwari, Kofar-Ruwa, Gwale, Gyadi-Gyadi by Court road, Bompai, Sabon Gari Market, Sabuwar Gandu, Yan-Kaba, Singer, Dakata, and many other areas (**Figures 10** and **11**). Butu et al. [62] believe that these tonnes of uncollected municipal waste within Kano metropolis are usually washed by rainstorms into drains and open gutters, thereby clogging drainage channels, which subsequently causes water pollution and flooding in the city. Indiscriminate disposal of waste in Kano also creates a breeding ground for bacteria, parasites, rodents, reptiles and other dangerous insects, which have severe health consequences and nuisance to the environment.

Kano is also experiencing increased environmental pollution, especially in the city's water bodies, due to the indiscriminate discharge of industrial effluents from Challawa, Sharada, and Bompai industrial layouts into Challawa River, Salanta River, and Jakara dam, respectively. This has contributed to the drainages in these areas having slush of industrial waste with the air having an offensive odor. A study conducted by IQAir AirVisual [63], pointed out Kano as the most air-polluted city in Africa,

**Figure 10.** *Waste dump along Kwari market.*

*Understanding the Challenges of 21st Century Urbanization in Northern Nigeria's Largest City… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109400*

**Figure 11.** *Municipal waste dump.*

with an air pollution level of about 54.4 percent. The study revealed that the air in Kano city was 53.4 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3 ) with 2.5 micrometers or less of ultrafine particles. This exceeds five (5) times the maximum limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and exceeds Nigeria's average PM2.5 concentration of 44.8 μg/m3. Some of the major causes of this high air pollution in Kano include but are not limited to vehicle exhaust emissions, industrial toxic waste, burning of firewood, and kerosene. The consequences are closely related to various health challenges that include heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, and other respiratory infections.

In response to the challenge of environmental pollution due to inadequate and poor waste management practices in Kano metropolis, the Kano state government in 2003 established the Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB) and saddled it with the sole responsibility of waste management in Kano metropolis. However, this agency has been confronted by several technical, institutional, economic, and financial challenges [61]. Another challenge that hinders the efficiency and effectiveness of waste management in Kano city is the inaccessibility to most areas of the ancient city and new settlements in the city's fringe due to the centralized nature of REMASAB. As a result, there is a need to decentralize refuse management systems in Kano while providing adequate dumpsites at different areas of the metropolis to address the challenge of inaccessibility due to uncontrolled urbanization. In addition, the active partnership of the private sector and other tiers of the government in managing the waste system through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) of waste management is necessary. This will help significantly reduce Kano city's growing environmental issues while providing youths with employment through close collaboration between the government and the private sector. In this regard, the Kano state government recently sought and got the intervention of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the construction of a Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) comprising of both primary and secondary treatment in the Challawa and Sharada industrial layouts with a daily capacity 15,000 and 4000 cubic meters of waste respectively. This is in addition to the construction of a similar CETP in Bompai industrial layout with a primary treatment plant only and a daily capacity of 1000 cubic meters of waste. This intervention aims at tackling the hydra-headed challenge of industrial waste pollution confronting Kano as a city. However, the impact of these interventions remains unrealized due to the non-completion of these projects.
