Assessment of Air Quality in Urban Settings in Nigeria: A Comparison of Perceptual Indicators, Causes and Management in Abuja and Enugu
Creators: name: Chukwu, Timothy Maduabuchi
Publisher: name: University of Surrey
Year: 2023

description: Given its detrimental effects on health, quality of life, and the environment, poor air quality
description: (PAQ) is a global problem, particularly in urban areas, and is frequently viewed as a key
description: component of social and economic sustainability. This is why it is mentioned in Goal 3 of the
description: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and it has resonance with many of the
description: other SDGs. However, few studies have been conducted in developing-world cities to
description: investigate how citizens perceive PAQ, its primary causes, what mitigation strategies should
description: be utilised to address PAQ, and who is primarily responsible for putting mitigation strategies
description: into action. This study, based in the Nigerian cities of Abuja and Enugu was designed to explore
description: these questions and investigated the health effects of PAQ, sources of knowledge on air quality
description: (AQ), obstacles to AQ improvement, and the concordance between perceptually- and
description: instrumentally-evaluated AQ. It also investigated how various demographic groups view
description: PAQ.<br>
description: <br>
description: This study employed a mixed-methods research approach via questionnaires and follow-up
description: interviews across a range of demographic categories, including gender, age, education, and
description: income. Snowball sampling was used to choose the researchers and policymakers who took
description: part in the study. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test and Hochberg's post hoc test were
description: used to analyse the data.<br>
description: <br>
description: The study found that the assessment of AQ via perceptual indicators matches instrument-based
description: measurement, but there are some significant differences in AQ in both cities mainly due to the
description: city status; Abuja is the federal capital of the country and has only existed since the 1970s while
description: Enugu is much older and state capital. The most significant perceptual indicators of PAQ were
description: smoke, odour, and dust particles, whereas the primary causes of PAQ were the burning of
description: wastes and bushes(vegetation in and around the city), the usage of vehicles, and gasoline power
description: generators. Proper waste management and avoiding bush burning (vegetation fires) were the
description: two control methods that were most favoured. The primary organisations in charge of handling
description: PAQ varied significantly between the two cities, with respondents from Abuja naming the
description: federal government while those from Enugu identified the state government. It is interesting to
description: note that younger residents of Enugu agreed with this statement more so than the city's elder
description: population did, although this was not the case in Abuja. This study supports the idea that
description: perceptual AQ evaluation can enable action in the absence of instrument-based assessments
description: and is a useful source of information for policy and decision-makers when addressing PAQ. <br>