The Bendi Man and His Environment since C.1800 A.D

Abstract

Bendi history lends credence to the assertion that there is a dialectical relationship between history and geography. While this paper does not submit wholly to the theory of environmental determinism, it avers that the environment impacted remarkably on the course of Bendi history, especially in the pre-colonial period when the people were scientifically and technologically underdeveloped. Because the people depended on the environment for their sustenance and general wellbeing, they regarded the despoliation of the environment as an existential threat, which must be avoided. As a result, they formulated a number of policies and principles which ensured that the people related with the environment harmoniously. Over the years, the Bendi man has jettisoned his forebears’ principles of securing and maintaining environmental harmony and has become the major agent of destruction of his own environment. Whether it is deforestation, bush burning, flooding, erosion, pollution, loss of biodiversity, poor garbage management, loss of soil fertility or any other environmental hazard, human beings are directly or indirectly responsible for them. The abuse of the environment has rendered the Bendi people vulnerable to various kinds of diseases like Cerebrospinal Meningitis, Cholera, Hepatitis A, Hepatitis E and Typhoid fever, all of which have been on the increase in recent years. With a critical use of primary and secondary sources, this paper examines and analyzes the interplay between the Bendi man and his environment over a long period of time. Recommendations are made on how to improve the environment, maintain ecological balance, and fulfill the divine instruction given to man to tend, dress and preserve the environment for his own preservation.