Pollution of waterbodies and the environment by petroleum industry is of particular concern in Nigeria. This problem can be addressed by the application of constructed wetlands (CWs) which is a nature-based system that is simple to construct, have low operational and maintenance costs in terms of supply of energy and its periodic maintenance. The application of CWs in Nigeria for polishing of petroleum refinery wastewater is an unprecedented research. This PhD thesis focused on some specific objectives which were characterization of treated secondary refinery wastewater, design, construction, operation and monitoring of planted (T. latifolia, C. alternifolius and C. dactylon) and unplanted vertical subsurface flow, horizontal subsurface flow and hybrid CWs for the removal of suspended solids, nutrients, heavy metals, organic matter and organic pollutants. The CWs effectively treated the petroleum contaminated wastewater to effluent compliance limits. In this study, T. latifolia planted CWs had consistently higher removal efficiencies for all the measured parameters than C. alternifolius and C. dactylon planted CW systems. Therefore, in order to improve the wastewater quality discharged by Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) Nigeria, meet stringent guidelines and protect the recipient streams, installation of CWs at the effluent discharge point of KRPC is strongly recommended.

No Longer Naive is an in-depth look at the history of African football at the game's greatest showcase event. As football grew globally over the 20th century and the World Cup became the zenith of the sport internationally, Africa was left trailing, both through a lack of organisation and exclusion by the powers that be. In 1974, Africa's 'best' team, Zaire, were humiliated on the world stage, creating a negative perception of African football. Teams from Africa were often labelled naive in their approach to football, but gradually African nations repaired their reputation. This led to increased participation, vastly improved players and famous victories over the world's best - culminating in the tournament being hosted on the continent for the first time in 2010. However, while great strides have been made on the pitch, greed, in-fighting, violence and the whiff of corruption behind the scenes have undermined progress. African sides are no longer naive, but are we any closer to seeing a team from Africa lift the World Cup?