companies in their dealings with the government and government-linked entities. The first comprehensive and independent financial, physical and process audits of the Nigerian oil and gas sectors, covering the period 1999–2004, were finalised in April 2006. The audits found that there is scope for making greater use of information technology (IT) systems to improve controls and eliminate inconsistencies arising from duplicated information, and that transparency could be improved by a wider sharing of data. 3.39 Nigeria is confronted by the negative environmental consequences of oil production. Nigeria also experienced a population explosion which, along with a lack of environmental regulation, has caused substantial damage to Nigeria’s environment, especially in the Niger Delta region. The population explosion, especially in Lagos, has put tremendous pressure on city government resources. Nigeria faces environmental challenges arising from desertification and severe air pollution in overcrowded cities such as Lagos. Despite the regulatory environmental framework that exists, there are persistent concerns that not enough is being done to sensitise companies and communities on environmental issues. 3.40 The labour laws of the country are considered sufficiently strong, although there are substantial challenges regarding implementation. Poverty and unemployment are very acute. They effectively make implementing the minimum wage law an unattainable goal. Safety in the workplace is also questionable. Corporate employers commonly fail to extend to women their rights under labour laws. Child labour is outlawed, but the laws are breached more often than they are effectively implemented. Other relevant labour issues needing attention include the casualisation of staff, poor access to information by employees, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and inadequate workplace policies on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). 3.41 Nigeria’s film industry – Nollywood – is part of the emerging knowledge economy in Africa. In order to protect its artists, Nigeria became an enthusiastic subscriber to the international convention protecting intellectual property. However, as with most governance issues in Nigeria, subscription and effective implementation tend to diverge. The CRM was informed of various instances of piracy and copyright infringement, including books. It is important for Nigeria to enhance and strengthen its intellectual property rights regime in order to help expand its new creative industries, such as Nollywood. 3.42 Of the 20 million Nigerians who own shares in public and private companies, many are minority shareholders who are ignorant of their rights. Shareholder associations and institutional investors should step up efforts to ensure that the interests of all shareholders are protected. The apparent excessive fragmentation of the shareholders’ voice does not augur well for a sustainable institutional framework. 3.43 The auditing regime in Nigeria is not robust. International auditing standards do not exist in the country. Auditors are advised to follow the International Standards on Auditing, although this is not mandatory. There 13