KEY POINTS
- Dangiwa stated that green housing technologies should be employed to realise the sustainable development goal number 11.
- The Nigerian government is interested in executing planning for the environmental friendly type of housings under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
- Building designers must be encouraged to embrace new paradigms of urbanism that tackle the impact of rapid urbanisation.
Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa has emphasized on green housing solutions to meet United Nation’s SDG 11 which deals with sustainable urban development.
While delivering the keynote address at the 2024 Archibuilt Exposition held by the Nigerian Institute of Architects in Abuja, Dangiwa said that experts in the built environment had to embrace green, sustainable, and climate smart housing.
Minister Dangiwa: eco-friendly housing will help Nigeria to meet UN’s SDG 11
According to Dangiwa, architects have the responsibility of determining how the world will develop the physical landscape to accommodate the increasing number of people that continue to flock the towns and cities.
While speaking on the topic Dangiwa said, “There is a growing need for housing and this should be provided by innovation in technology as well as the availability of resources in equal measure to ensure the impacts on the environment are not catastrophic.”
He therefore noted that it was possible to cut carbon foot prints and yet remain structurally sound by adopting certain building materials such as bamboo, laterite and compressed earth blocks among others.
Government’s efforts in the provision of sustainable housing in Nigeria
The current administration of President Bola Tinubu which operates under the Renewed Hope Agenda has set its sight on the achievement of sustainable housing and urban development in Nigeria. This was disclosed by Dangiwa who explained that apart from Karsana Renewed Hope City, six other Renewed Hope Cities include the Karsana Renewed Hope City project which is under the EDGE Green Certification. It averts that these initiatives will yield the biggest volume of green housing in the record of the nation.
Besides, there are other measures which include the Ministry of Housing that is currently reconsidering plans to create six centers for the production of building materials throughout the country. These hubs shall assist in localization of production in the different regions, AFFO reducing importing of various materials through spearheading the use of indigenous materials in construction.
He called on architects to keep on demanding sustainable solutions which will enable the Nigeria nation to provide for adequate housing in the future in tandem with the best practices of the world without destroying the resources that are the define the country due to the effects of Nigeria’s growing urbanization.
In his speech at the event, Namadi Sambo who is the former Vice President also encouraged architects to redesign city as a living organism that best addresses the challenges of mobility, traffic congestion, and the general standard of living of people in the city.
