Nigerian cities are grappling with the consequences of poor urban planning and inadequate implementation of regional laws. The result? Chaotic growth, widespread demolition, homelessness, and the proliferation of slums.
The rapid urbanization has strained essential infrastructure. Many buildings lack proper setbacks and permits, often constructed without professional oversight. This leads to unsafe living conditions and disorganized city landscapes.
A report from The Guardian reveals that infrastructure inadequacies and inconsistent urban planning are rampant. The government’s efforts to expand infrastructure often disrupt existing development plans, adversely affecting residents.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), poverty is more prevalent in rural areas, with 72% of rural dwellers living in poverty compared to 42% in urban regions. Despite 70% of Nigeria’s population residing in rural areas, these regions account for 80% of the poor population.
Urban growth rates are alarmingly high, exceeding 4.3% annually in cities like Kano, Ibadan, Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja, Kaduna, Onitsha, and Benin City. Some cities, such as Lagos, Ibadan, and Kano, are experiencing urban growth rates of around 20%, creating immense challenges for housing, roads, water supply, waste management, and electricity.
The demolition of properties, alleged to be illegally constructed or built on drainage channels, has been a recurring issue in cities like Lagos, Abuja, Anambra, Kano, and Enugu. This practice highlights the failure to implement effective physical development plans, leading to the loss of properties and businesses worth over N100 billion in five cities in the past year and a half.
Nigeria, with approximately 25 million homeless people, remains one of the countries with the highest numbers of homeless individuals. The Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law, established in 1992 and enacted in 2004, was intended to guide orderly development at federal and subnational levels. However, it has not been fully implemented since its inception.
The law outlines zones for residential, industrial, infrastructure, recreational, and commercial areas, but implementation has been weak. Less than 30% of states have adopted the law due to a lack of political will and vision.
Experts attribute the law’s non-implementation to poor funding and insufficient professional personnel. They argue that the law focused more on development control rather than core planning roles, such as regional planning and urban master planning.
Even where the law has been adopted, implementation has been haphazard. The recent demolition of houses along the 700-kilometer Lagos-Calabar highway underscores the failure to enforce existing physical plans, which could have prevented construction in prohibited areas. Over N42 billion worth of properties and businesses have been lost to this project.
Public apathy towards planning, safety rules, construction regulations, and necessary building approvals has exacerbated the situation. There are also concerns about the lack of regular updates to urban planning, weak enforcement of codes, and corruption, leading to substandard construction practices and increased risk of building collapses. Nigeria has experienced about 604 building collapses between 1974 and May 2024, according to the Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG).
Chime Ogbonna, First Vice President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), lamented the neglect of urban planning. He linked the ongoing issues to the refusal to implement existing laws and highlighted the absence of master plans for many cities. He emphasized that corruption plays a significant role in poor implementation.
Ogbonna cited examples from various states: In Abia, the law is not being implemented; in Anambra, the law was enacted haphazardly; and in Enugu, efforts to domesticate the law have failed. He stressed the need for comprehensive master plans to prepare cities for future growth.
Muyiwa Adelu, the immediate past president of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), called for better implementation of plans. He questioned the authorities’ actions, pointing out the long-standing issue of illegal structures and the docility of regulatory bodies.
Adelu criticized the government’s approach to demolition without providing alternative shelter for affected families. He emphasized that the problem lies in the absence of harmonization and implementation of plans. Plans are often prepared by the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development but are implemented in silos without coordination among agencies.
Adelu also highlighted the reliance on foreign firms for urban planning projects, despite the availability of competent local professionals who better understand local contexts and challenges.
Professor Leke Oduwaye of the University of Lagos pointed to the failure of government agencies to monitor developments from the initial stages and enforce existing plans and laws. He noted the overlap of responsibilities among government ministries and the need for technological solutions for project monitoring.
The recent wave of demolitions is particularly embarrassing for professionals in the building industry. It raises questions about their competence and ethics, as well as the effectiveness of urban planning in Nigeria. The country must adopt a more integrated approach to urban planning, enforce existing laws, and prioritize the safety and well-being of its citizens to address these pressing issues.
Source: The Guardian
