Governments have been urged to take proactive action and ensure that layouts are put in place for different areas and locations ahead of development.
Former president of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr Chucks Omeife, made this appeal in an interview with Nigerian Tribune in Lagos over the haphazard real estate development and entitled nature of property in the state.
Omeife, who decried the situation, said that planning ahead of development remains the only way to have a well laid out without any major contraventions.
“ Having a layout first will enable physical development to be controlled to align with existing government layout,” Omeife noted.
Commenting on the fact that 89 percent of property in Lagos is without title and approval, he said: “The implication of owning a building without requisite documentation invalidates the possibilities of turning such building into economic assets that can be used for economic and commercial purposes and possibly other transactions.
“The reason we have such situations is basically because layouts are supposed to precede development but in this case, development has gone ahead and layouts are done afterwards to meet development. The result is that the belated layouts will be short of being perfect and sometimes make the area clumsy and untidy.”
He explained that the narrative and history of development in Ibeju -Lekki axis of Lagos state is a serious quagmire and exhibition of a state of planlessness, suggesting that this should deserve deliberate and immediate attention by the government.
He said the challenge had been the slow pace of government preparation of layouts for most part of Lagos state, resulting into haphazard physical development by individuals.
“Ordinarily what is expected is that government would have finished and set out the layout for each area and thereafter physical development can commence in line with the layout.
“Unfortunately the rate of migration into Lagos state, the daily growing population and the need for shelter has caused a lot of physical developments that does not align with belated government layouts because those layouts were done after physical development has gone far in those areas.
“Even in areas where layout has been put in place, we are witnesses to the on going demolition across the state due to contraventions by individuals. What this translate into is shoddy layouts due to individuals buildings not having a clear cut plan and layout to follow,” Omeife said.
Omeife urged government to manage the situation in a way that individuals does not suffer losses as a result of their structure not conforming to the belated government layouts.
“Unfortunately most this developments cannot be properly coordinated to allow for proper documentation that can turn them into valuable assets,” he said.
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