Settlement experts under the auspices of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) have called on the Federal Government to urgently review and implement the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law of 2004 (as amended).
In addition, they are also canvassing the domestication of the same by all federating states, in line with the peculiarities of individual states.
According to the town planners, the continued neglect of the implementation and domestication of the law was responsible for most of the physical, environmental, social, and economic challenges bedeviling the country.
They pointed out that the absence of master plans and non-implementation of existing ones was a major explanation for the haphazard physical development and decay across human settlements in Nigeria.
This was contained in the communiqué signed by its National Public Relations Secretary, Mr. Edmund Nwokaeze, at the end of the 52nd National Conference/Annual General Meeting of the institute, held in Port Harcourt, River State.
The national conference themed: “Planning Human Settlements in Nigeria for Resilience and Sustainability,” which was attended by 1082 participants, was declared open by the institute’s Past President and Chairman, College of Fellows, Chief Donatus Obialo; including the National President of NITP, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde, gave the opening remarks, while goodwill messages were also given by the President of Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC), Isyaku Mukhtar Kura; and the President, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Muyiwa Adelu, respectively.
Speaking, Minister of Work and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, harped on the unique role of town planners in nation-building, pointing out that the two most important officers in government should be the town planner and the economic planner, in that order.
The minister, therefore, urged planners to bear in mind the broad objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which seek to improve the quality of human life while planning human settlements in Nigeria for resilience and sustainability.
The conference also had a session with Arctic Infrastructure, a private-sector infrastructure financing advisory and development organisation focusing on urban infrastructure funding and financing with six resource persons, including four international development specialists.
The conference described city resilience as a “complex phenomenon that is affected by a multiplicity of factors,” noting that cities must be able to evolve and adopt key responses to changing circumstances.
The experts are of the opinion that the country cannot attain sustainable development and resiliency with the unabated depletion of green spaces for economic gains through urban development.
According to them, human settlements in Nigeria have been gradually degenerating, with several losing their known identities of aesthetics and functional qualities.
While commending some state governments for embarking on the replacement of outdated master plans to address emerging problems, they stated that attempts at reviewing inoperative ones have also been encouraging, but at an abysmally slow pace.
The replacement of outdated master plans with new ones, they said could go a long way in tackling many identified problems and aid the pursuit of sustainability and resilience agenda.
They described as “worrisome” the disregard or low credence to Non-Motorised Transportation (NMT), such as trekking and cycling, attributing the low patronage to lack of needy infrastructure, security, and safety concerns, and societal value systems.
Climate change
The town planning professionals decried the rates at which flooding and violent conflict-induced migrations have been affecting human settlements, identifying climate change and general climatic variability as major causes of rising environmental issues including flooding, coastal erosion, and desertification in the country.
“Flood poses a significant threat to the habitability and viability of human settlements. Globally, the flood has led to psychosocial stress on human beings, including but not limited to socioeconomic wellbeing and mobility of inhabitants in flood-ravaged areas,” they observed.
In Nigeria, they stated that the institutions saddled with managing flood risks at the various tiers of government have not been proactive in dealing with flood-related events.
The experts observed: “Vast agricultural land used mainly for rice cultivation in northwest Nigeria is predisposed to flooding. This portends an existential threat to food security, livelihood, and wellbeing, among others.
They also observed that crises and violent conflict-induced migrations have become central stimulants in the rapid urban growth in many African cities.
“Resultantly, many internally-displaced persons (IDPs) are found mostly in cities with statistics suggesting an unbearably 17–20-year timeline before IDPs could return to their places of origin.”
“The relationship between the host communities and IDPs is averagely but dangerously tending towards hostility arising from competing demands for land resources and mischaracterisation of IDPs as criminals by the natives. Hence, the engagement of IDPs in public spaces is generally poor,” they said.
Recommendations
To combat the perennial flooding, the town planners recommended that risk assessment should be coordinated and consistently pursued with modern and practical approaches towards flood-risk abatement.
“Owing to the impact of flooding in severing social ties and community integration, it is instructive to proactively develop a flood risk management plan, including capacity training of state actors on flood emergency management,” they said.
They pointed out that preparation and implementation of master plans to mitigate flood disasters and other physical, economic, and environmental challenges in human settlements in Nigeria are of urgent agenda presently.
In addressing the need for integration of IDPs in their respective host communities, the town planners called for the provision of public spaces near IDP camps with diverse and free access to recreational activities for the people.
“City designers and policymakers should consider integrating hybrid recreation spaces in the planning of cities rather than traditional models of parks and gardens,” they said.
Besides, the experts maintained that sustainability and resilience strategies should govern resource utilisation and management to withstand shocks and aid recovery rates.
They urged the government to prioritise growth-stimulating infrastructure, including transportation systems and communications, among others, adding that planning standards and zoning codes needed to be strictly adhered to.
The communiqué read: “Government should intensify campaigns and public enlightenments against developing without development permits from appropriate authorities.
“Indigenous approaches should be imbibed and developed as against foreign and alien techniques in safeguarding our treasured local values.”
They called on the government to address the challenge of continued depletion of green spaces for transient economic gains, adding, “Public enlightenment is advised to curb similar bad practices from the citizenry to promote greenery.
“There is a need for unambiguous and prescriptive legislative instruments and policies on green area development and protection.”
The experts advised the Rivers State Government to review the Port-Harcourt Master Plan of 1975 and the Greater Port-Harcourt City Development Plan of 2009.
Besides, they want the government to promote active involvement/participation of stakeholders in the planning process, particularly in the regeneration of neighbourhoods and urban communities.
“As a precursor, slum mapping should be carried out across the board to determine the intensity of decay and guide in adopting the appropriate method for renewal,’ the settlement experts said, urging the government to collaborate with financial institutions and other stakeholders towards upgrading slum areas using people-centric strategies.
Final note
The sustainability and resilience of human settlements in Nigeria and the general physical and economic development of the country are strongly dependent on the level of physical planning as articulated in the recommendations.
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