Ex-Chairman Harps On Sanity In Urban Planning, Development

A Town Planner, Mr Makinde Ogunleye, last Thursday advised other planners to be alive to their responsibilities in sanitising the cities in Nigeria for proper planning and development.
Ogunleye, a former Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Lagos Chapter, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
He said that the town planners had slept on their responsibilities, attributing it to the reasons for chaos “we are seeing in our cities today”.
Ogunleye urged them to take the lead in restructuring the nation’s town planning regulations and developments.
He said that the frequent conflicts between planners and policy makers were affecting the nation’s urban planning and development, adding that it also puts the struggle for rescuing town planning practice at risk.
Ogunleye said deadlock in the industry had led town planners to staying off in policy making, to tackling matters concerning indiscriminate buildings, unauthorised restructuring and conversion of buildings to other uses.
He highlighted the federal agency-state conflict, elite impunity, migration and growth of informal settlements, limited access to land, land titling, costs and delays to applicants, as some of the factors militating against the industry.
“To effect change in the dynamics, government and its institutions have to be consistent and enhance its ability to prove that there are benefits in proper town planning. Government needs to be watchful, firm and efficient in its regulatory and enforcement processes,” he said.
Ogunleye also blamed the situation on constant restructuring of governing units and institutions, lack of continuity, leadership changes, policy inconsistency, abandonment, and limited role of the private professional town planners in the policy making process.
He advised that slums and other negative attributes that could arise from poor involvement of town planners in urban and regional planning, must be eliminated or kept at a minimum.
“Development control objectives must be emphasised and elevated. As town planners, once you put on your leadership caps, your vibrancy will be felt in the cities and towns.
“In addition, once you add professionalism to what you do, your extra-curricular impact will be self-evident,” he said.
He called for the enforcement of planning laws; describing it as the only way out of the planning puzzles.