Get Guardian on GoogleTown planners have been urged to develop a comprehensive regional plan for South-West Nigeria to curb urban sprawl, coordinate infrastructure investment and promote balanced economic growth.
A Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Adamu Ahmed, challenged the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) and the Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC) to lead the process.
Presenting a paper titled “Physical Planning as the Driver of Regional Development,” at the NITP’s annual general meeting in Lagos, themed “Shaping the Future of Regional Development in Nigeria Through Physical Planning,” Ahmed said planners must move beyond development control to embrace strategic spatial planning, infrastructure coordination, environmental resilience and economic development.
Ahmed, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, said Nigeria’s regional development challenges required an integrated approach to economic growth, housing, agriculture, industrialisation, migration, infrastructure and environmental protection.
He warned that development decisions taken independently, without spatial coordination, could lead to inefficient resource allocation, inequality and unsustainable growth. “Economic growth, infrastructure, housing, agriculture, industry, migration, environmental change and social development interact within territories. Without deliberate spatial coordination, individually rational decisions can produce collectively inefficient, unequal and unsustainable regional outcomes,” he said.
He explained that physical planning complements economic policies, social programmes and infrastructure investment by providing a framework for integrating them. Effective planning, he added, determines suitable locations for development, links settlements with economic activities, identifies infrastructure needs and protects the environment while promoting equitable distribution of development benefits.
Ahmed called for stronger links between regional development institutions, public investment and government policies, urging planners to translate national development goals into tangible improvements across communities.
He said the NITP should sustain public debate on spatial development, engage governments and regional institutions, strengthen professional capacity and advocate coordinated investment in major development projects.
Also, an Associate Director at Dar Al-Handasah Consultants, Rabah Ali, called for a regional development plan for South-West Nigeria to address urban sprawl, flooding, inequality, infrastructure deficits and lost investment opportunities.
He said the absence of a coordinated framework had contributed to fragmented development across the six states, despite their shared cultural heritage, interconnected labour markets, industrial base and transport networks.
Speaking on the need for a South-West Regional Development Plan, Ali said coordinated planning would strengthen economic links, improve infrastructure connectivity and extend investment opportunities beyond major urban centres.
He described the South-West as a regional economy in practice, supported by shared labour markets, the Lagos–Ibadan–Ilorin trade corridor, cultural ties and interconnected infrastructure. However, planning remained fragmented among state governments, limiting the region’s ability to maximise its economic potential.
Ali said the region’s industrial base and economic activity offered opportunities for growth, but competition among states, rather than economic specialisation, weakened regional integration. He added that dependence on Lagos as the dominant economic hub constrained wider diversification.
He identified integrated transportation as a foundation for regional development, saying improved public transport and road networks would ease the movement of people and goods, strengthen links between cities and improve access to markets and jobs.
Ali warned that population growth would intensify demand for housing, employment, infrastructure and public services without a regional plan. With the South-West’s population projected to exceed 50 million in 2026, he said coordinated planning was essential to manage urban expansion, reduce congestion and improve infrastructure efficiency.
He also identified flooding, extreme heat, coastal erosion, rising sea levels and the urban heat-island effect as environmental threats requiring joint action across state boundaries. Uncontrolled urban sprawl, he said, raises infrastructure costs, increases dependence on private vehicles, threatens productive land and places additional pressure on water supplies and public services.
Ali said the proposed regional plan should accommodate the priorities of all six states while providing a common framework for economic growth, infrastructure investment and environmental protection. It should also align with the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission and the development plans of individual states.
