How states’ neglect of master plans worsen urban devt

With growing neglect of master plans, experts call on state governments to prioritise sustainable development in all planning and implementation efforts to guide physical development by creating green spaces, promoting energy-efficient buildings and ensuring that urban planning processes are environmentally friendly, CHINEDUM UWAEGBULAM reports.

There are worries that the lack of appreciation of aesthetics and primacy of planning, coupled with dwindling financial resources for states and local councils, hamper the preparation and implementation of master plans in cities nationwide.

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Nigeria’s urban population has risen sharply, growing from 15 per cent in 1960 to 54 per cent in 2022, with projections indicating that by 2050, 70 per cent of the population will reside in urban areas, while the country is urbanising at a rate of 3.8 per cent yearly, and over 50 per cent urban. By 2030, nearly 60 per cent of the population will live in cities.

This rapid urban growth has resulted in unplanned expansion, negatively impacting infrastructure, mobility, and access to essential services. Cities are growing and contributing to environmental challenges, including increased carbon emissions and inadequate waste management systems.

For instance, urban centres are responsible for 27 per cent of Nigeria’s total carbon emissions, with energy, transport, and industry being the main contributors.

The Nigerian urban and regional planning law implies that physical planning is a necessity, and before any development commences, it must have approval from the appropriate government agency, and such an agency must have an operative master plan. This law is to be domesticated by the states for implementation. However, only a few states have domesticated it after 32 years of enactment.

Conference of Directors and Heads of Town Planning Organisations in Nigeria recently confirmed the development. It decried the generally poor level of regulatory and institutional instruments available to support town planning practice in Nigeria. It observed that most settlements do not have physical development plans to guide their growth, and where available, the plans have outlived their shelf life.

They had agreed that the preparation and implementation of a mutually agreed National Physical Development Plan (NPDP) should be adopted as one of the tools for integrated physical planning and effective delivery of development benefits to the people of Nigeria. Most states do not adhere to the recommendations but have continued their business as usual.

The Guardian gathered that some state governments were only making “piecemeal efforts” to implement a proper master plan in their domains. In contrast, others have relegated the issues of city and town master planning to the background and abused physical developments.

In most states, the signs of lack of attention to planning are visible, ranging from a disorganised physical environment, disjointed road networks, uncoordinated housing development, lack of physical and social infrastructure to uncompleted projects, as well as springing up of informal settlements, congestion of limited facilities that put strain on the capacity of the urban areas to achieve resilience.

Lagos State tops the few that have committed themselves to master plans. The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, as part of its technical assistance to states, has also prepared master plans for some urban areas in various parts of the country apart from the strategic regional development plans made for the six geo-political zones. Some of the master plans are due for review.

Besides, attempts were made by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) to bridge the gap. UN-Habitat has worked with many states to prepare structure plans for major cities. The agency assisted Anambra, Nasarawa, Osun, Kogi, Niger States in the development and adoption of structural plans in major cities such as Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi (Anambra); Lafia, Doma, Karu, Keffi (Nasarawa); Osogbo, Ikirun, Ila Orangun, Ilesa, Ile Ife, Ede, Iwo, Ikire and Ejigbo (Osun); Lokoja, Okenne, Kabba and Dekina (Kogi), as well as integrated development plan for Minna and Suleja (Niger).

There was also the preparation of urban profiles in 10 urban centres, provision of three one-stop youth centres and urban upgrading in the old city of Katsina and formulation and adoption of 20-year structure plans in the three participating cities (Umuahia, Aba, and Ohafia in Abia State).

At the federal level, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development hinted at the emergence of more than 360 new urban agglomerations between 2015 and 2020 as evidence of the spatial expansion that continues across the country. The minister, Ahmed Dangiwa, outlined the ministry’s strategic initiatives to address these challenges through a comprehensive review of the 2012 National Urban Development Policy, which is awaiting approval by the Federal Executive Council, as well as the development of a National Policy on Rural Settlement Planning and a National Physical Development Plan aimed at promoting integrated and sustainable urban development.

Specifically, the town planners are worried that the situation has degenerated, adding that the lack of development plans for major urban areas means the cities will grow haphazardly and inefficiently. This makes accessibility difficult, causing inefficient use of land resources and conversion of good agricultural development to urban development. In addition, the urban form becomes locked, and a lot of resources are needed to upgrade to a planned settlement.

Experts argued that seemingly defiant farmers-herders clashes are an offshoot of the absence or neglect of regional plans, master plans and subsidiary plans to harmonise varying land use interests for peaceful coexistence and national growth. “Our settlements need to be inclusive, smart, resilient, and sustainable,” they said.

They also believe it is more cost-effective and efficient to plan ahead of development to ensure compact development, connected and integrated settlements that are efficient, safe and pleasant to live in. They recommended that all urban areas have physical development plans to guide their growth. He further said the nations’ yearly budget rituals face challenging times as spatial dimensions of provisions were ignored during conception.

The immediate past president of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Nathaniel Atebije, told The Guardian that the response to physical planning is so apathetic. However, the fact remains that failure to plan is readiness for confusion and anarchy in the environment.

According to him, many states do not care about preparing master plans for urban development, mainly due to ignorance. “This makes people in positions of authority think it is costly to plan and instead divert such funds to projects. The lack of knowledge that urban planning creates betterment for spaces and environmental and economic improvement makes them think about the short-run rather than the long-term benefits.

“Policymakers and those in the political class want actions that last only when they are in office, and with the four-year cycle of leadership in Nigeria coupled with lack of continuity with programmes of predecessors, they discourage preparation of master plans. They also do not know that though master plans are of long-term goals, the parts are usually broken into short, medium and long-term actions.

“Each succeeding administration could now key into the proposals of the master plan and even review it to meet emerging conditions in social and economic realities. Further to the reasons above, there have been none or low budgetary allocations for master plan preparation, low political will and lack of professional personnel to implement in the few places where master plans have been implemented.”

Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), past president Dr Moses Ogunleye, lamented the lack of commitment to implement the master plans. “Less than 30 per cent of the state capital has master plans. Some plans have expired, while some Nigerian cities have never had a master plan, so they have grown without guidance. A master plan will always be relevant. Technology will and has made its preparation and implementation very efficient.”

Ogunleye observed that the National Housing Policy and the National Urban Development Policy recognise and canvass the necessity of a master plan, adding that if the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Law is followed, all significant settlements in Nigeria will have master plans.

He said: “Settlements or towns will become more functional. Land uses will be better organised. Infrastructure development will be more efficient, as it will be better planned. Environmental resources, particularly the rivers, streams, urban parks, and swamps, are protected. The communities can be made beautiful, integrating landscape elements and urban design. It makes the value of property appreciate considerably and assists investors in making decisions on real estate investment.”

Former NITP Public Secretary, Mr Olugbenga Ashiru, stated that the situation always affects physical planning as there is no instrument to control development, “it leads to the development of blighted areas and non-availability of basic infrastructure facilities and utilities.”

He called for political will among the administrators to produce and implement physical planning policies and plans, synergy between professional bodies like NITP and government agenc ies, public sensitisation and stakeholders’ engagement on physical planning issues.

Ashiru exonerated the town planners in the public service and linked the problem to inadequate manpower, funding and bureaucracy. “They can only suggest to the government what to do and enforce it; they work in line with the government directives,” he added.