We ’ll partner with town planners on urban devt, says Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has reiterated readiness of his administration to partner with the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) on proper planning and urban development to boost the socio-economic status of the state.

The governor, who spoke while receiving members of the Institute, led by its National President, Oluwatoyin Ayinde, at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan, also said that his administration would work with local resources and expertise to develop the state.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the governor as urging town planners to come forward and explore how they could work together for the development of the state.

He said: “You are welcome to Ibadan and I am glad that you came yesterday and you must have seen some things around. Well, just as you have identified, town planning is a big problem to us in this country.”

Where I was born, the actual address of the building my parents stayed at, which still stands out there, is N4/79. It is still in Ward 4 of Ibadan North Local Council today.

“Actually, some people started planning this country, but we took the wrong turn. I took somebody to the Central Business District at Dugbe and he said some people have actually started something.

“So, I thank you for the mini-lecture. We know that some of the things mentioned are challenges we have to deal with, and because a lot of our people will rather have instant gratification, including your members.

“Somebody came to me last week and asked if he could help rescue Bodija? It belongs to the Housing Corporation. It was the first properly planned estate in Nigeria. It was supposed to be a purely residential estate but you have restaurants, clubs and noise all over the place.

“So, I thought of how to rescue this place as the governor of Oyo State. They said I needed to make enforcement by first of all ejecting the people. But there is something deeper than just enforcement by the government.

“The people that started this country had good plans and it is one of the things we currently enjoy in Oyo State. When people say the governor is doing well, the secret is that I am not doing any new plan. I go out there and dust off what our founding fathers had done in the past.

“So, some of our fore-fathers already made the plans. They have put in all the hard-work; it is for us to dust them off and work on them. For us as a government, we want to partner with you.

Earlier, the NITP National President said the essence of the visit was to assess the state of physical planning in the state and sensitise people on the importance of town planning and planners.

He said it had become imperative to make Nigerians understand the importance of town planning, adding that the Institute has been able to find out planning answers to good governance.