THE Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON) has reiterated the need for proactive urban planning and city design that embraces a forward-looking approach, anticipating future social, economic, and environmental changes rather than reacting to existing problems in Nigeria’s urban development landscape.
  The newly inaugurated President of ATOPCON, Hakeem Badejo, gave the charge during his investiture in Lagos. He expressed concern that planning in Nigeria has long been reactive, often attempting to tidy up development challenges after they occur.
 
“For too long, planning has tended towards a reactive approach to tidy up the mess. This narrative must change for improved city design. We must become proactive, setting plans far ahead of development,” he said.
Badejo outlined an ambitious four-pillar agenda aimed at repositioning town planners as indispensable problem-solvers rather than perceived obstacles to development. The pillars include becoming plan-shapers instead of plan-checkers, promoting ethical and contextual planning rooted in Nigerian realities, leveraging technology and transparency, and establishing an ATOPCON national projects unit to enable consortium bidding for transformative state and national projects.
 
Using major city intersections such as Ojuelegba in Lagos and Wuse Junction as metaphors for Nigeria’s development complexities, Badejo stressed that town planners must “design the interchange” rather than halt the traffic of progress.
  “We will move from merely assessing what is presented to imagining what is possible. The association will also aggressively inaugurate more branches across all states of the federation,” he added.
  
Immediate past president, Adebisi Adedire, highlighted achievements during his tenure, including strengthening professional advocacy, securing office space for ATOPCON’s National Secretariat at the new headquarters of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) in Abuja, and improving the association’s financial standing from about N2 million to over N30 million.
  Adedire urged the incoming administration to embrace planning as a strategic tool for national stability, noting that Nigeria faces serious security concerns ranging from banditry to widespread insecurity.
 
In his investiture lecture titled “The Role of Professionals in Good Governance,” the Director of the Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development at the University of Lagos, Timothy Nubi, painted a sobering picture of Nigeria’s built environment crisis.
 Nubi decried the devastating impact of recent demolitions and building collapses across the country, stressing that good governance in urban development does not occur by chance but through institutions guided by sound policies and operationalised by professional town planning consultants.

He criticised what he described as “professional arrogance” and the erosion of ethical standards within the sector.
“There is nothing in good governance outside town planning,” he declared, emphasising that planners shape land use, infrastructure provision, equity, and sustainability. He also lamented the loss of iconic buildings such as Afriland Tower, Independence House, and Great Nigeria House, describing them as indictments of professional failure.
  
According to Nubi, real estate accounts for about 71 per cent of any nation’s wealth, underscoring the sector’s strategic importance to Nigeria’s economic future, especially as it increasingly rivals oil in its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
  Earlier, the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Oluyinka Olumide, acknowledged the concerns raised and announced plans to review enforcement activities in the state.
  
He disclosed that the percentage of buildings in Lagos with proper approval is “ridiculously low” and promised new policies that would require consultants to remain engaged longer on layout projects to maintain order and regulatory compliance.
  Also speaking, the National President of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Ogbonna Chime, urged ATOPCON members to take proactive steps in identifying illegal developments before they reach advanced stages.
  
He emphasised the need for town planning consultants to be involved in higher-order developments to curb professional abuse and improve urban planning outcomes nationwide.