The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, NITP, has implored government, both federal and state, to quickly renew efforts aimed at the regulation and control of housing development across the country.
This position was expressed by the Institute’s National President, Town Planner Nathaniel Atebije, during his Second Press Conference titled “So long, but not so far”, held in Abuja on Thursday March 9, 2023.
Town Planner Atebije said in a country where citizens are subjected to hardship such as occasioned by fuel scarcity and price hike, as well as paucity of naira notes, quality of human settlement in Nigeria is far from the ideal, which he blamed largely on dearth of commitment to physical planning. He stated that the NITP’s goal is “to draw attention of those who are in power or intend to be in power to be guided into taking right courses of action for us to realize the dream and vision of sane, rational and coordinated development in all its ramifications.”
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Town Planner Atebije said the NITP under his leadership has evaluated the manifestoes of those vying for political office. While, according to him, the proposals are embellished with impressive ideas and ideals, authors of these documents do not seem to realize that development of all kinds revolves around land uses. “A lot has been promised to give Nigerians the hope of getting into the Promised Land through infrastructure, industrial development, educational improvement, expansion and diversification of the economy, accelerating social development, easing transportation and improving convenience of living. But the real question concerning the lofty proposals is the reality of their thoughts. Another question is whether the conceivers of these plans are aware that implementation must be on the solid land. And yet, another question is, do the promise makers know that there are some people (around them) who are trained and have become experts in the organisation of land uses to bring the highest beneficial dividends to developments on land? And except these facts are answered through good knowledge or advice to the policy makers, we may end up again building castles in the air”, he stated.
Reacting to issues of multiplicity of authority in the housing sector and the critical element of international best practice, NITP President said “To grow well is to plan before we develop. We urge government, individuals in Nigeria to embrace physical planning so that our growth and development could be sustainable.
