Poor planning of the developing areas linked to government’s lack of political will

An engineer and town planner, who contributed to the development of some of the highways in the country, Prof. John Falade, has said many developing areas manifest features of slum settlements because the government has failed to play its role of planning the urban areas.

Falade spoke in Ibadan during the 10th year remembrance of the late Prof. Poju Onibokun, who helped in the design of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Falade linked poor planning of the developing areas to government’s lack of political will to enforce town planning rules, warning that poor living conditions in the areas could lead to outbreak of diseases and other disasters.

He said, “Government should have planned the developing areas through the planning agencies ahead of the population explosion that is now being witnessed in those communities. By so doing, a planning standard would have been established. People should also stop tampering with the size of the roads in developing areas.

“Developing areas in Nigeria are in a bad shape and people no longer see town planners as their friends. In Oyo State, for example, planning was truncated in Ibadan during the military era. In his bid to control an unrest between some people and town planning officials, the military governor at the time went on air and said there would be no town planning again

“People started building without planning approval. Roads that cannot take two vehicles at a time sprang up and many other planning irregularities were freely practised till today. In Nigeria, people build houses and shops without government approval, except in some highbrow areas in Lagos. We must learn to obey town planning rules so that we will stop crowding houses with no space for ventilation. Communities are now planned without consideration for drainages and fire safety.”

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Falade acknowledged that low income earners and poor people might never have the financial power to stay in well planned communities like Government Reservation Areas, but urged the government to commit itself more to planning the developing areas.

He also said that the government could help low income earners own their houses by allocating plots of land to them for free instead of selling to the rich.

The don added, “We have many housing estates coming up but not for the low income earners. The easiest way for low income earners to build a house in Nigeria is through cooperative housing scheme. In Nigeria today, mortgage does not help the poor because the loan provider will ask for collateral that a poor man cannot afford.

“By the provision of the Land Use Decree, government owns the land, so it can help the poor by giving them land to build their houses instead of profiting from selling it to the rich. It’s the best subsidy to help the poor.”