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‘ARCON Act will eradicate quackery in architectural practice’

By Editor
16 November 2015   |   4:21 am
THE immediate past Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Osun State, Architect Muyiwa Ige, has reiterated that, if utilised accordingly, the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Act 2004 will eradicate quackery in the architectural practice in the country.
Muyiwa Ige

Muyiwa Ige

THE immediate past Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Osun State, Architect Muyiwa Ige, has reiterated that, if utilised accordingly, the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Act 2004 will eradicate quackery in the architectural practice in the country.

Ige, who was a two-time Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) Oyo State Chapter, said the professional recognised by law to design any building and ensure supervision is the architect and that all the interlopers (quacks) that are trying to take jobs from architects have been silenced.
“Recently, at the State House of Assembly in Osun, a presentation was made by me on the Urban Regional laws. I said the ARCON 2004 Act is the law that has empowered the practice of architecture and so the draftsmen are not recognised by law”, he said.

He added that presently, registered architects in the country are less than 4,000 and over 6,000 associate members and tens of thousands of undocumented architects and that with the population close to 170 million and with a housing deficit that is hovering between 18 million and 20 million, architects are still in huge demand.

His words: “This shows that there are a lot of opportunities for architects in Nigeria and as a result of this, I am of the opinion that architects must take their rightful place now”.
Ige, who is seeking election to become the new Third Vice President of the institute at its bieenal general meeting which will end in Abuja on Saturday November 21, said the age long rivalry between Nigerian architects and their foreign counterpart is nowhere to be found now  as Nigerian architects have performed more excellently over the years.

There is no competition with foreign architects because there is nothing that they know that we don’t know better. The truth of the matter is that the ARCON Act states that only architects registered in Nigeria that can practice. Yes, foreign architects are coming in because the world is a global village but they must have a Nigerian architect on the minimum as a director of the company.
“If we all practice genuinely  and professionally, there is no need to get into each other’s way. Most importantly, we must protect the jobs of architects and we must ensure that the fees are commensurate with the work they perform and that the Nigerian architect must take the lead in the built environment in the country” he added.

Speaking on his ambition, Ige promised to be in the vanguard of ensuring that the institute grow membership with young architects who will end up being the future of the institute.

When I shall have won the election as the Third Vice President on November 21, 2015, I will ensure that all my energy will be used to elevate the institute till I eventually become the President in 2021. I will make sure that I will be in the vanguard of growing membership and ensure that young architects come to the fore and take their rightful position in the built environment. Issues like registration of young architects and that of registration of schools are going to be adequately addressed”.

Upon returning to Nigeria in 1999, Ige registered with the Nigerian Institute of Architects. Shortly thereafter, he became the treasurer of Oyo State Chapter and a couple of years later, he became the Chairman of the chapter from 2006 to 2012. He is the Chairman of Practice Committee in Osun State from 2014 and  still a council member of the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) representing Osun State from 2014 till 2017.

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