FOR the overall benefit of all stakeholders in both the private and public sector and to attain best human settlement standards, professional town planners must be involved in the process of implementing all planning policies, president, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Chief Steve Onu, has said.
He made the remark last week in Abia State at the NITP state chapter’s luncheon, a forum organised to review the profession and proffer ways to ensure even development.
According to Onu, the growing incidences of building collapses was due to non involvement of professionals both at planning, designing, execution and supervision stages. He accused the governments of not abiding by global best practices.
Lamenting the planners’ readiness to correct the anomaly affecting the planning sector, Onu, said their willingness would amount to nothing when issues of planning are being politicized. “We prepare the plans but politicians would not involve us in the implementation”.
Besides, the president also tasked his colleagues to continue to educate the public on the need to seek professional advice and counsel before embarking on their land and property development stressing that while not every land is developable, buildings should not be erected on pipelines and close to high tensions as doing so, would become hazardous to the inhabitants.
State’s NITP Chairman, Mr. Lekwa Ezutah, who said that the NITP serves and provides the fora to exchange ideas on problems and matters relating to land use, added that, the institute aims at attaining sustainable human settlements.
Permanent Secretary, Abia State Ministry of Physical And Urban Planning, Mr. Chimdi Oluoha, described the meeting as timely and worthwhile remarking that many were yet to know and appreciate the role of town planners. He urged the professionals to do more public education and creation of awareness.
Former state deputy governor, Chief Acho Nwakanma, who chaired the luncheon, described adequate planning as the panacea for longevity adding that, good environment is necessary for healthy living and evidence of good governance.
Guest Lecturer and President, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON), Olutoyin Ayinde, who spoke on ‘ Pre-organize For Good and Not Organize and Then Agonize Thereafter’, said, “it remains difficult to plan under a bad government. No matter what planners plan, without government’s support, it is useless.”
Stressing that those that fail to plan well, plan to fail, Ayinde who doubles as the Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, said that the first step for a land developer is to consult a planner to carry out thorough investigation on the said land before commencing physical development.
He said that one of the ways of preventing the consequences of indiscriminate illegal development of land is for members of the public to report immediately any suspected illegal structure development around them to the appropriate authority.
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