The President, of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners NITP, Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde, has lamented the misconception of building approval for town planning.
He said the gross violation of ethical standards and loss of morals have worsened building collapse in the country. We need proper planning system
He urged stakeholders to formulate and implement punishment to people who handled collapsed structures to serve as a deterrent to others, hence, saving lives and property.
The NITP President made the call in Bauchi during his two-day advocacy visit to relevant ministries, higher institutions and Emir’s Palace. He lamented further that many state governments lack the political will to implement existing plans.
 
For instance, he said in his visit to 23 states, only seven states had domesticated town planning law. Of the seven, three are implementing it at a breach, meaning they have planning organisation but are controlled by politicians, who are members of the construction industry. For me, that’s being done in breach because the person cannot understand the planning programmes.
“Lagos and two other state have been able to domesticate it. We have a state that did it but because of Geographical Information System GIS they annul it.â€
He said buildings collapsed “as a result of loss of our morals, ethics and values. Most times, you see people compromising and neglecting to do their work. If construction is going on and the engineer is not supervising that is on us as a people. There is a system that is supposed to check it but if these people fail to do their work, something is wrong.
“One thing is paramount, if we have any wrongdoing, let’s punish the person who is wrong because that is the only way it can serve as a lesson to others in future. That’s why we are failing, we fail to punish and then other people feel encouraged to commit unethical practices.â€
Mr. Ayinde and his team were at the Federal Polytechnic, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Ministries of Housing and Environment, Land and Survey as well as the Palace of the Emir of Bauchi.
MEANWHILE, the institute has raised awareness over the lack of investment in physical development plans and non-domestication of the urban and regional planning laws in the country.
Mr. Ayinde, who expressed concerns recently in the Federal Capital, noticed that disregard for urban and regional planning has led to fore consequences that include building collapse, which is rooted in the collapse of values, morals and ethics, increasing clash between farmers and herders, the heightened incidence of crime and insecurity in the ungoverned spaces.
He said Nigeria would need to wake up or look forward to the disaster that lies ahead of plan-less and lawless nations.
The NITP president said: “Apart from the domestication of Nigerian Urban And Regional Planning Law NURP, another serious issue is the lack of investment in preparation of physical development plans in states. Without these plans, building plan approvals are baseless and illegal. Governors/politicians should first invest in planning before seeking to develop. Doing otherwise is subscribing to foolishness.â€
He said: “Planning truly answers to visionary leadership. Unless governments are run through well-thought-out policies, planning will be difficult to find. What planning does is to take you from your point of location to a destination you already determined through vision and policies. Many governments seem to have no vision, which is why they probably need no plans to get them anywhere and are thus satisfied with the disorderliness they find themselves in.â€
According to Mr. Ayinde, in the absence of policies that deliver good governance, the people resort to self-help, adding that no approach to development is more dangerous than when everyone takes their destiny in their own hands.
He said the gross violation of ethical standards and loss of morals have worsened building collapse in the country. We need proper planning system
He urged stakeholders to formulate and implement punishment to people who handled collapsed structures to serve as a deterrent to others, hence, saving lives and property.
The NITP President made the call in Bauchi during his two-day advocacy visit to relevant ministries, higher institutions and Emir’s Palace. He lamented further that many state governments lack the political will to implement existing plans.
 
For instance, he said in his visit to 23 states, only seven states had domesticated town planning law. Of the seven, three are implementing it at a breach, meaning they have planning organisation but are controlled by politicians, who are members of the construction industry. For me, that’s being done in breach because the person cannot understand the planning programmes.
“Lagos and two other state have been able to domesticate it. We have a state that did it but because of Geographical Information System GIS they annul it.â€
He said buildings collapsed “as a result of loss of our morals, ethics and values. Most times, you see people compromising and neglecting to do their work. If construction is going on and the engineer is not supervising that is on us as a people. There is a system that is supposed to check it but if these people fail to do their work, something is wrong.
“One thing is paramount, if we have any wrongdoing, let’s punish the person who is wrong because that is the only way it can serve as a lesson to others in future. That’s why we are failing, we fail to punish and then other people feel encouraged to commit unethical practices.â€
Mr. Ayinde and his team were at the Federal Polytechnic, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Ministries of Housing and Environment, Land and Survey as well as the Palace of the Emir of Bauchi.
MEANWHILE, the institute has raised awareness over the lack of investment in physical development plans and non-domestication of the urban and regional planning laws in the country.
Mr. Ayinde, who expressed concerns recently in the Federal Capital, noticed that disregard for urban and regional planning has led to fore consequences that include building collapse, which is rooted in the collapse of values, morals and ethics, increasing clash between farmers and herders, the heightened incidence of crime and insecurity in the ungoverned spaces.
He said Nigeria would need to wake up or look forward to the disaster that lies ahead of plan-less and lawless nations.
The NITP president said: “Apart from the domestication of Nigerian Urban And Regional Planning Law NURP, another serious issue is the lack of investment in preparation of physical development plans in states. Without these plans, building plan approvals are baseless and illegal. Governors/politicians should first invest in planning before seeking to develop. Doing otherwise is subscribing to foolishness.â€
He said: “Planning truly answers to visionary leadership. Unless governments are run through well-thought-out policies, planning will be difficult to find. What planning does is to take you from your point of location to a destination you already determined through vision and policies. Many governments seem to have no vision, which is why they probably need no plans to get them anywhere and are thus satisfied with the disorderliness they find themselves in.â€
According to Mr. Ayinde, in the absence of policies that deliver good governance, the people resort to self-help, adding that no approach to development is more dangerous than when everyone takes their destiny in their own hands.
More from Propertypointng news
About the Author: ppn news
