NAN-H-3
Plan
By Emmanuella Anokam
Abuja, Sept. 25, 2016 (NAN) The Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has called for timely review of the 1976 Abuja Master Plan to change the functionality of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Acting National President of NITP, Mr Lucas Achi, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, said its review would address the demands and challenges of urbanisation in FCT.
Achi stated that the overall expectation was that the master plan would have to be reviewed to take cognizance of new requirements and changes in the FCT.
He recalled that in 1976 when the plan was prepared, little did the government expect or forecast that there would be Boko Horam insurgency and other forms and present crisis of cattle tracks.
“We didn’t expect that the country will face a lot of communal clashes because it has affected the population of FCT due the migration of people from crisis areas.
“People tend to move into the FCT and settle there once they started having serious problems in their localities. Some will just cross the border and form their own little villages.
“They don’t care about roads or infrastructure, all they want is some form of shelter and protection away from the crisis they were facing.
“So these things were not anticipated in the Abuja master plan. Therefore, it calls for a review,’’ he said.
The expert equally noted that the government never expected that the volume of traffic and population in the FCT would hit its present level.
According to him, when the plan is completed, the government is expecting that the population should be under 3.6 million people but as at last year it is 6.5 million people.
He stated that the government also never expected that the changes in the plan would include removing some of the essential sites and accommodating the military within the city.
“Once there is a threat of some sort, they start getting barriers and restricting people from the areas.
Speaking on timely review of the plan, he decried the rascality of some previous leaders that only encouraged more impunity by changing land uses.
“For instance, Katampe District that should have been developed by now was stopped from developing because a former minister added layout which was not part of the scheme,’’ he alleged.
On urban renewal, he said it has huge financial involvement and social economic effect, adding that sometimes it could be done in phases.
“People who you want to change their livelihood, by the time you improve the land values they may not be able to afford it again.
“For any environment to be good both the public and government must respect certain rules and the society must have some level of discipline to adhere to.
“Government must appreciate the desires of people and plan ahead, it should also pre-empt the action of the people,’’ he said.(NAN)
ELLA/KAY
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Edited by Kayode Olaitan