The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) has called for synergy with other professionals in planning liveable and sustainable cities.
National president of the institute, Lekwa Ekutah, in his welcome address at the 51st national conference of the institute in Abuja, said the responsibility of launching Nigerian cities to stardom as centres for socio-economic development is that of politicians as well as other stakeholders.
“A look at the level of planning and development of cities in the western world and even some of them here in Africa, vis-a-vis those of many
Nigerian cities leaves no one in doubt that we have a long way to go.
“The responsibility of launching our cities to stardom as centres of socio-economic development is certainly not exclusively that of town planners. Politicians and policymakers, businessmen, other professionals should all be involved,” he said.
Ekutah stressed that the town planners, who are the providers of the framework for city development, need to be more predictive, proactive and visible to build liveable and sustainable cities.
Also speaking, the chairman, Local Organising Committee (LOC) and FCT chapter chairman of the NITP, Garba Jibrin, said the theme of the conference, ‘Envisioning Cities Beyond 2020: An Agenda for Sustainable Development’, is apt because of the complex dynamics that characterise present-day urban development.
NITP News item on page 22 of Daily Trust, Monday October 26, 2020.