By Sunday Nwakanma
Planning is a necessity for urbanization and its absence brings disasters on the physical environment and the economy of Nigerian cities.
Speaking on the occasion of the 2014 stakeholders luncheon of the Abia state chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) in Aba, the chairman of the occasion and member representing Obingwa, Osisioma and Ugwunagbo federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Chief Eziuche Ubani, said “planning not only adds to the beauty of a city but also the quality of life of residents.”
Ubani noted that absence of planning was responsible for environmental degradation and disasters in the urban centers and called for urgent steps to redress the situation and urged for orderly and systematic planning of Aba the commercial hub of the South-east zone to restore its lost glory and other urban centres in the country.
Speaking, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Renewal, Elder Godwin Nna, stressed the need to involve the private sector in the physical planning of urban centres, which he said would help to actualise government’s aim of creating orderly, viable and habitable urban cities.
Presenting a paper on the theme ‘Town Planning: A Choice or a Necessity’ the guest lecturer and a university Don, Dr Kingsley Ogboi, attributed the degradation of the commercial city of Aba to overpopulation, poor infrastructure and absence of planning.
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, lecturer also blamed uncontrolled housing development and climate change for poor urban conditions and called on the NITP to adopt an indigenous concept that would address the problems.
Contributing, the National President of NITP, Chief Steve Onu, said the absence of a stable policy in the country had militated against urban planning and healthy environment and lauded the Abia state chapter of the NITP for being the first in the South-east to tackle the issue of urban planning disorder.
Deputy General Manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) Aba Zone, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, urged the town planners to reposition Aba in order to attract investors and harness the economic viability of the city.