Kingsley Otuaro. PHOTO: sweetcrudereports.com

Towards enhancing and ensuring transparent land administration system, the Delta State Government has launched an Information Communication and Technology (ICT) centre.

The centre is a partnership deal between the government and Queensbridge Investment Limited to frastrack the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy to land owners and boost the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base of the state.

Commissioning the ICT Centre, the State’s Deputy Governor, Kingsley Otuaro, called on all Deltans to acquire their C of O at the present affordable rate, asserted that the centre would provide an inclusive database by completely digitalising the manual Certificate of Occupancy and all land documentation.

According to him, this will make check the fraudulent advances/practice of land grabbers, estate agents, surveyors and generate revenue to the state. “ Also, Managing Director, Queensbridge Capital Investment Limited, Mr. Chuks Iku, asserted said that all former documents made in the Ministry of Lands and Surveys will be digitalized in 60 days.

Michael Puchercos

Four years after an agreement was reached between Lafarge Africa Plc and some communities in Ogun State on allegations of air pollution due to its activities, the cement company has made good its promise by relocating the affected people to a new estate valued at N750 million.

The 21-unit eight-bedroom bungalows, equipped with modern amenities are located at Oke-Oko Sekoni and Oke-Oko Egbado communities in Ewekoro Local government area of the State.

In his speech at the commissioning of the estate, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Puchercos, assured Lafarge’s host communities of its commitment to health and safety needs of the people, adding that it was not too much price to pay for the health and safety of the affected persons.

He said: “Altogether, we are commissioning 21 units of bungalows in Oke-Oko Sekoni and Oke-Oko Egbado, we have provided boreholes and electrification.

“It is our adherent believe and desire that, this is just a seed in these two locations that will be developed. Schools will come, hospitals will come, maternity units will come and more indigenes from Ogun State will come home and live here.

“We are working in conjunction with all the communities in Ewekoro Local Government and indeed every community in every place where our plants are sited around the country. With all the communities, we access their needs, we discuss with the community leaders.

Responding on behalf of the people and government of Ogun state, the Commissioner for Cooperatives and Community Development, Gbenga Adenmosun lauded Lafarge Africa for not only relocating scores of Ogun state residents to a safer place, but also, for helping government to bridge infrastructure deficit.

Governor of Niger Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello

To prevent overloaded heavy trucks from plying the Minna-Suleja road, which is currently under rehabilitation, the Niger State governor, Sani Bello has directed suspension of work on the project.

According to the governor allowing the trucks to ply the road while been rehabilitated would prevent users from feeling the positive impact of the rehabilitation exercise.

Bello who gave the order while inspecting the project awarded by the state government, however, called on the Federal Ministry of Works to install weighing bridges in the country, if the life span of roads was to be sustained.

The governor said the rehabilitation effort of the state government was aimed at reducing the hardship faced by the motorists and ensure free flow of movement on the road. He added that government was in consultation with the State House of Assembly to introduce a weighing bridge bill to ensure arrest and prosecution of any over loaded vehicle plying through the Niger state.

Bello called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency mobilize the contractor handling the dualisation to continue their work and reduced hardship created by the abandonment.

He expressed regret at the level of damage done to the road on which his administration had spent about N500million, demanding that the contractor should suspend work till further notice.

The governor urged motorists to be patient and obey traffic regulations to ensure accident-free journey.

He also appealed to the Federal government to find alternative means like railway for the purposes of haulage, considering the proximity of Niger state to Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria.

President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Otis Anyaeji.

Push for sound engineering education

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has blamed the rising number of dilapidated roads on absence of legislation to enforce reforms in the sector.

NSE President, Otis Anyaeji, who disclosed this in Abuja while hosting legislators who are also engineers in Abuja, explained that the society has six legislations that can bridge the infrastructural deficit in a short period if approved by the National Assembly.

According to him: “The slow pace of introducing road reforms is holding the sector down. There are six laws – the metallurgical industry, iron and steel development, the road sector reform and the water resources industry bill before the National Assembly, all waiting to be passed.

Although the last National Assembly has passed the metallurgical industry law, Anyaeji said it lacks the ability to attract large-scale industrialisation, hence the need for the lawmakers to consider the new request by the NSE.

The NSE president also stressed the need to review water laws to enhance its availability for domestic, industrial and hydropower generation.

“We have carefully studied the existing water bill and therefore proposed amendment to the Act, and we are ready to work with the National Assembly on this,” he stated.

In a related development, engineers have declared that there is a compelling need to take proactive steps in the direction of improving the teaching of engineering courses in the country. This was the thrust of the Board of Fellows (BOF) Fellowship Conferment lecture, which was delivered by former Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, an engineer in Abuja.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Board of Fellows/College of Fellows, Sir Chris Okoye, said the downturn witnessed in the Nigeria’s engineering education in recent times has become the concern of the Board of Fellows/College of Fellows of society.

Nebo who spoke on the theme: “Engineering Reform and the Competiveness of the Nigerian Economy,” argued that the quality of engineering practice in any given country is a key determinant of the extent of the infrastructural development and the overall well being of the country.

He said that countries without a sound technology base lack the necessary wherewithal to achieve sustainable infrastructural development.

According to him, “the wellness of any nation depends on the level of importance that country attaches to science, engineering, and technology as a prop for sustainable infrastructural development and by extension provides the country a window through which its economic competitiveness can be measured.”

The speaker submitted that good and sound engineering education or engineering human capital coupled with sound infrastructural development, efficient governance structure and political stability were essential for any nation. He however stated that countries found wanting in any of the above mentioned could only dream of having a global competitive economy, but will hardly achieve it. This, according to him seems to be the case in Nigeria.

“Obviously there is a very strong correlation and connectivity between engineering manpower development and management/delivery of infrastructural systems and its subsequent reliability.

“This would seem to justify the current emphasis and concern over the establishment of appropriate systems and strategies for qualitative education and training at all levels within the science and engineering family,” he stated.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development HABITAT III, Joan Clos, speaks during a press conference in Quito on October 14, 2016, ahead of the HABITAT III meeting in Ecuador.
The HABITAT III conference will take place from October 17 through 20 in Quito.
Juan CEVALLOS / AFP

The conference known as Habitat III brought together mayors, local and regional authorities, civil society and community groups, and urban planners. Mayors said the conference advanced the participation of local authorities in the global effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Nigeria delegation was led by the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who called for urgent action to sustain development of the growing urban population.

The agenda stressed that tackling air pollution in cities is good both for people’s health and for the planet and through it, leaders have committed to increase their use of renewable energy, provide better and greener public transport, and sustainably manage their natural resources.

Among the key provisions are a call for equal opportunities for all; an end to discrimination; cleaner cities; strengthening resilience and reducing carbon emissions; fully respecting the rights of migrants and refugees regardless of their status; improving connectivity and green initiatives, and promoting “safe accessible and green public spaces.”

In signing onto the declaration, UN Member States are committing to action over the next 20 years, to improve all areas of urban life through the Quito Implementation Plan, in support of the outcomes of Habitat III and the New Urban Agenda.

“We have analyzed and discussed the challenges that our cities are facing and have agreed on a common roadmap for the 20 years to come,” Joan Clos, the Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), told the closing plenary of the conference, which has drawn around 36,000 people from 167 different countries to the lush equatorial capital of Quito for the past six days.

He said that the action-oriented outcome document, known as the New Urban Agenda, enshrined now in the ‘Quito Declaration on Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for All,’ should be seen as an extension of the 2030 for Sustainable Development, agreed by 193 Member States of the UN in September 2015.

“The New Urban Agenda is an ambitious agenda which aims at paving the way towards making cities and human settlements more inclusive,” said Mr. Clos, who also served as the Secretary-General of the Conference, adding that it would ensure “everyone can benefit from urbanization, paying particular attention to those in those in vulnerable situations.”

Above all, he said, it was a “commitment that we will all together take the responsibility of one another and the direction of the development of our common urbanizing world.”

Fashola said: “The Administration, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, has demonstrated renewed political will to install a well-functioning urban system through the pursuance of efficient, transparent and accountable governance, including progressive economic reforms that are directed at creating jobs, reducing poverty and promoting stability – which are all essential elements to sustained growth and development.

“The National Housing and Urban Development Policies have been reviewed, with the incorporation of new development strategies for dealing with the pertinent issues of housing finance, climate change, resettlement, participatory governance, and better land management and administration”.

The 2016 Quantity Surveyors /Project Management Job Fair organised by the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) kicks off tomorrow, Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at JD Leisure Centre, Maitama, Abuja.

The event which debut with the first edition at the University of Lagos, according to the statement by the Secretary, Marketing and Corporate
Affairs of the Institute, Mr. Jide Oke is meant to provide a platform for the interaction of employees and employers of Labour in the Quantity Surveying and Project Management field

The Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige who will be the Special Guest at the novel initiative, aimed at pooling captains of construction industry, contractors, consultants and human resources and recruiting agencies among others.

A worker constructing a new home. Photo: REUTERS

With the prospects for economic recovery somewhat murky, builders are revealing that the increase in the prices of building materials will not allow government to build low cost affordable housing for all.

President, Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Gbenga Tijani Shuaib who made this known in Lagos at the 2016 Building Construction and Machinery Exhibition (BUILDMACEX), said failure of the past governments to provide affordable housing for Nigerians has made living conditions difficult for the people.

His words: “This present government has said they are going to provide housing for 100,000 people but I believe they can do it, if they really want to. But my worry is that recently there has been increase in the prices of building materials so one wonders how government will be able to build low cost affordable housing for all.

He stressed that there are deficits in housing but there are many factors responsible for it including the exchange rate. “Since 2014, the statistics has shown there are 17 million housing deficit in Nigeria.

“ It is now worse because the exchange rate to a dollar has increased. Government  should do something to bring down the exchange, which will help to bring down the cost of housing,” he added.

On the incessant cases of building collapse in the country, Tijani blamed some building engineers, architects and surveyors for using substandard products in building construction and urged  the authority to ensure the enforcement of laws governing construction of buildings  in order to curtail the malaise.

According to him, government must ensure the enforcement of laws governing construction of buildings.

He said: “One of the factors responsible for building collapses is the use of inferior and substandard products. If we allow substandard materials to be used, many buildings will not survive test of times.

“ Professionals such as builders, architects, engineers as well as surveyors have roles to play to stop building collapse.

“We have our own shortcomings too in terms of design and construction but as a body, we are working hard to ensure standards are being followed. Government also needs to ensure they enforce law that can give us the power to stop a building project that does not comply with standard,” he said.

Earlier, the Managing Director,  Atlantic Exhibition, organizers of the event, Ayo Olugbade, said the event was an opportunity for businessmen and companies ‘to develop the nation and bring investment opportunities to Nigeria.’’

For  the National President of Nigerian Association of Commerce, Industry,‎ Mine and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Bassey Edem,  a minimum of 700,000 homes will need to be constructed each year to meet the growing demands for housing. He also stressed  the need for infrastructure construction.

While estimating that $289.8 billion  would be needed in the provision of  about  one million new housing units each year, he said, there are ‎national policies to trigger demand in the sector such as the National Housing Policy and the National Urban Development Policy.

Edem,  who was represented by ‎National Deputy President of NACCIMA, Iyalode Alaba Lawson also  stressed  the need for consistent  effort to develop sectors of the economy that reduce the dependence on the production of crude oil will  in order to grow the nation’s economy.

Asaba town. PHOTO: nairaland

Landlords in suburb of Delta State capital, Asaba are presently living in fear as the State government threatened to demolish over 8,700 houses, if the homeowners fail to regularize their property.

The Guardian learnt that the State’s Ministry of Land and Surveys recently set up a task force that marked the affected buildings and issued notice to property owners.

The property owners were given three months moratorium to perfect the documents such as land allocation, plan approval and Certificate of Occupancy, while those that pays before the order expires are expected to get 30 per cent discount.

Owned mostly by civil servants who are indigenes of the state, the homeowners amongst, who are lawyers, traders, retirees as well as journalists, will have to cough out between the sum of N1, 050, 000 to N2.8 million to avoid demolition.

If government made good on its threat, over 25,000 persons will be rendered homeless including the original owners of the land - Okonkwo Ezechie family.

Against the backdrop of the threat of demolition, which is currently, hanging on the affected landlords, so many of them who cannot afford the exorbitant fees are presently in distress even as some retirees have resigned to fate.

Although, several protests have been staged by the landlords, the chairman of the Demolition Committee, Chief Frank Omare, who deployed officials that served the demand notice and marked the houses for demolition, vowed that the houses would go down at the expiration of the ultimatum issued.

The notice was signed by the Director of Development, with the authorisation of the Governor and Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Urban and Regional Development, Chief Dan Okenyi.

Omare said the land in question, now code-named ‘Core Area II, belongs to the state government since the state, but the original owners -the Okonkwo /Ezechie families disagreed, “the land was never acquired by the state at any time in history.”

Omare, who urged the landlords to take advantage of the 15 per cent discount which range between N1.5, and N3 millions, levied on each of the landlords, said the demolition exercise would begin with the falling of fences.

But the family has alleged that the state government suddenly developed interest in the land owing to the cash crunch currently bedeviling the state.

Speaking on the development, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah insisted that the government acquired the land some years back but some land grabbers sold the land to the public.

Ukah, an Okpanam indigene, said the government could easily have gone ahead to regain possession of the land but that the occupiers were merely directed to get the Certificate of Occupancy so as to regularize their ownership.

Ukah dismissed allegation of an impending demolition squad, emphasizing that the taskforce Chairman never said that he was moving in with bulldozers.

Onikan car park under construction

Two years after, the Lagos State government commenced the construction of a seventh floor ultra modern car parking facility at Onikan, the completion date for the project has been surrounded with uncertainty.

The uncertainty was compounded with the recent commencement of another multi-storey car park on Campbell Street, Lagos Island.

The new car park was schedule to be completed within 18 months, with expectation to accommodate 400 cars on five floors with a 1, 000 seating capacity event hall, on the sixth floor.

For the Managing Director of Ibile Holdings, Mr. Biodun Amokomowo, the project will reduce traffic caused by lack of organised car parks being, first of its kind in Lagos Central Business District (CDB).

Speaking further, Managing Director of Willao Nigeria Limited, Mr. Femi Williams, disclosed that the state government some months ago, consulted the company to develop the car park.

But The Guardian learnt that the Onikan multi million naira project initiated by the Babatunde Fashola’s administration through the state‘s Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to address parking problems in Onikan and environs is remained stalked, as a result of paucity of funds.

The project has DKR Associates as construction managements and architects, while Bolaji Ipaye and Partners are the engineering consultants; Trevi Foundations as sub contractors.

Sources said, works at the Onikan car park have stopped for months due to   financial reasons.

The source said the state government is yet to fulfill some contractual obligations to the contractors.

Confirming this development, a source in the state’s Ministry of works and Infrastructure, said there are some challenges, which slowed down the pace of works in the facility.

The source, who could not however, disclose when the project will be concluded. He hinted that these challenges are being worked on, promising that the contractors would soon return to site.

Explaining the relevant of the car park facility despite the new ones being constructed within the vicinity, the source said, such facilities would continue to be in demand considering the nature of Onikan and its environs.

At the commencement of the Onikan project, a former Commissioner, Obafemi Hamzat had during the 2014 ministerial press briefing in Alausa, said the facility would accommodate 700 vehicles at a time.  According to him, the facility would have an administrative complex to make the administration of the facility easier.

He said: “The mega city status of Lagos confers on it the need to manage its challenges. One of such is the issue of parking space.

“Within the Lagos Central Business District, there are varieties of parking places that invoke the semblance of an unplanned city. To address the issue, the car park facility building was conceived,” he has said.

The project adapted to the shape of a triangle, he said, has a capacity to accommodate 384 cars on six suspended floors with offices for ticketing and rest rooms on each floor.

The commissioner further stressed that the facility was proposed as a mixed use of multi-purpose space consisting of two banquet halls, one of which will serve as an auditorium with a capacity for 800 people and the other for which is for ceremonial use, can seat 600 people.

A housing estate in Lagos

A former Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Dubem Onyia has faulted the federal and state governments housing policies, saying they were meant to favour the elites, especially the political class.

Onyia who spoke in Enugu at the 2016 first Enugu Housing/ Real Estate Development Forum, organized by the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), blamed the retarded growth in Nigeria’s housing sector on the domination of the sector by untrained people instead of professionals.

He stated that housing would remain a challenge in the country, except the current policies were reviewed; adding that efforts should be made to accommodate the needs of the poor masses that constitute over 75per cent of the population.

“Housing projects by the Federal and State governments are meant for the elite. You don’t build for the lower class people. I am happy that the Commissioner for Housing in Enugu State is here. I want to see that by the end of this programme, the common man in Nigeria will have hope for affordable housing”, he said.

President of ECCIMA,  Ugo Chime said the chamber working with Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN) chose to invite all stakeholders not only in improving housing but creating employment in the country.

Chime said they were training to artisans with the support of UKAID because they believe that unskilled work force were key stakeholders in the housing sector.

Citing the experience of South-Africa and United States where the real estate sector contributes 60 per cent and 65 per cent respectively to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the ECCIMA President expressed the belief that housing development could save the country from recession and put her back to the path of economic growth and sustainable development.

Tonye Oliver Braide

As the process of urbanisation still continues generating enormous problems, architects have been urged  to provide new urban solutions required to optimise the use of space and energy resources leading to improvements in the environment.

The Managing Director, Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA), Michael Okonkwo made the call in a keynote address delivered at the conference of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Anambra state chapter held in Akwa.

Okonkwo, an architect, said architects could achieve this by injecting into their projects design,  themes such as urban regeneration, environmental sustainability and economic development in varying ways.

At the event, themed: ‘Private Sector Investment and Potentials in the Building Industry”, the former Secretary to  Anambra State Government (SSG), Mr. Oseloka Obaze lamented that poor infrastructure and construction quality had resulted in massive loss of life and property through collapse of buildings and erosion menace.

Speaking on ‘ Infrastructure Development; a Panacea Economic and Social Development’, he called for strict regulation and funding for the construction and maintenance of already existing infrastructure and the mainstreaming of private sector in the sector.

Obaze warned that Nigeria would remain at risk of under-development if leaders who lack vision and commitment continue to pilot the affairs of the nation, even as he express worry that under investment in infrastructural development could rob the country her vision of becoming a top 20 economy in 2020.

“Developmentally, Nigeria lags far behind where it should be in terms of infrastructure, there should be clear policies, focus and political will. The core premise is that development of infrastructure or lack of it therefore will continue to impact on Nigeria economically and socially,”

According to him, there is an inextricable nexus between infrastructure development and economic and social wellbeing of the people or nation, noting that nothing could be achieved if laws are not in place, respected and rigidly enforced.

“So the sanctity of the laws regulating the development and maintenance of infrastructure as well as the pertinent ethics that guide your profession must be rigidly upheld, failure to do so will always result to varying scope of disaster”.

He canvassed for a synergy between the government and the organized private sector to work under the Public Private Partnership (PPP), saying that government alone cannot build national infrastructure.

He added that governments’ role remains that of regulator and creating the enabling environment.

Meanwhile,  architects in the West African countries, have been called upon to develop modern architectural style and designs to meet the housing needs of the people.

NIA President, Tonye Braide, explained that the maiden edition of the West African Architecture festival (WAAF) would reinvigorate Architectural designs in the sub-region to make up for the current economic reality.

Braide said the festival would usher in a renaissance, which will sweep through architecture lifestyle and maintain minimum values till the economic recovery is achieved.

According to him, architects from across the world will also use the festival to proffer solutions to the current economic challenges facing construction industry in Africa due mainly to falling commodity prices.

“WAAF shall be a platform to present the building and construction portfolio of members countries to the international audience. This will attract investments to the member countries and create greater chance cohesiveness within the region”, he said.

ATOPCON President, Olaide Adeyemi Afolabi

Town planners have laid the blame on the doorsteps of planning permit authorities and Ministry of Physical Planning for their failure to monitor and enforce the law.

The town planning regulation is clear on the provision of parking spaces in any development. For instance, in Lagos, the law stipulates a car park per 60 square metres in a commercial building, while a residential   building requires a minimum of two car parks for a unit or flat. Developers of place of worship are required under the law to provide a car park per 10 square metres or one car park for every 10 worshippers.  Eateries and such outlets are also required to provide a car park for 35 square metres.

“When the structures are designed, provisions are made but after the issuance of planning permit, the developers deviate. It appears developers are finding it difficult to meet the requirement because of the need to maximise the use of their land and high number of vehicle ownership/usage, “ according to Moses Ogunleye, the immediate past president, Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON).

He said the big challenge in parking is non-adherence to the parking requirements of the State by developers or property owners.  Only very few developers of shopping centres, banks, hotels and schools comply to the town planning authority requirements on parking.

For Ogunleye, “the problem with parking, particularly in public and semi-public places in Lagos is typical of the expected scenario in most cities of the world. That of Lagos has become most astonishing because of the high dependence of computers on cars to fulfil their travel needs. The unorganised pattern of public transport in Lagos brought about another dimension. The city also has very limited park and pay facilities.”

Another town planner, and ATOPCON President, Olaide Adeyemi Afolabi, collaborated Ogunleye views, the major reasons why we have buildings without adequate parking space in most Nigerian cities like Lagos is because citizens have failed to adhere to the urban and regional planning laws and regulation, thereby contravening what is provided in the law.
 
Afolabi, who is also a Fellow Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, said there are master plans and model city plans for different areas; the approval order within these plans guide the direction and mode of development within the areas. 
 
According to him, planning is centred on the law. “These laws provide the framework with which we practice. When a law is passed, the public is well enlightened and enforcement of the law is carried out, that law would thrive. “On the other hand, if there is no proper enforcement of a law, the law would never achieve the purpose for which it was enacted.  Planning laws in Nigeria have played their roles and will keep keeping playing those roles if the enforcement agencies and departments will live up to the onus placed on them for better enforcement,” Afolabi said. 
  
He called for the review of some sections of the urban and regional planning laws.  “These changes have to be incorporated so as to meet the planning needs of the people and also be at par with contemporary developments in planning. 
     
For instance, the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Decree No 88 of 1992 and respective States urban and regional planning and development laws as domesticated are quite explicit on space standards, parking spaces, greenery and setbacks for different land uses and heights of building.
 
The major reasons why we have buildings without adequate parking space in most Nigerian cities like Lagos is because citizens has failed to adhere to the urban and regional planning laws and regulation thereby contravening the provisions in the law. 
 
But an associate professor Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Lagos, Dr Taibat Lawanson, saw it as more of building code than town planning law.
 
According to her, while, it is regrettable that many people do not adhere to these codes, the onus lies on each state government to ensure compliance of their codes.
   
Reacting to the development, Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban development, Mrs. Boladele Aderemi Dapo- Thomas, said permits are given to developers according to zones and units.According to her, there is no blanket requirement for all, as each zone and unit are considered separately.
 
She however said that the Ministry normally conducts traffic impact assessment in collaboration with the State’s Traffic Management Authority LASTMA and the Ministry of Transportation to determine effects of projects on traffic before issuing permits to developers.
  
According to her, many of the buildings in the state have parking spaces, especially the multi-level buildings, which have car parks on their base line.

A director in state’s ministry of physical planning and urban development told The Guardian the government is poised to ensure that defaulters comply with the relevant provisions of the law.

On why the ministry was not monitoring compliance in the past, he said with the rate of development in Lagos, it was difficult to monitor all in the past but that the ministry has  developed a new strategy to ensure compliance of its laws.

He also said the state has contracted some people under franchise to run private parks in order to accommodate companies and buildings without car parks.

General Secretary, Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), Lagos Chapter, Mr. Ayodele Alao (left); Chairman, Mrs. Adenike Ayanda and Deputy Chairman, Mr. Bamidele Mafimidiwo during a Media Chat with the NIQS executives.

Lagos-based cost accountants have raised eyebrows on the method being employed in preparation of the nation’s budget, saying the system has cost Nigeria billions of naira yearly.

They noted that the exclusion of surveyors, who are meticulous, analytical and empirical in budget process especially in infrastructural projects is a disservice to the nation and intentional in order to perpetrate corruption in projects.

The Nigerian Institution of Quantity Surveyors, (NIQS), State’s Chairman, Mrs. Adenike Ayanda, who made this known during a media chat with journalists in Lagos, said it is a disservice to the nation for not engaging quantity surveyors (QS) in budget preparation especially in infrastructural developments, which constitute over 60 per cent of the nation’s budget.

She said: “ In Nigeria, a lot of assumption is often used to determine the price of   road projects in Nigeria without measurement but that is not done in advanced country.

“They are still using the Bill of Engineering Measurement (BEM), which involves assumptions or provisional sums instead of Bill of Quantity Surveyors Measurement, which involves actual measurement of projects.

“The implication is that Nigeria pays more on project based assumptions   without proper valuation and value of money.

Also lamenting the economic implication of excluding surveyors trained in cost management of infrastructural development in Nigeria’s budget system, a renowned quantity surveyor, Mr. Bamidele Mafimidiwo said it has cost the nation billions of naira yearly and with attendant contribution to recession.

Mafimidiwo, who is the chairman-elect of the body, said the quantity surveyors 2016 Week, which starts today with the theme.
“Achieving value for money through procurement Management: The role of Quantity Surveyors”, was an avenue to stress the need for government to give   QS their rightful role in procurement.

Gambia's President-elect Adama Barrow poses in his office in Serekunda, on December 11, 2016.
Gambia's incumbent head of state Yahya Jammeh will contest in court the election victory handed to opposition candidate Adama Barrow, his party has said. Barrow on Saturday called on Jammeh to drop his challenge, while the UN, US and other foreign authorities lambasted Jammeh and urged Gambians to keep the peace. / AFP PHOTO / SEYLLOU

Ansu Sanyang was ready. Sick of providing so little for his parents and sisters with any work he could find, the young Gambian resolved to take the migrant route through Libya to Europe.

Then on Friday, December 1, he hesitated, hanging back to cast his vote in a presidential election that felt different to previous years.

"I changed my mind," said Sanyang, a couple of days after longtime President Yahya Jammeh accepted defeat and seemed willing to leave office after 22 years.

"I was glad, very glad, because I had hoped that that man (would) get this," the 25-year-old added, referring to the unexpected election victory of self-made real estate developer Adama Barrow.

Weeks later, the elation Sanyang felt has turned to uncertainty over the vote's disputed outcome, while his life and those of thousands of other Gambians are left hanging in the balance.

A nation of fewer than two million people, The Gambia accounts for the highest number of migrants per capita of any nationality crossing the sands of the Sahara through Niger to Libya where they board rickety boats that ply the Mediterranean to Italy.

That a man like Barrow, who struggled financially before establishing himself as a businessman, could one day become Gambian president had lit a small flame of hope for the young in this poor west African country.

"There is a crisis in The Gambia, that's why everyone is taking the Back Way (migrant route)," Barrow told AFP earlier this month.

Combining study with grinding work as a security guard in London, Barrow has lived the migrant experience himself.

"You hear the name Europe, you think it's heaven. It's never like that," he said.

Jammeh however has taken a different line. "Anybody who wants to migrate, let them migrate," he said recently. "It's a matter of taste, migration is a choice, it's not because of poverty."

- 'All gone the Back Way' -

On a bad day, Sanyang earns as little as 250 dalasis (about $6 / 5.6 euros). One recent day he was helping fishermen bring in their catch, and took home 1,000 dalasis -- a really good haul.

When he isn't helping on the boats, Sanyang breaks bricks at construction sites, or does whatever job he is told is available that morning in the neighbourhood, labouring until nightfall.

There was resignation in his voice as he admitted he was once again thinking of leaving, after it became clear Jammeh would not go without a fight. Desperate Gambians feel they have no time to waste.

"Decades before, Gambians were not travelling across Africa, but now you see kids aged 12, 13, 14 joining them," said student Mbembe Kuyateh, 25, after Friday prayers in the Westfield district on the outskirts of the capital, Banjul.

"Many of my friends left The Gambia. Some drowned in the Mediterranean Sea and some made it to Europe," Kuyateh said.

Others describe the villages upriver where there are almost no men aged between their late teens and early 40s.

"I couldn't believe it, they had all gone the Back Way," said one Banjul-based diplomat who passed through such a village on a recent trip.

- 'He wouldn't give up' -

The scars left by the departed who never reached the shores of Italy are visible all around The Gambia.

Samba Mbengu, a mechanic, recalls the endless fights he had with his brother, Ali "Mille Franc" Mbengu, a rising star on the wrestling circuit who worked as a tailor by day.

"He insisted he wanted to travel and in order to convince him (to stay) I bought him a sewing machine, but even after all that he wouldn't give up," Mbengu recalled.

After months of arguing, Mbengu agreed to finance the trip, and stayed in close contact with his brother as he made his way through to Libya.

"I never anticipated I was going to spend this much money," he told AFP, refusing to give a precise figure but admitting it was more than 100,000 dalasis ($2,300).

"He called me telling me how much pressure they came under from the agents over there, and how sometimes they could be maltreated if the money isn't sent on time," Mbengu added.

One week in November, his brother's usual phone calls stopped.

Looking up at the ceiling of the tailor shop to compose himself, Mbengu recalled the moment one of his brother's fellow travellers told him Ali had drowned.

"It has traumatised us... that's all I can say," the mechanic added, looking away.

- 'Only me and God' -

The first time he had readied himself to leave, Sanyang didn't even tell his closest family about his decision, describing the deep shame he felt at being the eldest son, the breadwinner, but unable to provide enough so his parents could stop working.

"I don't like my mum crying, they don’t want you to go," he said. "We have no help, only me and God."

A 2013 drought was followed by the region's Ebola crisis, which despite never actually touching The Gambia itself scared off tourists who account for 20 percent of GDP. Then a dispute over tariffs with Senegal, whose territory surrounds The Gambia, effectively cut the country off from supplies for months.

Sanyang believes that betting his life on a journey to Europe may still be worth it."I have a lot of friends telling me I should do it. I must do something for the family," Sanyang said. "It's no good for me to sit here."

Architects

Architects have refuted a report that the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, waded into the professional exams dispute between Architects Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and the Nigerian Institute of Architects(NIA).

They said the issue was never discussed during their visit. The report had said that Fashola told NIA members to sheath the sword and ensure it complies with ARCON, as stipulated by the law guiding the profession.

The institute said the minister never said what was attributed to him in the said publication. In the meeting, NIA President, Tonye Braide told the minister that Nigeria needs about 25,000 architects to fulfill the professional inputs requisite to achieve the right quantum of development, but unfortunately, there are less than 4,000 registered architects in over the 56 years of the institute’s existence.

"We have to be more inclusive and open our doors to all who have had exposure to architectural training. We have to set up a bridging mechanism to bridge all gaps and bring all to join in this call to arms. We cannot prefer foreigners who we do not regulate nor have capacity to verify the quality of their educational background to our local content and capacity, who we can expose to hands-on training to attain best practice professional proficiency standards," Braide added.

PHOTO: BUNMI AMOSU

Towards its commitment to deliver dividends of democracy, Kebbi State government has selected contractors to embark on road and erosion control projects, worth about N2.1 billion.

The state awarded N1.25 billion road construction contract for the rehabilitation of Malando-Ngaski-Warrah road and Dabai -Zuru road in Zuru and Ngaski Council to Messrs Habib Engineering Nigeria Limited.

Kebbi also picked Messrs Great Northern International Company (GNIC) for the N935 million contract for erosion control and road rehabilitation in Bunza and Danko/Wasagu Local Council Areas of the state.

“The Malando-Ngaski-Warrah road is 66 kilometres and awarded at a cost of N999 million while Dabai junction to Zuru town which is 10 kilometres is awarded at the cost of N266 million,” he said.

Bunu said the road project was an indication of the commitment of the incumbent administration to uplift the well-being of the people of the state.

“When the project is completed, it will ease transportation problems facing communities in Zuru and Yauri emirates.”

He urged the company to adhere to the contractual agreement and ensure that the project is completed according to the schedule.

In his remarks, the Managing Director of the company, Ammar Nour, assured that the projects would be executed on schedule and thanked the government for patronizing the company.

Bunu said: “The residents in Bunza Local Council Area have been facing annual flooding, which sometimes lead to the loss of lives and property worth millions of Naira.

“The government has awarded the two kilometres project at the cost of N464, 385, 000 to GNIC for the erosion control in Bunza town.

“Another project is the rehabilitation of Ribah-Maga road in Danko/Wasagu Local Council area; the road is awarded to the same company to the tune of N471, 176, 000,” he said.

He said the projects would be completed by January 2018. Bunu further explained that the projects were part of government efforts at improving infrastructure and enhancing the livelihood of the people.

A view of Lagos Island from Carter Bridge

Decades of neglect have resulted in colossal damage to the nation’s bridges with many of them never having undergone any form of maintenance, either structured or unstructured over the last four to five decades.

Amid the shocking revelation that the Federal Government is planning to spend N270 billion for maintenance, repairs and restoration of over 50 bridges across the country, experts said, the nation would have continue to vote such a humongous sum for repairs until government initiates an appropriate policy that will change the status quo.

According to them, the nation could have been saved the trouble, if government had adopted a policy of nurturing indigenous engineers, who should be at the helm of affairs for any construction works to being executed by expatriate engineers.

The Guardian’s investigation reveals that during Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s administration, which witnessed massive infrastructure development, Nigeria engineers were made to study under the expatriates who are handling major world banks financed projects in the country.

The policy, he noted was to encourage, develop and equip indigenous engineers to ensure maintenance.

Okunnu however lamented the states of bridges and other federal infrastructure, which was expanded from 7, 500 miles in 1967 to 20,000 miles in 1974, when he left office.

He said the roads and bridges were either being reconstructed or construction have been completed while reconstruction was planned on some before he left office.

“The thinking was to empower indigenous engineers to develop their expertise in other to ensure appropriate maintenance of infrastructure,” he added.

But successive governments have jettisoned this policy with many of the bridges located in famous cities like, Lokoja, Onitsha, Kano, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kaduna, which were once cynosure of attraction because of their engineering masterpiece are now in despicable state.

For example, the third Mainland bridge, which was the longest bridge in Africa, measuring about 11.8 km in length, until 1996 when the 6th October Bridge located in Cairo was completed did not witnessed any serious maintenance till 2006.

The Bridge, one of the many construction works of Julius Berger Nigeris Plc started in 1977 was completed in 1990 and named IBB Boulevard but the name that stuck till date is The 3rd Mainland Bridge.

However, many commuters had reported that the bridge was vibrating noticeably, indicating that it needed urgent attention.

As a result, remedial work was commenced on some portions of the bridge at different times, leading to partial closure of the bridge at different times, which was completed in January 2013.

Recently, rehabilitation works on the Lagos Ring Road Bridge Abutment and Approach Ramp to the Third Mainland Bridge was awarded by former President Goodluck Jonathan to an Italian firm, Borini Prono & Company Nigeria Limited following indications of some misalignments on bridge caused by ecological problems, erosion and sand filling.

But structural engineers said government should be blamed for failure to monitor and enforce relevant laws.

According to the President of Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIStructE), Oreoluwa Fadayomi, a nation that neglects its engineers in the scheme of things cannot develop.

Most of the issues about the bridges, he said, have to do with leadership.

“If you have a visionless leadership, then the nation will find itself at the bottom of development.

“We don’t want a situation where a government is greedy and selfish, thinking of its own alone. It is like giving fish to people, which is what we are doing now, bringing in the Chinese or the Germans to come and do all these socalled development. Look at what is happening to our refineries and our gas plants now.

“There was a time when they want to do some works on the International Airport and they have to be looking for the drawings abroad because they have not been any Nigerian content elements on it. We need to go back to Gowon’s day, when the road networks that are all fading now were being constructed.

“Nigerian consultants were in charge and they were given the right to source for the right technical partners that would work with them”, he said.

For a reader in the department of Civil Engineering, University of Ibadan, Dr. Festus Olutoge, it is regrettable that Nigeria lack maintenance culture for her assets unlike what is obtained in developed world like India where structure like roads and bridges are constantly maintained and repaired.

He also bemoaned that Nigeria lacks data for her structures, construct assets and leave it alone whereas there was the need to continuously monitor the usage and ascertain whether they are performing optimally.

“For every action, there is a reaction, when you apply a load on a structure, depending on the type of structure, the component such as internal and the precast are affected. Bridges respond to varied degrees of temperature, they shrink when the temperature is cold and expand when the temperature is high”. He said.

Olutoge explained further that quick deterioration of the bridges was as a result of heavy load vehicles and big trucks that ply the bridges.

He also stressed that such vehicles are supposed to be weighed and charged appropriately and the money collected used for the maintenance of the bridges and roads to enhance their life span.

Also another construction expert, Dr. Bamidele Dahunsi, said maintenance is an essential part of management of any structure even before the completion of such a structure.

“Nigeria has a lot of bridges and when you neglect these facilities, the cost of putting it back into shape could be enormous. If Nigeria has been doing this all the time, perhaps, we will not have cause to spend such an amount of money”.

He said their various components like the top-surface of the bridge, the supports, and the joint where you have the biggest problem in Nigeria if not well solidified and given regular maintenance, could bring a lot of vibrations and endanger the bridge and its users.

“More engineers should be employed to maintain the bridges and roads, regular check on the state of the bridges, maintenance activities must be part of the management of the bridges and it should not be what we do by accident”, he said.

Just like the surveying profession, which requires careful planning and consultation, governing Nigeria requires foresight, effective and efficient planning and process.

This was the view of experts in the built environment, academics and related professional bodies at the 12th yearly Adekunle Kukoyi Memorial Lecture organised in honour of the late astute surveyor by Lagos State branch of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors in Lagos.

Speaking on theme: “ Make Nigeria Great Again”, the experts lamented that the country has not been able to maximize its full potentials to the greatness of the citizens because of lack of planning.

According to him, rather than the nation deploying her potentials for greatness, the reverse is the case leading to pauperization of the citizens and high level of criminality.

He identified the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) through the manipulation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international bodies leading to the devaluations of Naira as well as corruption as reasons the country tipped for greatness has remained at its present stage.

The University don called for devolution of power among the constituent units in the country, re-orientation of political values and the mindset of politicians to make them serve the people better.

He also solicited for a new regime of international relations on the basis of reciprocity to the benefits of Nigeria as wells as transparency and political accountability among leaders to make them answerable to the people.

Prof Ninalowo further solicited for the adjustment of incentive structure in the polity, which will ensure recognition, and protection of retirement rights and benefits as well as making the doctrine of separation of power operational in the country.

Expounding more on the topic, the guest lecturer and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Mr. Ituah Ighodalo traced Nigeria’s problems to the elevation of corruption to state policy during the military regime, saying corruption does not only take place in government but at religious organisations, private offices, schools and even our homes.

To make Nigeria great again, he said, Nigerians must henceforth determine government strategy and bring in a new visionary and purposeful leadership, saying thatwhat we absolutely need is a leader who can impose discipline and eliminate corruption.

Nigerians, he stressed must examine the plans of the intending leaders to see whether they are credible and achievable as well as examining the background and track records of such leaders.

“Each Nigerian, he said, must play his or her part to make Nigeria great again by having a true love of nation and being truly patriotic as well as shunning corruption, wickedness, selfishness and greed”.

Earlier, the Lagos branch chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Mr. Olugbenga Alara said Nigerians have another opportunity to gain a deep understanding of why Nigeria, with its very great men and women has not transformed into a great nation and therefore rise up to their responsibilities in order to make Nigeria great again.

Late Adekunle Kukoyi, who died on January 10, 2002, was the past President of Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, who served the nation through various other institutions during his lifetime.

He was described as a principled man of great integrity and commitment. The yearly event organised by the Lagos branch of the institution was to recognize his ideals as the founding fathers of surveying profession in Nigeria as well as to encourage young surveyors in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

Grappling with the stark realities of the economic recession in the country and its attendant effects on rents, many residents in Lagos and its environs have been forced to move into their houses without completion.

Due to the harsh economic situation in the country, many residents in urban Lagos are adopting new measures to solve the challenge of paying rents.

Grappling with the stark realities of the economic recession in the country and its attendant effects on rents, many residents in Lagos and its environs have been forced to move into their houses without completion.

There are also several cases of illegal occupants, who saw uncompleted buildings as succour for their housing needs. Housing has remained a major challenge in the mega-city as residents who cannot afford decent homes, stay in houses that has structural defects, sewage challenges, congestion, lack of ventilation among others.

The true scale of the housing deficit challenge can be gleaned from the fact that it is estimated that about 108 million Nigerians are homeless based on an average family of six people per housing unit.

These buildings, which are often in their uncompleted stages, are doted in several estates, shanties and other dirty environment in border towns. Ideally, people should not be living in such conditions, but in Lagos, it doesn’t matter because it is the survival of the fittest. The situation is worsened by the present economic realities, which led to 70 percent devaluation of Naira.

According to Sola Enitan, an Estate Surveyor and Valuer and the Country Leader at Cromwell Professional Services International and Urban Development, there is no how anybody would continue to pay rents when he has an uncompleted building he could live in.

The situation, he said is further compounded when landlords are increasing rents in order to maximize their investments with the depreciating value of the Naira.

He stressed that the phenomenon could be traceable to the economic situation where the value of Naira is continuously depreciating. He said: “ Nobody can fault this phenomenon because naira has lost about 70 percent of its value and nobody in his right sense who has an uncompleted building will like to go to pay rents”.

Enitan, however said, the phenomenon was not really new, because in the late 70s and 80s many houses were built by Nigerians within 10-25 years with their salaries and cooperative returns.

“It is not a new trend because then people builds from inside one room until the houses are completed as the families increase. “For instance, in Ilupeju, most of the houses built by retirees of the Nigerian Railway Corporation were buildings from one room till the families expanded”, he said.

Also the former chairman of Lagos branch of Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Olusola Fatoki observed that people moved to uncompleted buildings because the economy has not favoured them adding that the scenario has now become a reality everywhere in Nigeria.

According to him, apart from few buildings owned by people who allegedly stole money, some people who want to build a block of two-flats, only succeeded in building one-flat, without even completing it, they start living there. Fatoki stressed that apart from health hazards , living in such buildings also has some social implications.

According to him, there was a case of a person who lived in an uncompleted building and has been in and out of the hospital till date because he was a victim of armed robbers’ attack.

He disclosed that according to the United Nations, a house must have five basic amenities and once those things are not there people are bound to be expose to social risks.

Another expert and Vice Chairman of the Lagos State branch of NIESV, Olurogba Orimalade said most people live in uncompleted buildings because they want to run away from paying house rents.

In most scenario, the buildings are occupied by people who don’t have any means of survival. Orimalade explained that if government do not act promptly, areas where such buildings are located could serve as a flash points for drug peddlers and criminals.

Apart from the security implications, he said, it was not even habitable to live in uncompleted buildings because there they lack functional toilet and water, which can even constitute environmental hazards that could lead to epidemics.

According to him, some landlords, who are yet to complete their houses put security men, whom they called Maiguards, they in turn bring in their friends and relatives to the property. He said the association in realization of such development; still carry out a check on them.

“We tell them, we want to know them by registering them and will not tolerate them taking another relations to the property. We go further to ask them to bring letters from the landlords and we don’t expect to see them working at the site by seven O’clock in the night. Our security men usually visit the sites to make sure there is nobody, if we found any; we took them to the police station, where they write undertakings.

It is not even habitable to sleep in the site because there is no toilet and waters and it even constitutes environmental hazards and can lead to epidemics”. he said.

Lagos State Commissioner of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Anifowoshe Abiola Wasiu.

The State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Abiola Anifowoshe disclosed this at the public presentation of the final draft of the revised Masterplan to stakeholders and the public for necessary input, comments and observations before implementation.

According to him, the state is determined to produce strategic master plans for the entire state as envisioned in the Lagos State Development Plan (2012-2025).

The other three, which include; Epe, Ikorodu and Oshodi-Isolo Master/Model City Plans, are at different stages of completion. The Commissioner said that of Kosofe would commence later in the year.

Anifowoshe, an architect and town planner stressed that the review of the old plan was necessitated by contemporary physical planning challenges and the inability of the existing Ikeja MCP (2008 – 2018) to solve emerging planning problems.

He further described the master plan as the second amongst the Operative Development Plans to be reviewed after Ikoyi-Victoria Island Model City plan which was reviewed in 2015.

Also speaking the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mrs. Boladele Dapo-Thomas stressed that the proposed plan is at the public presentation level and open to inputs, comments, ideas and observations for incorporation into the on-going revision exercise,

She described the review as necessary and timely, saying “the existing Ikeja Model City Plan has been comprehensively evaluated and the challenges inherent therein have been meticulously studied, this review is necessitated by changes; hence, innovative recommendations subject to global best practices in contemporary planning concepts are adopted and contained in the report”.

For the Chairman Lagos State House Committee on Physical planning and Urban Development, Setonji David, there is need to review obsolete laws that is militating against development in the state.

Some of the proposals for the revised master plan, include construction of a fly over bridge at Allen Avenue round about and twin water tower tom provide additional two million gallons of water per day to service projected population of over 7 million in ten years time.