Planningist hepr ocessoft hinkingregar ding t he act iv

ities requir
ed t o achi evea
desiredgoal.Planni ngi sbasedonf oresight,thef undament alcapacityforment altime
tr
av el.Theev ol
uti
onoff orethought ,thecapaci tytot hinkahead,i sconsi deredt ohav e
been a pr ime mov eri nhuman ev olution.Planning i saf undament alpr oper t
y of
i
ntelli
gentbehav i
or .Iti nv
olv est heuseofl ogicandi magi nati
ont ovisualisenotonl ya
desiredendr esul
t, butt hestepsnecessar yt oachiev ethatr esult
.
Ani mpor t
antaspectofpl anni ngi sitsr elati
onshipt of orecasting.Forecastingai mst o
predictwhatt hefut urewi l
llookl ike,whi leplanningi magineswhatt hef uturecoul dlook
l
ike.
Planning according t o est ablished pr incipl
es i s a core par tofmanypr of essional
occupat i
ons,particularlyinf ieldssuchasmanagementandbusi ness.Onceapl anhas
been dev el
oped, it is possible t
o measur e and
assesspr ogress,ef fi
ciencyandef f
ectiveness.As ci r
cumst ances change,pl ans may
needt obemodi f
iedorev enabandoned.

TYPESOFPLANNI
NG
1.Tr
adi
ti
onal
andcompr
ehensi
vepl
anni
ng.
2.Sy
stemspl
anni
ng.
3.Democr
ati
cpl
anni
ng.
4.St
rat
egi
cpl
anni
ng.
5.Env
ironment
alpl
anni
ng.
6.Pr
ojectpl
anni
ng
7.Busi
nesspl
anni
ng.
8.Phy
sical
planni
nget
c.
However
,theobjecti
veoft hisstudy,isnott
obr i
ngt oforetheideaofplanni
ngasa
mereconceptorfr
om t heperspecti
veofabusiness,manageri
alandproj
ectexecuti
on.
Butt
oadumbr ateextensiv
elyont heideaofphysi
calplanni
ng,whichcov
ersabr oader
ar
eaofplanni
ngasitconcer nslanduseandit
’sdevelopment.

Physicalplanni
ngi nvol
vesther econcili
ati
onofl andusepr ov i
sionofr ightsitefort he
ri
ght use,cont rolof dev elopment ,pr ovi
sion of f aci
li
ti
es,ser vi
ces and goods
preservat
ion,protecti
on and conserv ati
on ofr esources,preserv es heri
tage among
others.Landusepl anni
ngisdonet oidenti
fyalternati
vesforlanduseandt osel ectand
adoptt hebestlanduseopt ions,themai nobjectiveoflandusepl anningist oallocate
l
andusest omeett heeconomicandsoci alneedsofpeopl ewhi lesafeguar di
ngf uture
resourceWor l
dBank2010.Phy si
calPlanningcarr i
edouttodaywi llnotonlyaffectman
andi t
senv i
ronmentoft hepresentgener at i
onitgoesal ongwayt oaffectt hef uture
generati
on,hencet herei stheneedt opl anaheadoft hepr esentgener ation.Ast he
populati
onkeepsi ncreasingtheresour ces,wehav etodaywillnotbesuf ficientfort he
futur
egenerationbecausei ftheseresour cesarenotwel lpl
anf orandut il
izes,t heywi l
l
disappearf
asterthanexpect edespeci all
yt henon-
renewableresour ces.Admi ni
stration
i
st he government ,pol i
ti
calor ganization comprisi
ng individuals and i nsti
tution
authori
zedtof ormulatepubl i
cpol i
ciesandconductaf f
airsofst ate.Physi calPlanning
Admi nistr
ationistheref oreabr anchofPubl i
cPol icyencompassi ngv ari
ousdi sci
pli
neswhi ch
seekt oRegul ateLandUsei nanef fi
cientandet hi
calway ,thuspr event i
ngLandUseConf l
ict
.
Phy si
calPl anningAdmi nistr
ati
oni snotanew concepti nNi ger
iai thasst artedbef oret he
i
nv olvementoft heCol onialMast erintotheCount ryasf arbackas1800swher eLocalMet hods
ofAdmi ni
strati
onwasused.Thenewt hi
ngaboutPhy si
calPl anningAdmi nistrati
oninNi geriais
thatv ari
ousappr oacheshav ebei ngadopt edi nsolv ingPhy sicalPlanningI ssuesi nthesoci ety
andLawshav ebepr omul gatedtogui dei t
sAdmi nistrati
ont hemaj orNat ionallyadoptedl awi s
the1992Ni geri
anUr banandRegi onal PlanningDecr ee88of1992.Toaccompl i
shtheemer ging
planningpract i
ceexposi ti
onofpl annerswer etheTownPl anni ngRegi strat
ionCounci llawwhi ch
i
nst i
tuti
onalizedprofessi onalplanningandt hef ir
stnat ionwi decont empor aryplanningl egal
framewor k,the1992Ur banandRegi onal PlanningLawNI TP2010.

Admi nistr
ati
onofphy sicalplanninghasbeent her esponsi bil
i
tyofal lt
het hr
eet i
er sof
governmenti nNi ger i
aov ert hey ear
s.Theex t
entofi nv ol
vementofeachl ev elof
governmenti sdi ctatedbyt heoper at
ionsoft hev ar ioust ownsandcount r
ypl anni ng
l
egislationaswel last henat ion’
sconst ituti
on.Thef actist hattheoper ati
onsoft he
l
egislation differed among t he r egi
ons and bet ween t he st
ate and t he f eder al
government s.The1992Pl anni nglawf urtherensur edt hatt headmi nistr
ati
onofphy sical
pl
anni ngi nthecount ryi st her esponsi bili
tyofal lt het iersofgov er
nment .Thel aw
provi
desf ort heest abli
shmentofaNat ionalUr banandRegi onalPlanni
ngCommi ssion,
aStateUr banandRegi onal PlanningBoar dandaLocal Pl
anni ngAut hor
it
yatt hef eder al
,
stat
eandl ocalgov ernmentl evelsrespect i
v el
y.Thesebodi esandt heirl
evelsar ef orthe
purposeoft hei niti
ation,pr eparationandi mplement at i
onoft hephy si
caldev el
opment
pl
ansandov eralladmi ni st
rationofphy sical planning.
Inurbanpl anni ng,landusepl anningseekst oor derandr egulat elandusei nanef fi
cientand
ethi
calway ,thuspr ev ent
inglanduseconf l
i
ct s.Gov ernment susel andusepl anni ngt omanage
thedev elopmentofl andwi thint hei
rjuri
sdictions.I ndoingso,t hegov ernment aluni tcanplan
fortheneedsoft hecommuni tywhi l
esaf eguar dingnat uralresour ces.Tot hi
send,i tist he
systemat i
cassessmentofl andandwat erpot ential,al
ter
nativesf orl anduse, andeconomi cand
socialcondi ti
onsi nor dertosel ectandadoptt hebestl anduseopt ions.Of tenoneel ementof
acompr ehensi ve plan,a l and use pl an pr ov i
des a v i
sion f ort he f utur e possi bil
it
ies of
developmenti n nei ghborhoods,di str
ict
s,ci t
ies,orany def ined pl anni ng ar ea.I nv i
ew
ofsustainabl edev el
opment ,landusepl anningi sseenasapol i
tical andt echni cal-
admi ni
strat
ive
decisi
on- maki ng processagr eed with social,economi c,pol iti
caland t echni calf actors,for
orderl
yoccupat i
onandsust ainableuseoft hel andunderdev elopment .Ont heot herhand,i t
seeks regul ation and pr omot i
on oft he locat ion and sust ainabl e dev elopmentofhuman
settlement s,economi candsoci alactivit
ies,andspat i
alphy sicaldev elopment ,basedont he
i
dent i
ficat i
on of pot ent
iali
ties and l i
mi tations t hat consi der env ironment al,economi c,
soci ocul tural,instit
ut i
onalandgeopol it
icalcr iter
ia.Byandl arge,t hesepar amet ersareputi n
place i n or dert o make sur et hatt he env i
ronmenti s protect ed dur ing l and use orl and
dev elopment .I ndeed,based ont her ecommendat ionsoft heUni ted Nat i
onsi ni t
sHabi tat
conf er ence,l andi sassi gnedahi ghimpor tancef ort hedev elopmentofhumanl if
easi tist he
fundament alsuppor tf oritsper manenceanddev elopment ,t hisbei ngt hemosti mpor tant
object iveoft hepol icyofhumanset tl
ement s.Thati s,t
hel andr esour cei sr ecogni
zedasan
essent ialelement ,whi chsuppor tsthesoci al,polit
icalandeconomi cf or mat ionofsoci ety.As
ment i
onedear l
ier,theuseofl andr eferst ot heoccupat i
onofacer tainar eaaccor di
ngt oi ts
agrol ogi calcapaci t
yandt heref orei t
sdev elopmentpot enti
al,i tiscl assi fi
edaccor di
ngt oi ts
l
ocat i
onasur banorr ural
,itrepr esentsaf undament alelementf orthedev elopmentoft heci t
y
andi tsi nhabi tantssi ncei tisf r
om t heset hati t
sur banst r
uct urei sf ormedandt heref
orei ts
funct ional i
tyi sdef ined.Fort hi sr eason,t her eisaneedt oensur esust ainabi l
i
tyinor dert o
ensur et hatwecont i
nuet oenj oyt hebenef itst hatcomef rom ur banpl anni ngandt oensuret hat
futuregener ationswi llcontinueenj oyi
ngt hesebenef its.

PLANNI
NGLAWSI
NNI
GERI
A

Theevolut
ionoftheNi ger
ianplanni
nglawshavebeentracedf
rom thepr
ecoloni
al
ti
mes,downtothepresentNiger
ia.Thati
s,t
hepl
anni
nglawsinNi
geri
aaredi
videdi
nto
thr
eemajorpar
ts.Namely
1.Pr
ecol
oni
all
aws
2.Col
oni
all
aws
3.I
ndependencepl
anni
ngl
aws
4.Postcol
oni
alpl
anni
ngl
aws(
Thenewl
aw)

PRECOLONI
ALPLANNI
NGLAWS

Tr adi
tional Ni
geriasettlementsar estructureaccordi
ngtothel ocalcustomsandpr acti
ces,also
accor dingtot heagr ar
iannatureoft heeconomy ,andtheexisti
ngmodeoft r
ansportati
on.Inthe
tradit
ional setti
ng,naturalrul
ersorcommuni t
yheadsl keOba,
i Obi,ObongorEmi rareincharge
ofcommunal l
andswhi l
efami l
yheadsar einchargeoffamilyland.Onecouldsayt hattheir
l
egal st at
usi sthatoft r
ustee-benefici
arywhocanal l
ocate,r
e-all
ocateandsuperviselanduse.
Inef f
ect ,
traditi
onal Ni
geriasettl
ement sar eestabli
shedaroundpal acesoftr
adit
ionalruler
s,
thusensur i
ngef fi
cientcommunal interacti
onandr educi
ngcostoft r
anspor
tati
on.The
dev el
opmentandcont rolofthet otalenvironmentarethejoi
ntr esponsi
bil
it
yoftheent i
re
communi t
y .

Somesettl
ements,part
icul
arl
yint
henorthernandwesternpar
tsofthecount
ry,
arelocat
ed
ther
ebecauseofthefactor
sofdefense,
reli
gionort
rade.Fori
nst
ancethewall
saroundsome
tr
aditi
onalci
ti
esl i
keZariaandKanoser vethepur poseofdefenseandreli
gion,wit
hgates
provi
dedinstrategi
clocati
onstof aci
li
tat
et r
adeandcommuni cati
on.Topographyalso
attr
actedset
tl
ersmai nl
yasst r
ategicdefencesitesinti
mesofext er
nalatt
acks,suchsitescan
befoundatKot onKarfiandOkenei nKwar aStat
e, Tor
oandBi ll
i
rii
nBauchi Stat
e;Abeokutain
OgunSt at
eandI danrei
nOndoSt ate,
alli
nNi ger
ia,WestAfri
ca.

Whi l
esomeoft hesesettl
ement ssti
llretaintheirident i
tytil
ldate.Landusepat ternsi nt hem ar
e
notuni f
orm.Ascust omar yl
awsv aryf rom locali
tyt olocalit
y,landusepat t
ernsr espond
accordingly.Withthepassageoft ime, populati
oni ncreasesandhumanact ivit
iesbecome
compl ex,controloflandandl andusegotoutofhandsoft het r
adi
ti
onalrulers,chief
sand
headsoff amil
iesandphy si
caldevelopmentst artedspr i
ngingupi nhaphazar dmanner .This
necessitatedaser iousneedf oranewor derint hecont roloflandandl anduses.Thi swast he
genesisoft hedocument edtypeoflawsandl egislati
on.Thi spaperisessent i
allyanhi stori
cal
accountt hatexami nesthelanddev elopmentandt hepl anninglawsinNi geri
aatdi fferent
pointsintimesasdi scussedunderthr eemai nheadi ngsbel ow.Inaddit
ion,theaut hori denti
fi
es
somef l
awsi nsomeoft helandandpl anninglaws, andmakessomer ecommendat i
onsand
poli
cygui deli
neswhi chcouldbeofi mmensebenef i
ttoot hercountri
esoft hewor ld.

COLONI
ALLAWS

Thetradi
ti
onal sett
lementdevel
opmentpat
ternsgraduall
ygavewayt othecoloni
alapproach
wit
ht heannexationofLagosasaBr i
ti
shColonyundertheTreatyofCessi
oni n1861,andthe
consequentpromul gat
ioni
nLagosin1863oft heTownI mprovementOrdinancetocontrol
devel
opmentandur bansanit
ati
on.

LordLuggard’
sLandPr omul gati
onof1900i nrespecttot it
letol andinNor thernNigeri
aandthe
i
ntroducti
onofindirectruleservedast hepivotsforchangesi nlandadmi nistr
ati
onand
sett
lementdevelopmenti nNigeri
a.Forinstance,underthepol i
cyofi ndir
ectr ul
e,urban
sett
lementswereadmi nister
edbyt henativeruler
sofki ngs, chiefandf amilyheads, whil
e
Europeanquart
er sandGov ernmentReser v
at i
onAr eas,createdpur suantt otheCant onment
Proclamati
onof1904, wer eadminist
eredbyt hecol oni
alist.Diff
erentplanningstandar dswer
e
specifi
edfort
hev arioussegment soft hecitywhilephysi calplanningandpr ovi
sionof
i
nfrastr
uctur
ewer econcent r
atedintheEuropeanorGov ernmentReser vati
onAr eas.

Theenact mentoft heTownshi pOrdinanceNo.29of1917wast hefir

stattemptatintroducing
spati
al order
li
nessintot hel andusepat ter
ni nNi geri
anciti
es.I twasal andmarkintheev ol
uti
on
ofTownandCount ryplanni nginthecount r
y .Thei mpactoft heOr dinance,whichlaiddown
guideli
nesf orphysicallayoutoft owns, isst i
llvi
sibleinsucht ownsasAba, PortHarcour t,
Enugu, Jos,MinnaandKadunat oday.Theor dinance,mor eorl ess,legali
zedtheseparat ionof
theEuropeanf rom theAf ricanresidentialareasandest abli
shedamanagementor derf or
dif
ferenttowns.Af ir
stcl asst ownship,suchasLagos, hadat owncounci lwi
thawi der angeof
functi
ons.Allthemaj ortownsont herail l
i
nes, andont heri
verorseapor t
s,wereclassifiedas
secondcl asstownships, managedbyl ocal authorit
ieswithor dinarypowert ocoll
ectrat es.

Theywer
eundert
hecont
rol
ofDi
str
ictOf
fi
cer
sorAssi
stantDi
str
ictOf
fi
cer
s.Theywer
emai
nly
small
t owns,pr
obabl
yhavi
ngsomeadmi
nist
rat
ivef
unct
ions,
butnotv
eryi
mpor
tantt
othe
col
onialeconomyatthet
ime.

In1914t own-planni
ngcommi tteeswer eestabl
ishedfort
heNor ther
nandSout hernprovi
nces
mai nl
yfortheclasstownst oinit
iatedeveloppl
anningschemes, aswellaapprovingbui
ldi
ng
plans.Thisrol
ewasper f
ormedbyt helocalAdv
isoryBoardandDi st
ri
ctOffi
cersinthesecond
andt hi
rdclasstownsr espect
ivel
y .TheTownPl anni
ngCommi tteeswereabolishedin1941due
toabsenceofl egalbackingoftheirexist
enceandwer esubsti
tutedwit
hHeal t
hBoar d.

Uptot heSecondWor ldWar,ur

banplanninganddevel
opmentwer emuchofaday -
to-
dayaff
air
,
car
riedoutbyseniorcivi
lser
vantsundertheHeal
thBoards.Anumberofimprovedplansand
l
ayoutwer eproduced.However,
apartfr
om thenormaladmini
str
ation,
nospect
acular
developmentinthetownplanni
ngwasobser ved.

TheLagosExecut iveDev elopmentBoar d( LEDB)wasest abli

shedin1928andchar gedwiththe
generaldevel
opmentoft heLagost erri
tory.I twassetupundert heLagosTownPl anni
ng
Ordinanceof1928inr esponset oanout breakofbuboni cplague.Theboar d(LEDB)had
extensiv
epower stounder takecomprehensi veimprovementschemeswi thintheci t
yli
mits.The
LEDBconcer nedit
selfmai nlywithmini
mal slum clearanceonLagosI sland,thereclamati
onof
Victor
iaIsl
and,HousingSchemesi nSuruler e,South-WestIkoyiandApapa, andt heindust
rial
l
ay outsatI
ganmuandI j
ora.I twasnotdirect lyconcernwiththe“cit
yplanning”,since
mai nt
enanceofpublicserv i
cewast heresponsi bi
li
ti
esoft heLagosCityCounci l(Ola1984).

Thepr eparati
onofa10y earPl anofDev elopmentandWel far
e( 1946-1956)bysenior
governmentof f
ici
alsmar kedt hebeginni ngofsy st
emati
cdevelopmentpl ans.Thedecisionof
theboar dwassubj ect
edt otheappr ov aloftheGov er
nor-
General.Oneoft hemajorschemesof
theplanwast heTownPl anningandVi ll
ageReconst r
ucti
on.I
nformat i
onfrom theplan
i
ndicatedthatt herewasscar cel yatowni nthecountryt
hatwasnoti ndireneedofr e-
planni
ng
andpr operlayoutforfutureexpansi on.Thecol oni
algover
nmentconsequent l
yenactedthe
Nigeri
aTownandCount ryPlanni ngOrdinance(No4of1946)t opr ovidefortheplanni
ng,
i
mpr ovementanddev elopmentofdi fferentpartsofthecount
ry,throughplanningschemes
i
niti
atedbypl anningauthor i
ti
es.Theor dinancewasbasedont he1932Br iti
shTownand
CountryPlanningAct( Ola,1984andOmol e,1995).

Theimplementati
onoft heNi gerianTownandCount r
yPlanni
ngOr di
nanceof1946cr eateda
sit
uati
oninwhichplanninganddev el
opmentofanur banareawasequatedwiththepr ovisi
on
ofmor ephy
sicalandattracti
velay out,witharchi
tect
ural
lywell
-desi
gnedhousingunits.Duri
ng
thi
stime,pl
anningauthoriti
eswer enotseent obeconcernedwi t
hotherprobl
emsf acingurban
centr
esundertheirar
easj uri
sdiction;problemssuchaser osi
oncontrol
,wastemanagement ,
envir
onmentaleducat
ion, andev ent r
ainingofstaff
.

Ot herrel
atedlegisl
ationsduri
ngthecol onial
era,thathadbear ingwi t
ht hetownandcount r
y
planning,weretheMi neral
Act(1945),whi chtouchedoni ssueslikedrainageandpolluti
on(ai
r,
wat er
),Publi
cHeal t
hLaws( 1957)whi chcont r
oll
edov er-
crowding,diseasesandgener alur
ban
squalor.Othersweret heLandDev el
opment( Roads)l awof1948whi chdwel lonacquisi
ti
on,
safeanddi sbursementofland,theBui l
dingLinesRegulationsof1948whi chlat
erbecame
Chapter24oft heLawsofNi geri
aof1948whi chpr ov
idedf orposit
ioni
ngofbui l
dingsandother
obst
ruct
ionswi
thr
efer
encet
oroads.Al
lthesel
awscamear
oundt
hesamet
ime.

I
NDEPENDENCEPLANNI
NGLAWS

The1946TownandCount ryPl anningOrdinancewasr et

ainedatindependenceastheTown
andCountryPl
anningLawst aggedChapt er123oft heLawsofWest ernNigeri
a.Thislawwas
domesti
catedin1959asChapt er130oft heLawsofNor t
hernNigeri
aandChapt er155ofthe
LawsofEasternNigeri
a.Ast helawwasr etai
ned,soalsowerethepr obl
emsofdi scri
minat
ory
l
egisl
ati
ons,i
nappropri
atestandar dsandineffect
iveadminist
rat
iveframeworksinthepost-
i
ndependencedevelopmentpl ans.

Forinst ance, thef i

rstNat i
onal Dev el opmentPl anwasl argel yconcer nedwi theconomi c
growt hperse.Thati s,ther iseofpercapi tal i
ncome, withoutr egar dst otheact ual l
ivi
ng
conditionsoft hepeopl e.Thepl an, l
i
ket hecol oni alplans, neglectedi ssuesofur ban
developmenti ni tsformul ationandexecut ion.Forexampl e,outofat otal expendi t
ureof84
mill
ionNai ra( Niger i
anCur rency )allocatedt ot ownandcount rypl anningi ncludinghousi ngs,
only39. 2mi l
lionNai rawasdi sbur sedatt heendoft hepl anper i
od( Onibokun, 1985) .Howev er,
emphasi swaspl acedont hepr ov i
sionofi nfrast r
uct ure.Forexampl e,transpor tand
communi cationcl aimedabout26per cent, whi l
eel ectrici
tygul ped15. 1per centoft hetot al
revenueal l
ocat i
ondur i
ngt hepl anper iod.Apar tfrom t he13. 4per centoft her ev enueal l
ocation
madet opr i
mar yproduct ion, onecoul dright lysayt hatasmuchas66. 6per centoft het otal
revenue, duri
ngt hefirstnat ional dev elopmentpl anper i
od, wasi nv estedint heur banareas.The
hugei nvestmentwashowev er,largelyuncoor dinated, owi ngtol ackofacompr ehensive
nationalurbandev el
opmentpol icy .Ther esul twasachaot i
cpat ternofur bandev elopmenti n
thecount ry(Ni gerianI nsti
tut eofTownPl anner s, 1991) .

TheSecondNat ionaldev elopmentPl an(1970-74)wasl aunchedi mmedi atelyaf terthe

civi
l wari n1970r epresentedonl yasl i
ghtdepar turefrom t hefirstdev elopmentpl an.Thehuge
i
nv est mentsint hevarioussect orsofur bandev elopmentwer estill
largelyuncoor dinat edwi t
h
onlyaboutsev enpercentoft het otalr
ev enueal l
ocatedwenti nt otownandcount rypl anning
(i
ncl udinghousing, waterandsewage) .Pr esumabl ythepl anst i
llconsi deredt ownandcount ry
planni ngassoci aloverheadsand, assuch, wasnotbot heredwi thanymachi neryf orpr omot i
ng
orpl anninganor der
lyurbandev elopment .Thepl anhowev er,wasapr omi singdepar tur efr
om
thepr ev i
ousplansasi tsetasi de44mi ll
ionNai raforurbanandr egional planningand
dev elopment .Thatwasamodestbegi nni ngbyt heFeder al Governmentf orbet terur ban
managementi nt hecount r
y.Somepol icyst atementswer emadedur i
ngt hepl anper iodon
urbanmat t
ers.Therewasacal lforcontroll
eddi sper
sal ofsoci al overheadsandi nf rastructural
facili
ties.

Thethir
dNat i
onalDevel
opmentPlan(1975–1980)wast hefir
sttoproducet hemost
thoughtf
ulandcoherentl
yconceptual
i
zedurbandevel
opmentpolicy
,it
sfivechaptersdwellon
urbanandregionaldevel
opment,(
water,
sewage,housi
ng,t
ownandcount ryplanning,co-
operati
vesandcommuni tydevel
opment)al
locat
ed12.6percentofthetotal
revenuet othe
vari
ousactiv
iti
es.
 Theplanalsocameupwi thabet terdefi
nit
ionofnational urbandevel
opmentst rat
egy.I
t
providedforintegrat
ionofurban-
ruraldev el
opment ,ur
baninfrastructur
e,cor
recti
onofphy si
cal
planninginadequacies,r
eformati
onofl ocalgovernmentmachi neryforeff
ici
entmanagementof
townsandci t i
esresponsi
bil
it
yandbet terinvol
vementofstat esinur banmatters.Thecreati
on
ofaf ederalminist
ryresponsi
bleforhousi ngandur bandev
el opmentandco- coordinat
ingurban
poli
cywasal soputinplace.

Thest ructur
eoft heFourthNat ionalDevel
opmentPl an( 1981-1985)wasnotent i
rely
diff
erentf rom thethir
dnat i
onaldevelopmentpl an.However,itnotedt herol
eofphy sical
planningasat ool f
orachievi
ngnat i
onal devel
opmentobject i
ves.Thepl anf
urtherrecogni zed
thatregi onalandenv i
ronmentalplanningwer enotfull
yentrenchedi nt hepl
anningand
managementoft heur banandrural areas,andthatthemachi neryforphy si
calplanningand
admi nistrati
onwasr udimentary
.At t
emptt oaddressthi
sflawwasat houghtfulprogrammeon
l
andr ef orm

Thelandr eformi ssuewast hefirstattemptator ganizingtheadmi nistrationand

devel opmentofl andatt hegr assr ootswast heenact mentoft heLocal Gov ernmentRef orm Law
(1976) .Thel awmadet ownandcount r
ypl anningaLocal Gov ernmentAf fair.ThusSt ate
Gov ernment sest ablishedLocal PlanningAut horit
iest ocont roldev el
opmentandi nit
iat
e
planni ngschemesatt hel ocall
ev el.Thegai nsofTownandCount r
yPl anningt hrought heLocal
Gov ernmentRef orm Lawwer ecutshor twi t
ht hepr omul gationoft heLandUseDecr eeNumber .
6of1978.TheDecr ee, designedt ocur bl andspecul ation,easet hepr ocessofl andacqui si
tion
bygov ernment ,co-ordi nateandf ormulatet enuremoder nizati
on, hassev eral effectsont he
pract i
ceofTownandCount r
yPlanni ngLaw, encour agingpr eparati
onofpl anningschemes
amongot hers.Unf ortunat ely
,thisl awhasmanyf l
aws; wor r
isomei st hefactt hatt heLandUse
Acthasnopr ovi
siont hatast ateshoul dcauset hepr eparationofmast erpl ans, orlayoutplans
i
nadesi gnatedur bancent r
e.Consequent l
y,privatel andsar esoldoutwi thoutpr oper
super v i
sionbyTownPl anningAut hori
ti
est her ebyr educingt hem t oinconsequent i
al,
buildi
ng
appr ov aloff
ices,poor lyf undedandi nadequat el
yst af f
ed( NITP1991) .

Furthermor e,section3( aandb)oft heActpr ovidesforEst ateSurveyorsorLandOf fi

ces
andLegal practit
ioners,butnotf orTownpl annersont heLandUseandAl locati
onCommi ttee
setupforur bancent res.Dev elopmentcont rol wasfurt
herhamper edast helawwassi l
enton
non-ur
banar eas.Cr eepingt hei mplement ationofthelawi sthef actthattherewasnocadast ral
ortownshipmaps, topogr aphi cal mapsandl andusepl ansf ormostNi ger
iansettl
ement s.By
thi
s,appropriat
echar t
ingandco- ordinat
ionofpr oposeddev elopment sintotheexisti
ngur ban
str
ucturearegr eatlyaffected.Equal l
y,effectivemoni t
oringoft hegr owthanddev elopmentof
cit
iesweremadei mpossi ble, sinceindiv
idual s’sti
l
lbuyingandsel l
inglandforresident
ial
homesonal ar
gescal econt raryt otheprov isionoftheLandUseDecr eeNumber6of1978.

Townpl anninginNigeriar ecordedaboosti n1988wi t

hthepr omul gati
onofDecree
Number3,whichest abl
ishedtheTownPl annersRegistr
ati
onCouncil (
TOPREC) .TheCouncil
th
i
naugurat
edonNov ember30 ofsamey earhasasi tsmajorduty‘i
st oregulateandcontrolt
he
pr
acti
ceofTownandCount ryPl anninginNigeri
aanddet er
minet hestandar dofplanni
ngin
Ni
geri
a.Theenablinglawhasi ncreasedt heregi
str
at i
onofmember sandi nsti
tuti
onsoff
ering
pl
anni
ngcoursesanddr asti
callyreducedt heacti
vi
tiesofquarksinthepr ofession.
 Ofnoti nthet r
endofdev elopmentofpl anni
nglawi nNiger
iawast heinaugurati
onin
February1991oft heNat ionalCommi t
teeontheRev i
ewofNi geri
aTownandCount r
yPlanni
ng
Lawsbyt heFeder alGov ernment.Thecommi tt
eecompr i
singvari
ouspr ofessional
sconducted
acompr ehensi v
er ev i
ewoft he1946TownandCount ryPlanni
ngLawandot herrel
ated
l
egislat
ionsandpr epareanewdr af tl
awf ort
hecount r
y.Thereportofthiscommi t
teegavebir
th
totheNi geri
anUr banandRegi onal Pl
anningLaw( NURPL),Decree88of1992.Thi slawisthe
mostcur renturbanandr egionalplanninglawinNigeri
a.Theimpor t
anceoft hislaw
necessitatesthedi scussionofsomeofi tsvi
talpart
sandsect i
onsinthispaper

WhileTownPl anningi nNi geriaforov ert

hreedecadeshadessent iall
ybeena
‘
gov ernmentt ool’,t
hef ormat i
oni n1990ofanAssoci ationofTownPl anningConsul tants
(ATOPCON)hasbeenami lestonei nplanningpracti
cei nNi ger
ia.Thei ncreasingnumberof
TownPl anner si nprofessional practi
cehasenhancedt hei mpor tanceoft hepr ofessionand
i
ncreasedawar enessoft heunl imitedspher esofcov erageoft ownpl anningpr acticeinNigeri
a.
Planningpr acti
tionersarei ncr
easi nglybeingconsultedi nt echnical,i
ndust r
ial
,dev elopment
studies,environment alimpactassessment ,recr
eati
onal planni
ngandt our i
sm.Ot hersareas
thathaver eceivedboasti nclude; transportati
on,physical planpreparation,urbandev elopment,
managementandl andusecont r
ol.

THENEW LAWS

Itwast hegeneralbeli
efthattheoldTownandCount ryPl anningLawof1946wasout datedand
i
nef f
ectiv
et omeetthepr esentplanni
ngr equi
rements.Itwasagai nstthisbackgroundt hata
recommendat ionwasmadet othegov ernmenttorevi
ewt helawandpr omul gat
elawst hatare
appli
cablenation-wi
de,takingintoconsiderat
ionthevariationincli
mate,topography,cult
ure
andot hervari
ablestosuitlocalneeds.Itwast heout
cryoft hepeople,
parti
cularl
ythetown
plannersthatl
edt othepromul gati
onoft henewl awcalled-t heNigeri
anUr banandRegi onal
PlanningLaw, (NURPL)Decr eeNo.88ofDecember15, 1992.

Thelawhassi xmai npartsand92sect ions.Par tonedeal swithty pesandl evelsof

physicaldevel
opmentpl an,theadmi ni
strati
on, composi t
ionandf unctionofeachoft hel evel
s
ofplanningandexecut i
onofdut iesinsect i
ons1- 26.Thesecondpar tdeal swithDev elopment
Control.Part3dealswith‘addit
ionalcontrolinspeci alcases’ t
hatisinsect i
ons64-74.Par tfour
dealswi t
h‘acquisi
ti
onoflandandcompensat i
on’ i
nsect ions75–78.Par tf i
vedealswi th
‘
improv ementarea,rehabi
lit
ati
on, r
enewal andupgr adi
ng’ i
nsect i
ons79- 85.Lastl
y ,partsix
dealswi t
h‘appeals’f
rom secti
ons86- 92.Goi ngbyt hisdecr ee,Part6,sect ion90(1)has
repealedtheold946TownandCount r
yPl anningLaw.Thei mplicati
onoft hisi
sthatt heold
townandcount r
yplanninglawisnownul landv oi
dwi tht hecurrentdispensat i
on.

Part1(a)oft hel
awspel l
soutt het hreel evelsatwhi chphy si
cal developmentpl anscan
bemade, oratwhi chplanningcanbecar r
iedout .Thesear eatt heFeder al,
St ateandLocal
Governmentl evel
s.Eachlev elofplanningcar r
iest heidentifi
cati
on,“thecommi ssi
on,‘
the
Board’,
andthe‘ Authori
ty’
respect i
vely.Byt hislaw, iti
snowmandat or yforeachl ocal
governmentcounci ltohaveapl anningaut hori
ty ,whosedut ies,amongot hers, i
stoprepareand
i
mpl ement:(a)atownpl an( b)aruralar eapl an( c)alocal plan(d)asubj ectpl anandthecontrol
ofdevelopmentwi thint
heirareaofj urisdi
ct i
onot herthanov erf
ederal andthest ate
governments’ l
and(Part1Sect ion4).Mor eoft hef unctionsoft heAut hori
ty(orpr oper
lycall
)
LocalPlanni
ngAuthor
it
yarespel
touti
nPar
t1,Sect
ions11and12ofthel
aw.Fur
ther
mor
e,the
funct
ionsofhestate–“theBoar
d”andt
heFeder
al–“theCommissi
on”ar
espel
touti
nPar
t1,
Secti
ons6and7r espect
ivel
y.

Dev elopmentcont r
ol isani ntegr alpartoft hemast erpl an.Amast erpl anorast ructurepl an, on
i
tsown, cannotachi eveit sgoal swi t
houtdev el
opmentcont r
ol.ThenewDecr eer ecogni zest his,
andassuch, empower st he‘ Commi ssi
on’,‘theBoar d’andt heAut hor itytoest abli
sha
depar tmentknownasDev elopmentCont r
ol Depar tment( PartI I
,Sect ion27) .Suchdepar tment
shal lbeamul ti
-di
sciplinar ydepar tment,char gewi tht her esponsi bilit
yf ormat tersrelatingt o
dev elopmentcont r
ol andi mpl ement ationofphy sical dev elopmentpl ans( Sect i
on27,
subsect i
on2.TheCont rol Depar t
mentatt heFeder allev el (
cal lt
heCommi ssion)haspower
overt hecont rolofFeder al LandsandEst ates.TheCont r olDepar tmentatt hest atelev els,call
the“ Boar d”haspowerov erthecont rolofst atelandsandt heCont rol Depar t
mentatt hel ocal
gov ernmentl evel(the‘Aut hority’)
haspowerov ert hecont r
ol ofdev elopmentonal ll
andwi t
hin
thej ur i
sdi
ctionoft hel ocal gov ernment( Par tII
,Sect ion27subsect ions3, 4and5) .Par t2
Sect ions,28, 29and30madei tclearthatappr ov alshoul dbesoughtbef oreanydev elopment
commences.Thel aw, byi t
ssect ion29, makesi tmandat oryf orgov ernment ,andi tsagenci est o
obtai nappr ov albeforecommenci nganydev el
opment .Thel awal so( insections31and34)
givest heplanningbodi es, bei t,theLocal Aut hority,StateorFeder al,thepowert oappr ov ewi t
h
amendment ,ordelayappr oval ofanappl icat i
on,ori fci r
cumst ancessor equired,reject
dev elopmentper mitcompl etely.

Event hought heCont rol Depar tmenthasbeenempower edt odel ayappr ov alwhen
necessar y,thel awgi vesat imel imi tf
ordoi ngt his.Thisshoul dnotexceedt hreemont hs( PartI
I,
Section34, subsect i
on4.Ver yimpor t
antf ordiscussi onal soi sPar tII
,Sect ion33, which
mandat esdev eloperst osubmi tt oanappr opriatecont rol depar tmentadet ailenv i
ronment al
i
mpactst atementf or( a)aresident iallandinexcessof2hect ares,(b)per mi ssi ont obuildor
expandaf actor yorf ortheconst r
uct i
onofanof ficebuildingi nexcessoff ourf l
oor sor5, 000
squar emet ersofal ettablespace, or(c)per missionf oramaj orrecreational dev elopment .The
l
awal soregulat esthet i
mingofpl anningper mi t,ordev elopmentper mit,givest oadev eloper.
Forinstance, onceadev elopmentper mi torplanni ngper mithasbeeni ssuedorgi venbyt he
planningaut hor it
y,i
tr emainsv alidf oronlytwoy ear s(Sect ion35, subsect ion2a) .Wher ea
developerf ail
st ocommencedev elopmentwi t
hi nt woy ear s,thedev elopmentper mitshallbe
subjectedt ore- val
idationbyt hecont roldepartmentt hati ssuedt heor iginal per mi tSection35,
subsect i
on2b) .Theaut hori
ty,whi chgi vesplanni ngper mi t,haspowert orev oke, alt
aroramend
theper mitear l
iergivenbyser vingofnot iceofit sintentionont hehol der( Sect ion37,
subsect i
on1) .

Underthisl
aw, t
herei
saPl anni ngTri
bunalt
hathearscasesr el
ati
ngtoplanningmatt
ers
Secti
ons38t o40af f
ir
mt heestabl
ishmentandSect ions86to89spel loutt
hecomposi t
ionof
theplanni
ngTribunal
.Thereisprovisionforanaggri
eveddevelopertoappealagainst
alt
ernati
on,amendmentandr evocationofdev el
opmentpermitgiventohim.

Sect
ion42spell
soutcondi
ti
onsunderwhi
chcompensati
onshallbepai
d.Simil
arl
y,
Sect
ion45st at
esthecondi
ti
onsunderwhi
chcompensat
ionshal
l notbepai
d.Bythi
slaw,any
compensati
oncl ai
mtobemadeshouldbeforwar
ded29daysafteranoti
ceofrenovat
ionis
servedont hedev el
oper( Section43,subsecti
on2c) .Compensat i
onpay ableunderthissecti
on
shallbepaidnotl aterthan90day saf t
eraclaimf orcompensat ionhadbeenmade.I ntheevent
ofadi sputeari
singast ot heamountofcompensat i
onpay abletoadev eloper,t
hedi
sput emay
bereferredtoaPl anningTr ibunal(
Section45).Iftherei
sanappeal againstthedeci
sionofa
PlanningTribunalinrespectofanamountpay abletoadev eloper,thanshal ll
ie,
asofr i
ght,
to
thehighcour ti
nt heStat e, ortheFederalCapi
tal Terr
it
ory
,Abuj a,ast hecasemaybe( Secti
on
46).

Oni ssueof‘ notices’ t

heCont rol Depar tmenti sempower edt oser venot ice(enforcement
notice)t ot heowner sofst ructures,wher eadev elopmenthascommencedwi thoutappr ov al.
Suchenf orcementnot i
cescoul dbedi r ect edtot hedev el
opert oalter, vary ,
remov eor
discont i
nue( stopor der )dev elopment .Aper son, whof ailstocompl ywi ththet erm ofan
enfor cementnot i
ce, ordisr egarda‘ stopwor kor der’issuedandser vedpur suantt othisdecr ee,
willbegui l
tyofanof fenceandl iabl
eonconv i
cti
ont oaf inenotexceedi ng10, 000Nai ra( Ni ger i
a
money )int hecaseofani ndi v
idual,andi nt hecaseofacor poratebody ,toaf i
nenotexceedi ng
50,000Nai ra( sect i
on59) .Wher eadev elopercont r
av enest hepr ovisionofapl anninglaw, the
cont roldepar tmentshal l
hav et hepowerr equir
ingt hedev el
opert o:(a)pr epareandsubmi this
buildingpl anf orappr ov al or(b)tocar ryoutsuchal ter ati
ont oabui l
dingasmaybenecessar yt o
ensur ecompl i
anceor( c)t opul ldownt hebui l
dingor( d)t orei
nstatet hepi eceofl andtot he
statei nwhi chi twaspr iort othecommencementofbui lding(Section60) .Goi ngbySect ion61,
subsect ion1, theCont r
ol Depar tmentshal lhavet hepowert oserv eonadev el
oper ,‘
demol iti
on
notice’,ifast ructureer ect edbyt hedev eloperisf oundt obedef ectiveast oposedangeror
const it
ut eanui sancet ot hecompl ainerandt hepubl ic.Not i
ceser vedpur suantt osub-sect i
on1
ofSect i
on61shal lcont ainadat enotl at erthan21day sonwhi cht heCont rolDepar t
mentshal l
takest epst ocommencedemol iti
onont hedef ect i
vest ructure(Sect ion61, subsect i
on2) .Af ter
theexpi rationoft het i
mespeci fi
edint henot i
ceser v edundersubsect ion1ofSect i
on61oft he
decr ee,theCont r
ol Depar tmentshal ltakesuchnecessar yacti
ont oef fectt hedemol it
ionoft he
defect i
v est r
uct ure(Sect ion62) .Simi l
ar ly,Section63empower st heaut hor i
tytobepai dbyt he
ownerofademol i
shedst ructurefort hecostofdemol iti
onincurredbyt hepl anningaut hor ity.

Thepowerunderdev elopmentcont r
oli
nt henewdi spensationalsoext endt o
preservati
onofexi sti
ngt r
eesandorpl anti
ngofnewt r
essbyt heimposi ti
onofnecessar y
conditi
on( Sect i
on72).Alsot heCont rolDepart
menti sempower edt ocontroloutdoor
adverti
sement .I
notherwor ds, i
fitappear stotheControlDepar t
mentt hattheameni tyofapart
ofanar ea,oranadj oini
ngar ea, i
sser i
ouslyinj
uredbyt heconditi
onofagar den, vacantsit
e,or
anopenl and, theCont r
olDepar tmentshal lser
v eontheoccupi erorownerofsuchl andanot i
ce
requir
ingsuchst epforabatingani njury,asmaybespeci f
iedinthenot i
cet obet akenwi t
hin
suchper i
odoft i
measmaybespeci fied(Secti
on74) .Thelawf urt
herst i
pulat
est hecondi t
ions
underwhi cht heauthorit
yshoul dcarryoutdemol i
ti
on.Accor di
ngt osection83, demol i
ti
onshall
notbeexer cisedunless:

a) Th
( ebui
l
dingf
all
sasf
arbel
owt
hest
andar
dsofot
herbui
l
dingsusedf
orhabi
tat
ioni
nthe
areaorthatsuchbui l
dingisli
kel
ytobecomeadangertotheheal
thofi
tsoccupi
ersor
occupiersofadjacentbuil
dings.
b) Th
( ebuil
dingisinsuchast ateofdi
srepai
rori
sli
kel
ytobecomeadangertopubl
icsaf
ety
andcannot ,atareasonablecostberepai
red.
c) Twoormor
( econt
iguousbui
l
dingsar
ebadl
ylayoutandsocongest
edt
hatwi
thoutt
he
demol
it
ionofoneormoreofthem.Thatpartoftheimpr
ovementareacannotbei
mpr
oved
d) I
( tisi
nconnecti
onwit
htheprovi
sionofi
nfrast
ructur
alf
acil
i
tiesoft
hearea.
Asaf ol
low-upt oDecr ee88of1992wast heamendmentofsomeofi tspar t
sand
secti
onsnowcal ledurbanandRegi onalPlanning(Amendment )Decr eeNo.18of1999.Thi s
amendmentdecr eet ookcar eofsomef l
awsi nthepar entdecr ee–decr ee88of1992.Thi s
decreeisthemostcur rentplanni nglawbei ngusedinconj unct ionwitht hepar entdecree–
decree88of1992asoft oday .Onet hi
ngcomesoutv erycl earf rom theanaly sisofthiscurrent
planni
ngLaw( Decree88of1992)i nNigeri
aandt hatist hef actt hatoutofi t
s92sect ions,
about47sect i
ons(mor et hanoft hewhol elaw)deal wi t
hdev el
opmentcont rol,thi
sisan
i
ndicationthat‘developmentcont rol’
asitrelatestolanduseanddev elopment ,isaser i
ousand
sensit
iveissueinpl anningandassuch, thelaw(s)deem i tnecessar yt otr
eatsuchi ssueswi th
anseriousness.Howev ert hi
sr eportwil
lnotbecompl etewi thoutsay ingthatt hecelebrated
newpl anninglawhasbeenputunderf i
reandofcour sechal lengedatt heSupr emeCour tin
Nigeri
af orsomeofi t
sgr eyareas.Thesear eissuestobedi scussedi not herpaper sunder
study