Introduction

The history of physical planning could be traced to man as he

arranged his settlement orderly and conveniently around the
traditional ruler’s palace and worship places. Common rallying
centres were maintained for meeting and decision making.

The evolutionary trend of physical planning in Nigeria started

with the Lagos Town Improvement Ordinance of 1863 to control
poor sanitation and development in Lagos, followed by the 1917
Township Ordinance which expanded its horizon to entire
Nigeria. Afterwards, the Nigerian Town and Country Planning
Ordinance of 1946 came and reeled off the processes of a wide-
range of physical planning activities (Oyesiku, 2004). This
retained a tailor-made regional derivative of the Ordinance for the
North, East and West. In 1992, physical planning in Nigeria had
grown into sophistication.

WHAT IS PHYSICAL PLANNING?

Physical planning also described as “Land use planning”, “Town

and country planning”, “Urban and Regional planning” or simply
“Town Planning” relates generally to the use of land or the spatial
expression of the desired form of social and economic
development to be translated on the ground (Journal of
Integrative Humanism – Ghana March, 2014 ISSN: 2026-6286).
Physical planning is a comprehensive and system related process

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through which plans and policies are evolved for enhancing the
quality of our environment and the lives of the inhabitants (The
Urban and Regional Planning Law (Decree 88 of 1992). Franklin
(1992) defined “Physical Planning” being focused on the concern
with the design, growth and management of the physical
environment in accordance with predetermined and agreed
policies, where balanced social and economic objectives may be
achieved. Physical planning was summarized thus under the
following headings;

(a) Physical planning provides a planned spatial framework of

development for the physical environment within which a
balanced programme of social and economic development can be
carried out. It provides a master plan or compass for
development.

(b) It provides the legislation necessary for the planning,

controlling and implementation of the physical development
process and;

(c) It is done to ensure the establishment of centralized

infrastructure with overall responsibility for planning, evaluation,
co-ordination, administration and implementation of a
comprehensive development programme. Physical planning in
this context is the planning of buildings, parks and gardens,
roads, basic social services and other physical things. It is the art
and science of controlling the use of land, the character and
arrangement of building so as to achieve economy, convenience
and beauty (Kibo; 1980).

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Physical planning is synonymous with “Development Planning”
which means any development, which when embarked upon or
executed by either private or public developer brings about
development. While development plan in physical term is the
policy document prepared to guide physical development
decisions and solve some planning problems in the built
environment. National (Economic Development) Planning is not
directly the same thing as Physical Planning. Physical Planning is
a subset or one of the sectors supposed to be treated under
national planning but often a time, the economic issues dominate
to the extent of neglecting physical planning backup in National
Development Plans.

The definition underscore the fact that physical planning or land

use planning, in addition to physical, economic considerations,
also addresses the issues of health, safety and general well being
of people; often referred to as public interest determinants of land
use.

Chapin (1970) further expanded the physical planning focus to

include urban land market, and culture-bound considerations
such as customs, traditions and belief. The land use zoning
emphasis came into the fore as result of the debate on the public
interest perspective of land use planning. Land use zoning has
come to recognition as government intervention instrument
packaged in form of legislation and legal control in Town and
country planning matters.

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GOALS OF PHYSICAL PLANNING ADMINISTRATION IN
NIGERIA

Everybody plans to achieve objective. Planning is rational, goal

oriented, future oriented and action oriented. Decision is involved
with choice of best alternative course of action. We plan because
of tomorrow’s uncertainty and because resources are scarce. It is
difficult to achieve orderliness and sustainable development
without planning.

Consequent upon the above assertion, the main goals of physical

planning or land use planning are:

Social:
▪ To make life in a community more attractive by providing
resources, opportunities and facilities within an area to enable
and encourage good quality of life and pleasant environment or
surroundings for the potential dwellers.
▪ To promote peaceful co-existence between the various land
uses/facilities, neighbourhoods as well as individuals.

Environment:

▪ To preserve, protect and enhance the natural and man-made

environment by providing high quality structural environment
through sound land use planning, development and economic
growth.

Economic and financial:

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▪ To strengthen the economic base and stimulate sound
economic growth by ensuring the efficient use of economic
resources available within an environment or settlement.
▪ It is also to foster optimum development of land resources
base.
▪ To ensure maximum welfare package for the people.

Development and infrastructure:

▪ To promote orderly development of the land resources, provide

for potential growth of the area in a pattern which reflects
social, environmental, economic, and financial and
management goals.

Management:

▪ To minimise certain problems and conflicts, which are usually

associated with land ownership and usage.
▪ To formulate good maintenance and control strategies that
ensures attainment of a set standard of efficiency through
appropriate administrative, legal, technical, and operational
instruments.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHYSICAL PLANNING

ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA FROM THE COLONIAL
PERIOD TO PRESENT

As a colony of the United Kingdom, Physical Planning in Nigeria

initially towed the centralized planning practices of the British as

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enunciated in the Town and Country Ordinance of 1946.
However, the enactment of Decree 88 of 1992 as amended in
Decree 18 of 1999 conceived planning as practised in USA. This
is the decentralization of physical planning in Nigeria with
emphasis on the Planning Authorities that favours bottom-up
approach.

In Nigeria, the Lagos Town Improvement Ordinance of 1863 was

essentially the first planning related legislation. The promulgation
of this ordinance by the colonialist was informed by the poor
state of sanitation in Lagos. It was with a view to control
development and poor urban sanitation in this environment.
However, the entrenchment of physical planning in Nigeria by the
colonialist climaxed with the enactment of the Nigerian Town and
Country planning ordinance of 1946. This was the period Nigeria
was politically partitioned into three quasi-autonomous
administrative regions referred to as the North, East and West.
As such, this ordinance reordered the planning, re-planning,
improvement and development of different parts of the country.
The 1946 ordinance covered diverse areas of physical planning
activities. Such areas are: Planning Scheme, Execution of
Scheme, Acquisition and disposal of land for Scheme as well as
compensation and betterment. Other areas are the legal
procedures for the operations of scheme and financial matters for
successful implementation of the schemes.

The major interest of this ordinance was improvement and

development control through planning schemes prepared by the
Planning Authorities appointed by the Governor-general. The

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ordinance remained the operative physical planning law in 1960
when Nigeria became an independent nation and up to 1992
when the Nigerian Urban and Regional Planning Act, No. 88 was
promulgated. This 1946 Ordinance was the first legislative
document that provided an all-embracing guidance and focus for
the administration of physical planning activities in Nigeria. At
independence, the 1946 Town and Country Planning Ordinance
was retained as Town and Country Planning Laws. The regional
variation of the ordinance introduced variegated approaches to
physical planning problems in the three regions due to increased
urbanization experience in Nigeria soon after independence. This
invariably created a setback on the overall development of Nigeria
at large.

THE ROLE OF TOWN PLANNERS AND PROFESSIONAL

BODIES IN URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

Urban and regional planning in Nigeria since the colonial

interregnum had borrowed heavily from the British planning
philosophy and practice. Lord Lugard introduced the statutory
control of land in Northern Nigeria (though he claimed that this
was to protect natives’ rights to land). Subsequent land laws were
to lay the foundation for the ‘nationalization’ of land under the
controversial 1978 Land Use Act. (see James 1972, Dung-Gwom
1991). The 1917 Township Ordinance was the first attempt at
introducing spatial orderliness in the land use pattern of Nigerian
cities. It created different classes of townships and gave them
different competences, and legalized the segregation of European
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and non European residential areas (Twenty-Five Years of
Physical Planning in Nigeria, 1991: 5-6). In 1928, the Lagos
Executive Development Board (first Urban Development Authority
in Nigeria) was established. In 1946 the Town Planning
Ordinance was promulgated which was the first comprehensive
planning legislation in Nigeria giving powers for planning
schemes to be initiated either in urban or rural areas, whether
the land was developed or not and for the improvements and re-
planning of existing towns. The ordinance was based on the
British 1932 Town and Country Planning Act.

The first indigenous town planners were therefore British trained.

When the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners was formed in
1966, there were only 35 town planners in the country. The
figure rose to 39 in 1968 and 108 in 1988, (NITP at 30: 13-14).
The numbers of registered town planners entitled to practice as
published by TOPREC in 2007 were 1589. It is estimated that
today (2011) the figure of registered town planners is about
2000, while the number of professional town planners (members
of the Institute, MNITP) is 3000. The number of town planners
in the country has therefore significantly increased since 1966.
This is still very low for a country of about 150 million people,
which gives a ratio of about one professional town planner to
50,000 people.

Agbola (2005) and Onorkerhoraye (2006) have commented

extensive on the roles of town planners in urban and regional
planning in national development. Both agree that town
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planners have not seized the opportunities at their disposal to
turn around the fortunes of the profession and planning practice.
They made a clarion call for re-training and the acquisition of
new skills by planners in a fast changing world and the
challenges posed by rapid urban growth and urbanization in
Nigeria.

Town planners have however contributed in the following areas:

• Preparation of National Developments Plans, particularly

the third and fourth NDP.

• Preparation of Urban Master Plans, other physical

development plans, transportation plans, etc.

• Preparation of layout schemes and land subdivision plans.

• Formulation of national and regional policies in the areas of

environment, housing, infrastructure, transportation, etc poverty
reduction, disaster management, etc.

• Production of EIAs and EIAR (Environmental Impact

Assessment Reports).

• Involved in processing of applications for the grant of R of O

and public titles

• Development Control, approval of building plans,

advertisement controls, etc

• Research and training in the tertiary institutions and other

specialized agencies.

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Planners have contributed both in the public and private sectors
of the economy. There are planners in diverse organizations such
as airports, river basin authorities, Nigeria Ports Authority,
PHCN, Banks, the Universities and Polytechnics, etc.

Formal training of town planners started at the Ibadan Technical

College which later became The Ibadan Polytechnic in 1962,
(Agbola, 2007); followed by Yaba College of Technology (now Yaba
Polytechnic in … ) and Kaduna Polytechnic in …. Agbola (2007)
has also noted that due to demand for professional qualifications
the NITP stated external professional exams in the 1970s.
Professional training at the masters’ level commenced in Zaria in
1973. There are today in Nigeria over 100 universities and over
50 polytechnics, many of which offer programmes in urban and
regional planning. In terms of training and the quality of town
planners, there are many challenges today. The institutions that
offer training have increased quite significantly, however, their
facilities have declined in quality and continues to decline due to
poor funding by government and lack a qualified professional
staff. The curricular of most Nigerian institutions is not
responding adequately enough to changing situations globally
and nationally, for example, challenges of globalization,
uncontrolled urbanization especially in the developing countries,
climate change, developments in ICTs, increasing poverty, urban
violence, changing attitudes and tastes, etc.

The creation of NITP

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The nucleus of what is today known as "the Nigerian Institute of
Town Planners (NITP)" was formed by nine Town Planners in
Ibadan, the capital of the old Western Region in April 1966 under
the leadership of Pa. S. O. Tokun.

Pa. Tokun was the then Head of the Town Planning Division in
the old Western Region. Other town planners who took part in
the various deliberations at the institute's formative stage were:
Chief M. O. Onafowokan; Chief M. O. Abiose; Alhaji G. B. Jinadu;
Dr. F. O. Akinyemi; Mr. O . Adedapo; Mr. O. C. Adekoya; Chief F.
O Ogunbanwo; and Chief A. O. Adediran, and the only surviving
founding member of NITP.

In the same year, other professional colleagues from the

remaining three regions of Nigeria (Eastern, Mid-Western and
Northern) were contacted and invited to attend an inaugural
meeting in Lagos. The meeting was held on the 5th of September,
1966 at the Conference room of the Lagos Executive Development
Board (LEDB). At the meeting, a protea Executive Council was
elected to steer the affairs of the young Institute and Dr. T.M
Aluko was elected the protea Secretary.

The first National Conference of the Institute was held at the

Conference Centre of the University of Lagos in September 1968
where thirty-nine town planners from twelve (12) States of the
Federation congregated to deliberate on the future of the
Institute. The deliberation of these pioneer Town Planners

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produced lasting monuments in the form of the following:
Constitution of the Institute; Bye-Laws and Regulations;
Condition of Engagements of Town Planning Consultants; and
Scale fo Professional Charges; and the name of the institute

The Institute was recognised as a corporate entity by its

registration with he Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs (now
Corporate Affairs Commission). Further to this, the promulgation
by the then Federal Military Government, Decree No. 3 of 1988
later re-enacted as Urban and Regional Planning Law, Act 88 of
December, 1992 and currently an Act of Parliament cited as CAP
431 LFN, 1990 and CAP T7 of the Laws of the Federation of
Nigeria 2004.

Objectives of NITP

The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners is also referred to as "the

Institute" and we are committed to shaping the future of cities
around the world through 8 broad objectives.

1. The advancement of public awareness of the importance of the

living and working environments and the necessity for their
protection.

2. The Advancement of Town Planning education, training,

research and practice.

3. The dissemination of Town Planning information through

conference, seminars, meetings, exhibitions and publications.

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4. The establishment and enforcement of a code of professional
practice and conduct for town Planning practitioners in Nigeria.

5. The protection of the practice of the profession and the welfare

of those practicing it.

6. The acquisition and disposal of landed properties and other

assets and the raising of funds where necessary, for the purpose
of carrying out the objectives.

7. The acceptance of any gift, endowment or bequest to or for the

Institute and the carrying on of any trust attached to such gifts,
endowment or bequest.

8. The doing of all such other lawful things as may be associated

with or maybe incidental or conducive to the furtherance of Town
Planning in Nigeria.

ABERRATION IN PHYSICAL PLANNING ADMINISTRATION

AND PRACTICES IN NIGERIA

The state of the Nigerian physical planning and development

today reveals an environment rich in policies, programmes and
laws but deficient in implementation. Lawanson (2006) opines

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that the most serious problems confronting cities, towns and
their inhabitants as identified in Agenda 21(1996) include the
following: spreading homelessness and expansion of squatter
settlements, inadequate and deteriorating building stock, services
and infrastructure, lack of health and educational facilities,
improper land use, insecure land tenure, rising traffic congestion,
increasing pollution, lack of green spaces, inadequate water
supply and sanitation, uncoordinated urban development and an
increasing vulnerability to disaster. All these have seriously
challenged the capacity of government at all levels to realize
planned spatial framework of development for the physical
environment and environmental protection, which are all
components of sustainable urban development.

Certainly, the list of the Nigerian environment litany of woes

seems inexhaustible. Other scholars have also recognized urban
sprawl, incompatibility of uses, unplanned poor layouts, poor
waste disposal; all occurring as end products of poor physical
planning administration. All these have reduced the liveability of
Nigerian cities. Aina (1990) gave a more concise overview of
problems in Nigerian physical planning sector as follows: Urban
areas of Nigeria are deprived settlements characterized by
excessive residential densities, largely uninhabitable housing and
the absence of sanitation, basic infrastructure and social
services. They harbour migrants from the rural areas who are
unable to fit into the economy of the city and so tend to find
solace in informal activities and crime. The proliferation of these
shantytowns results in the unwieldy expansion of the urban
centres which poses a major planning problem as provision and
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 management of roads, drainage and sewage systems among other
infrastructure proves very difficult.

Notwithstanding, the promulgation of CAP 38 was a fulfilled

dream of town planners in the ministry. However, there are some
hiccoughs that tend to militate against the speed required to
attain the optimum progress in physical planning administration.
These clogs are wide and diverse. They include but not limited to:

Introduction of Head of Operations in the Organogram of

Town Planning Authority:

HON. COMMISSIONER FOR PHYSICAL PLANNING AND URBAN RENEWAL

PERMANENT SECRETARY

UCDA

PHYSICAL URBAN
PLANNING & RENEWAL/ DEVELOPMENT ADMIN. & ACCOUNTS
IMPLEMEN- UPGRADIN/ CONTROL LEGAL
TATION NEW TOWNS

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

HEAD OF OPERATIONS

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 PHYSICAL
PLANNING & ENVIRON. DEVELOPMENT ADMIN.
BUILDING ACCOUNTS
IMPLEMEN- HEALTH CONTROL
TATION

This organogram shows that at the Town Planning Authority

level, all Departments are responsible to the Executive Secretary.
There is a depiction of distortion in the organogram by the
introduction of Head of Operations. According to this
organogram, all the Departments in the Town Planning Authority
are responsible to the Head of Operations, who by this
description acts as the cleaning house and mouthpiece of the
various Departments to the Executive Secretary.

PLANNING TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS

In this section, I will briefly examine various planning tools and

instruments in vogue, these include;

• The National Physical Development Plan. (NPDP)

• Strategic Regional Development Plans (SRDP)

• Master/Structure Plans

• Public-Private. Partnership Plans (PPPP)

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• Land Development Guides/Regulations

In this review, reference will be made to the various plans (which

the reader could consult for more information. The Nigerian
Vision 20:2020 blue print (2009) and the First Implementation
Plan (2010 to 2013) will be reviewed in context to the NPDP and
RSDPs.

REFERENCES

David B.G (2010): New International Webster’s Comprehensive

Dictionary, Vol. 1, Basic School Edition, Simon and
Schuster, Inc. New York.

Fatusin, A.F (2015): Urban Development Planning In Nigeria:

Prospects and Challenges, Vol. 13 No. 1, International
Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, Innovative

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 Space of Scientific Research Journals, January, pp. 243-
248.

Okoro, H.I (2014): Physical Development Planning Sub

Components as Veritable Instruments for Ordering
Integrated Growth and Sustainable Development in Nigeria,
Journal of Integrative Humanism, Ghana, March,
www.ijisr.issr-journals.org, pp. 8-16.

Ukaigwe, P. (2016): “Physical Planning Administration in Nigeria:

A Case Study of Owerri North Local Government Area”
B. Tech Thesis: Urban and Regional Planning
Department, Federal University of Technology, Owerri,
Nigeria.

Umezurike, S.O, (2015): Physical Planning Administration in

Nigeria, Abia State Experience, Vol. 8(3), Journal of
Geography and Regional Planning, March,
www.academicjournals.org/JGRP, pp. 47-55.

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