The many struggles of a Masterplan (II)

Efficiency is a major rationale for cities, as stated by the IPA in the Abuja Master plan. “It is sought by reducing the cost of communication, transportation, and capitalising on the economics of scale and concentration. It is achieved through arrangement of land uses in coordination with transportation and maximising accessibility among interrelated activities. Achieving […]

Efficiency is a major rationale for cities, as stated by the IPA in the Abuja Master plan. “It is sought by reducing the cost of communication, transportation, and capitalising on the economics of scale and concentration. It is achieved through arrangement of land uses in coordination with transportation and maximising accessibility among interrelated activities. Achieving this in a cost-effective manner is by appropriate technology, infrastructure design, selection of building standards, and density, which contributes to efficiency. Finally, efficiency requires maintenance of balanced scale relationships between activities as growth occurs.”

The IPA needed to marry the concept of efficiency with five of the Development Guidelines issued to them by the FCDA while coming up with the Abuja Masterplan.

The fifth guideline states, “The New Capital and Federal Capital Territory will have a limited quantity of light industrial, agricultural research and development, and housing activities to provide a city building industry, to foster social diversity, and to provide support service facilities related to unique capital city needs. Such non-administrative, institutional and industrial activities that take place to build and serve the city will be compatible with the environment”.

The compatibility with the environment by the guidelines was brought into consideration and adoption of the Garden City Concept, which promotes the preservation of the existing natural green areas such as the National Arboretum. The real function of an arboretum is the cultivation of trees and shrubs for exhibition. 

• The many struggles of a Master Plan (I)
• The unsung heroes of Abuja Master Plan – Thomas Abbot Todd

Originally, the Presidential Villa was not earmarked to be at its present location. The later incursion of the Presidential Villa close to, and adjoining the Arboretum downplayed its real function. But at least the natural green seems to be preserved.  

Other deliberate efforts to encourage artificial developments of green areas, as enunciated in the creation of a Park and Recreation Department, were all means of complying with the development guidelines and ensuring compatibility with the environment.

It becomes very necessary to state that any incursion into any area that is preserved for greening is not only a violation of the Abuja Masterplan, but also a violation of the original dream of the founding fathers of the capital city. The authority mandated to protect and implement this plan is the FCDA while the Chief Executive Officer in Charge of the FCT is the FCT Minister.

In order to ensure perfect or near-perfect implementation, all FCT ministers must have zero tolerance to the violations of the Abuja Masterplan. Unless in instances of human errors, or periodic changing values or standards, due to modernisation and improved technology. In such cases the official channels of formal review of the plan must be undertaken, and all components of the city administration must be carried along without any circumvention.

The discipline, profession or the region of the FCT minister doesn’t matter, so long as he respects, listens, works and is guided by the candid professional advice from custodians of the system. It would be a different matter where there are proofs of dereliction of duty by the heads of the relevant departments.

All matters concerning appropriation of lands are recommended or confirmed by the URP department in order to guard against violations of the Abuja Masterplan. For any minister to approve recommendation that emanates from another department and send it to the URP for implementation is an aberration, unhealthy, and inimical with the tendency of creating havoc on the plan and wellbeing of the capital city.

Land in Abuja is the most expensive in Nigeria. It has now become a commodity for enrichment of those in power and is now allocated to those who do not deserve it, more than those who deserve it for real development. The greater majority end up selling them out at cut-throat prices rather than the development, thereby contributing to the astronomical cost of housing and commercial activities.  

The predilection for acquiring the juicy plots of Abuja is not a respecter of the masterplan’s proposals. The transportation system in a city is akin to the circulatory system in the human body. Thus, the city of Abuja was planned originally with the concept that both road and rail transport services would originate and terminate from a focal point. This focal point is the transportation terminal, comprising bus depots and railway terminals located in the central area district. The reserved plots are now gone and the corridor is grossly endangered.

The IPA certainly assumed a city administration, devoid of aiding and abetting land speculation. On the contrary, apart from land grabbers, majority of people allocated lands in Abuja fall among the category of false developers or surrogates.

Areas earmarked for greening are being violated for so-called comprehensive developments, many of them located in Guzape II, Maitama II and others, were allocated for sale for covert wealth accumulation. Billions of naira are requested as transaction costs. Areas earmarked for railway corridors were surreptitiously allocated for uses contrary to the earmarked proposal. Areas earmarked for major arterial roads were grabbed for unauthorised housing developments.

Concluded.