Posted 22/06/2023

Following the Biden administration's plan to implement its strategies in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria, by rebalancing urban hubs and collaborating with partners on urbanisation efforts, Dr. Omoayena Odunbaku, UN-Habitat Officer in Charge of Anglophone West Africa, has urged the Federal Government to integrate urbanisation into national development planning as a cross-sectoral driver of growth and transformation.

Ms Marcha Fudge, the head of the US presidential delegation to the recent Bola Tinubu inauguration, stated that the US government would demonstrate a renewed commitment to subnational capacity building and leverage existing inter-agency tools and capabilities to unlock the region's urban potential and foster thriving, green, resilient cities and infrastructure.

Fudge, who also emphasized that rebalancing urban centres is a fundamental component, cited shared priorities as economic development, increased trade and investments, supporting democratic institutions, expanding human rights, countering terrorism and insecurity, and addressing climate change.

Odunbaku, speaking as an urban planner, stated that neoliberal relevant teaching and policies have had detrimental ripple consequences that have prevented Nigeria from reaping the benefits of sustainable urbanisation. "The concentration of urban population allows for economic agglomeration, technological innovation, and specialization in a variety of areas such as transportation, industrialization, information and communication technology, education, and health."

"African urban settlements have the potential to accelerate infrastructure development, increase revenue collection, and improve service delivery by adopting innovative approaches to resource mobilization, forming alliances with strategic partners, and establishing specialized clusters for the provision of goods and services."

Odunbaku, speaking as an urban planner, stated that neoliberal relevant teaching and policies have had detrimental ripple consequences that have prevented Nigeria from reaping the benefits of sustainable urbanisation. "The concentration of urban population allows for economic agglomeration, technological innovation, and specialization in a variety of areas such as transportation, industrialization, information and communication technology, education, and health."

"However, we have continued to see the concentration of this population, primarily in specific settlements, as a result of pull and push factors." "Rebalancing hubs would allow for more competition among urban centers and less strain on infrastructure facilities like Lagos, resulting in the creation of new urban hubs to serve the population," she said.

She added that urbanization should be carefully planned in order to promote economic, social, and physical growth, as well as long-term development, and that the recently finished Nigerian Urban Development Policy precisely specifies how to reap the benefits of urbanization.

"However, we have continued to see the concentration of this population, primarily in specific settlements, as a result of pull and push factors." "Rebalancing hubs would allow for more competition among urban centers and less strain on infrastructure facilities like Lagos, resulting in the creation of new urban hubs to serve the population," she said.

She added that urbanization should be carefully planned in order to promote economic, social, and physical growth, as well as long-term development, and that the recently finished Nigerian Urban Development Policy precisely specifies how to reap the benefits of urbanization.

According to her, integrating the socioeconomic determinants that influence the spatiotemporal will allow the country to develop and implement both economic and spatial plans that complement each other and reduce poverty, improve environmental management, promote security, prevent slum development and urban sprawls, improve aesthetics, and increase attractiveness.

It will also strengthen urban governance, promote equality, develop strong settlement ties, promote regional balance, and promote equity. This integrated planning will ensure, among other things, proper geographical distribution, balanced infrastructure provision, proper policy formulation and execution, social equity, settlement links, and territorial balance.

According to Odunbaku, Africa must establish contextualized tactics that do not undermine the engagement of external potential partners. "Urban hubs are human settlements with urban characteristics such as high population density, good and convenient transportation."

She said that residents of African cities are constantly subjected to government policies that are typically based on neocolonial and neoliberal ideals, populist ideologies, imposed policies and programs by politicians and international multilateral agencies.

"These responses are typically based on utopian ideologies, relevant data, and a lack of the ideal level of citizen engagement to ensure a positive trajectory for growth and development, which has frequently resulted in monopolistic urban concentration and markets associated with an overabundance of harmful socioeconomic consequences such as fostering poverty, exclusion, crime, juvenile delinquency, a lack of physical and social infrastructure, unemployment, income deterioration, and increased cost of living."

Source: The Guardian