By Murtala Uba Muhammad (PhD)
My most recent article, published by Solacebase.comDailyreality.com, where I highlighted the environmental crisis in Kano and the looming environmental disaster if the government’s current actions are not taken seriously. In the article, I called Governor Ganduje’s attention on the need to limit his government’s trade-off between revenue generation and the environment. Two of the most important questions I had was raised by the article. The first is why the article was directed at Baba Ganduje. The second is how innocent are our professionals when it comes to the facilitation and management of environmental crises.
I addressed the write-up to Governor Ganduje and not to any of his Ministries, Departments, or Agencies (MDAs), in charge of land administration and development. The Land Use Act of 1978, which remains the most authoritative land law in the country, specifically named the governor as the only person responsible for granting urban land allocations. Before one can use and access urban land, he had to sign the certificate of occupancy.
The current arrangement in the State places the Bureau for Land Management under the direct control of the Governor. It is charged with issuing land certificates. Baba Ganduje is therefore presumably the commissioner of lands. It is also important to note his educational qualifications (being one of the few PhD holders that has governed the state) as well as the rank he held in federal and state civil services. Ganduje is undoubtedly the most educated and experienced person, and a skilled technocrat in public administration to rule the commercial center state. He also commands the highest expectations based on the Platonic theory, King Philosopher.
Answering the second question requires us to address three important issues. The first, which is the most basic is who are the stakeholders/professionals in the built environment. The second is who are these professionals and what are their ethical conduct. The third is examining the professional’s roles and ethics in relation to what is happening in the city with the goal of exonerating.
Numerous professionals are involved in creating an urban environment that is conducive to living. Some have a primary role while others can be described as secondary. The scientists and engineers who are directly involved in the creation of the environment or building it, are the primary professionals.
The core of this is the basic environmental scientists, which include the land surveyors (geographers, geologist, and of recent environmental managers), architects, town planners, land administrators, and building (including transport etc.) engineers. The secondary professionals, which play an indirect role in maintaining interaction in urban environments, are management scientists as well as social scientists and humanities. This article will focus on the primary professionals whose roles are most visible and tangible, and whose footprints are more evident in cities’ landscapes.
The basic role of an environmental scientist is to generate information about the environment and the state of the city. They are responsible for generating the baseline data necessary before any development in an environment. The data includes information on the terrain, drainage and groundwater status as well as soil and air quality.
Their work is the foundation for design and development. Their services include the identification and assessment of environmental and socio-economic impact (ESIA), as well as regular monitoring of environmental parameters to monitor the quality of the environment.
Urban development is centered on planning, which includes designing and ensuring compliance. Planning is essential to creating a just, people-centered urban environment. Failure to do so will lead to stunted urban growth and unhealthy development, such as shanty and shanty communities, ghettos, or informal development.
This development makes the city look ugly, encourages social vices and makes it difficult to provide infrastructure. It also triggers social exclusion, public injustice, and degrades the quality urban life. This is why urban planners play a critical role in city administration. A functional planning unit that is just and fair is essential.
Planning unit is responsible for creating a suitable layout for different urban land uses. It also ensures that planning codes are adhered to and assists city administrators in creating an all-inclusive urban environment. Planners will need the help of other professionals such as land surveyors (quantity surveyors), cartographers and GIS professionals.
Urban building structures should meet certain standards to allow for dynamic and comprehensive urban interaction, last the test of times, and be competitive with other urban settlements both at national and global levels. It is here that sound civil engineering and structure are required to design and build urban structures and infrastructure. Professionally done, ethically compliant architecture is essential to give urban its best look. Professional estate surveyors are also important to city sustainability. They not only advise the rich and those in the land business on where to cit their estates, but also provide services to the middle class, working class, and poor.
It is important to remember that each of these professions is guided by ethics. These guidelines ensure ethical conduct and a just discharge of their responsibility. Professionals must report facts as they are and, where necessary, should offer advice. They should also question all wrongs and do right by their colleagues. Professionals do not like to be on the sidelines. Instead, they confront evil in civilized and appropriate ways. Advocacy is a core part of professionalism, and it is especially important through professional bodies that engage leaders on the path to development.
It is clear that things are not going well in Kano City’s development. It is known that the city has had no comprehensive planning document for almost forty years, since 1983 when the Trevallion Plan ended. There was no provision for a new one. The result was chaotic and chaotic city development. The KNUPDA, the planning authority, indulged in what it called a sector plan. This allows the governor to decide where and what type of layouts should be cited. The creation of new residential development plots was not only left to the public’s discretion, but many now view land speculation in the city as legitimate trade. Many now sell and retail in ugly-looking plots of land, which is below the standards of any conscious society. These informal layouts make it difficult to get roads, make water provision difficult and make providing healthcare services difficult.
The result is therefore a sprawl that could be classified as urban slum – except that the users were able to use letters of grand. Although we cannot definitively accuse KNUPDA or ministry of land staff members of contributing to this, they can be blamed for following the leaders’ lead and dancing to their tunes. We have never had to worry about any professional protesting any development within. Unless it is proven otherwise, every development we see has the endorsement of KNUPDA. If they don’t, it won’t happen. It was also suggested that some of the major infrastructure projects in the city were not subject to an EIA.
Violence in the built environment didn’t stop in residential areas where study shows that 47% of the population is informal. It is worse in markets, where shops cannot be accessed by roads. Due to the area’s compact development pattern, it is more vulnerable to fire. Accessing the affected area (or at risk) can also be difficult in the event of a fire disaster. This is a problem that is common in all major markets. It is especially true in Kantin Kwari Market (Kofar Wambai Market) where it is now difficult to identify the shop he last visited in the past five years. To prove that professionals were not involved in the development of this type of property, one must have sufficient evidence. Who approved these projects? You might also wonder what lessons Kano has learned from the previous fires, especially those of Kwantin Kwari and Sabon Gari, where billions of naira worth of property were destroyed.
It is understood that KNUPDA may be powerless and the various professionals who work there, which includes all the specialists in the built environment, cannot do anything under the current civil services arrangement. It is not easy to exonerate professional bodies like the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners, Nigeria Institute of Architects, Nigeria Society of Engineers and Association of Professional Bodies in Nigeria (APBN).
What has been the level of our support for the city’s development? This is a question that all professional bodies should answer. If we have low contributions, we need to ask other questions such as: Is it because many of our members own companies that execute these projects or is it because our members are not contributing enough? Do you think it is because of the connections between ministries and professionals who allow them to have a better chance at winning projects and therefore engage in scratch your back, I will scratch theirs? These associations have been reduced to the size of a toothless bulldog who can only bark but cant bite, but also to a tiny deaf and hearingless one that cannot even make an audible shout. If we fail to advocate as a group, I don’t think we should fail as individuals.
We don’t care about the project if money changes hands. It is sad to see how many associations only care about the annual event of individual papers presentations, promotion of individuals and payment of membership fees. They neglect the philosophy of protecting the environment.
Engineers and architects can all be given land to develop. They will do it regardless of the impact on the environment or other people. As we value projects for money, standard is not an issue in the profession of today. This is evident everywhere in the city, where you can see substandard buildings. Even in the markets, where the project’s purpose is to generate income, the structures are far below the management and construction standards. It is not uncommon to see structures built along or near waterways, which contributes to urban flooding.
It is clear that Kano Metropolis is in a mess when it comes to development projects. The Metropolis has poor planning and poor environmental practices. The city’s reputation as the capital of northern Nigeria and the largest state in the country is reflected in its environment. We blame the government for not doing enough. However, professionals need to address the question of complacency regarding the current city’s state. If they don’t, then everyone will be held responsible.
Murtala, a Geography lecturer writes from Bayero University, Kano and can be reached on [email protected]
