By Tayo Joseph Lagos Nigeria
The Oyo State Government has allayed the fears of the people of the state over the proposed Ibadan City Master plan to be unveiled by May 2017, saying that the plan is a guide towards the physical development of Ibadan as well as prevent flooding and not a demolition exercise.
The state government explained that the ongoing development of Ibadan City Master Plan is to provide direction for future expansion and identify key development opportunities, noting that the “Master Plan is to guide growth and support development and not urban renewal. So, there won’t be any form of demolition. It is not a document that promotes or recommends demolition.”
These were disclosed by the Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Alhaji Waheed Gbadamosi during a press briefing on the ongoing development of the Ibadan City Master Plan held at the Head of Service (HoS) Conference room, Secretariat, Ibadan.
Alhaji Gbadamosi, who was supported at the Press Conference by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun and Special Adviser to the Governor of Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka, said that the traditional architecture and cultural landscape of the city will still be maintained.
According to him, “We are not going to tamper with the traditional homesteads and cultural landscape that typifies and beautifies the city. There won’t be demolition and we will stick with that. The aim of the Ibadan City Masterplan is to plan for the next 20 years while the vision is that: by 2036, Ibadan and its wider region will be a model sustainable and resilient city where development addresses the population’s needs, with thriving employment, providing a high quality of life for all.”
Alhaji Gbadamosi added that the Ajimobi Government set up the IBADAN URBAN FLOOD MANAGEMENT PROJECT (IUFMP) with the assistance of the WORLD BANK (WB) to prepare a master plan for Ibadan to ensure coordinated physical growth, improved socio-economic development, noting that the existing structures in place makes the city of Ibadan vulnerable to natural disasters such as flooding as witnessed on August 26th, 2011 in which many lives and properties were lost.
Gbadamosi explained “the resultant effects of this lack of robust planning, are manifested in the existing poor roads and drainage networks, in challenges of inaccessibility and in mismatched land uses. Other effects of the absence of a masterplan are the existence of slums and urban squalor, inadequate provision of social amenities/facilities like potable water supply, electricity, schools, health facilities and poor solid waste management.”
He assured that the present administration in the state will institutionalize the Master Plan to ensure that the coming administrations key into it, adding the master plan will go to the state House of Assembly for proper legislation and once it becomes a law, every administration will follow suit.
Gbadamosi said “the objectives of the Master Plan is to prevent flooding and mitigate any flooding impact caused to the settlement areas; to protect, manage and enhance the natural environment to improve connectivity and integrate with the emerging transport developments and to promote the city’s economy and attract investment and to meet the social needs and requirements of the existing and future population.
“Others to provide adequate utility infrastructure for the existing and future population; to protect and promote the cuture and heritage of the city; to enhance quality of life for all and to provide sound planning framework for efficient delivery and implementation.
“The spatial vision of the Ibadan City Master Plan is also underpinned by a set of principles which has informed all stages of the Master Plan development and implementation. The principles framing the vision are Sustainable City, Connected City, Cultural City, Resilient City, Green City and the Enterprising City,” Alhaji Gbadamosi expatiated.
