Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
March 28, 2023.
The African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) has vowed to tackle urban development challenges in Africa’s rapidly changing cities.
According to the Research Consortium, Maiduguri is one of the 12 African cities in which ACRC engages communities, researchers, agencies, state actors and other stakeholders in urban transformation.
Unveiling the challenges of urbanization, yesterday (Tuesday), in Maiduguri at the ACRC stakeholders’ research uptake meeting, Babakura Bukar, the Research Uptake Lead, disclosed: “Young people face many challenges including lack of access to high quality education, unemployment, drug abuse and exclusion from formal decision-making processes.”
He lamented that most of the young people remain optimistic about graduating from schools and gaining decent employment opportunities.
Besides, he added that despite several safety and security interventions in the last decade, there are reported cases of periodic clashes among youth’s groups in communities.
“There were mobile phone snatchings and burglary,” he said, forcing many residents in low-income areas to resort to locally mobilized self-defense.
The ACRC themed: “Tackling priority complex problems to unlock urban systems,” was to explore positive transformation that leads to economic growth, improved well-being and inclusive development at all levels.
According to him, the inclusive development of cities comprises political settlement, land and connectivity, safety, as well as youth and capacity development in Borno state.
He noted that the Boko Haram insurgency has impacted on the trajectories of the developmental pattern of the Maiduguri city.
On the potential domains of the Research Consortium, he said that they included housing, informal settlement, health and well-being, youth capabilities and economic development.
“African cities growth has been dependent on natural resources and, with urbanization without significant levels of structural transformation,” he said.
According to him, it has failed to lay the foundations for future prosperity in most of the African countries.
Besides, he added: “Increasing growth has led to more opportunities and the potentials to reduce poverty, but livelihoods remain difficult for low-income households in urban areas on commodity markets for their basic needs of life.
Bukar attributed the challenges of urban development to lack of access to services, including portable water, sanitation and waste management and the impact of pollution from household and commercial activities.
“They have led to poor health in low-income neighborhoods in the 12 rapidly changing cities in Africa,” he noted.
The Borno State Commissioner of Environment, Yerima Saleh, while declaring the ACRC Stakeholders’ meeting open, disclosed: “The problems we have in our society is the management and control of population,” adding that this is related to discipline among the residents.
Continued; “When governments provide infrastructure like drainages, then the people dump refuse there and this creates environmental challenges.”
The Director of ACRC, Martins Atela, in a virtual presentation from Nairobi, Kenya, sought support of the Federal and State governments in the implementation of research findings on Maiduguri city.
End.
