URBANIZATION AND THE CHALLENGES OF INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT

URBANIZATION AND THE CHALLENGES OF INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT

                                                                  BY

                                                GABRIEL KUYE OLUSEGUN

               HND (Estate Mgt.) M.Sc (Housing Devt & Mgt); M.Sc (Estate Mgt); Diploma (Property Law)

               Dept of Estate Management, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos

ABSTRACT

The importance of public infrastructural facilities in the economic development of any country cannot be overemphasized due to the resultant effect of these facilities to the development of its economy and the general wellbeing of the citizenry. This paper examined the impact of the availability of infrastructural facilities on the quality of life of urban dwellers with special focus on Lagos State. Data for this study was through reconnaissance survey and observation of some parts of Lagos State, oral interviews and published materials on the topic. The study revealed that, apart from the inadequacy and the effect of over-population on the existing public infrastructural facilities in Lagos State, there is general lack of understanding of civic obligations of the populace with regard to the proper use and maintenance of public infrastructures. On the positive side however, the study also revealed the conscientious effort being made by the current Government in Lagos State to renew and upgrade the level of available facilities in order to meet the standard of the mega-city status of the State. Finally, part of the recommendations are that government should not relent in their current drive to give our numerous urban areas an appropriate face lift and that the culture of maintenance should be institutionalized through public education and the enforcement of relevant laws to ensure compliance.

KEYWORDS: Urbanisation, Infrastructure, Infrastructure management/maintenance

INTRODUCTION

Due to the gregarious nature of human beings, they congregate at various points where there is opportunity for trade, employment, commerce and industries, religious centres and political capitals among others (Ratcliff, 1949). The availability of a strong economic base exerts a great pull on population. On this, Barlowe (1958) stated as follows:

“Since the beginning of recorded history, locations along ocean and lake harbors, near the mouths of navigable streams, at intersection of land trade routes and at transshipment or break-in-bulk points along water and land routes have usually favoured growth.”

This statement could be interpreted to mean that certain natural factors engender the development of cities.

According to Bardi (1998), the two main factors discernible for the emergence of urban centres in Nigeria are:

a. Some of the urban centres developed as a result of activities going on in them which are favourable to the development of cities. Some of these activities are agricultural, commercial, industrial, administrative and transportation activities among others.

b. Some of the cities developed as a result of political intervention notably through deliberate establishment of federal capital territories (e.g. Abuja in Nigeria, Washington D C in tpitals. These state capitals have been developing rapidly as a result of concentration of public and private sector investments and the ability to attract Federal grants towards the development of massive public.

Onokerhoraye (1995) is of the view that the current pattern of urbanization in Nigeria has three distinct features namely:

• The spatial disparity in urban concentration being as high as 60% in South West, 23% in the North and about 18% in the East.
• The rapid rate of urbanization as a result of massive exodus of people from the rural areas to the urban area but also by the high birth rates among the predominantly young population.
• The urban growth in Nigeria is mainly motivated by the desire of the young rural dwellers to move to the urban areas where they believe there are better employment opportunities but which sometimes may not be the case. This situation has resulted in the presence of large number of unemployed youths in many Nigeria cities with the resultant increase in social problems such as crimes and over-crowding in residential houses (Onokorhoraye, 1995).

According to Adediji (2009), urbanisation, when it develops within the right atmosphere, offers both economic and social benefits. The aggregated advantages and economies of scale create large markets which promote investment and economic growth. Cities are therefore generally regarded as the engine of the economy of nation.

URBANIZATION AND INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

As a direct consequence of concentration of people at points with natural and man-made attributes, certain other needs arise in order to further enhance human existence in these cities – one of these other needs is infrastructure. According to Onibokun (1985), the growth of an urban centre is achieved by the community facilities and the expansion of urban population, that is, if a certain community has facilities gradually, the population in that area increases and this brings along problems and difficulty.

Different definitions have been ascribed to the term infrastructure. Hornby (1985) define infrastructure as the basic structures and facilities necessary for a country or an organization to function effectively (e.g. buildings, transport, water and energy resources and administrative systems). According to World Health Organization, infrastructures are the necessary services, facilities, equipment and devices needed or desired for the physical and mental health and social well-being of the family and individual. Donald (1972) expressed the view that infrastructure is a physical structure and facility developed or acquired by public agencies to house governmental functions and provide services like water, electricity, waste disposal, etc, in order to facilitate the achievement of social and economic objectives.

The above definitions revealed that infrastructure could be described as the essential infrastructural facilities provided and maintained for public use and enjoyment; the bedrock on which the development of any nation stands. Some of the key urban infrastructures include water supply, sewerage, sanitation, intercity roads, electricity, drainage system, waste disposal and public transportation systems among others. In this regard, infrastructure can generally be divided into two-those that engender urbanization, and those that are necessitated by urbanization. Places with a good number of natural factors which provide facilities and services in the first group are favoured locations for the growth of human settlements. At times in modern times, new towns could be cited where these factors do not exist but are created for the required purposes. According to Adediji (2009), the continued production and efficient growth of urban economies, hoverer, depend upon adequate provision of urban infrastructure and social services such as housing, roads, water supply, water treatment and solid waste management.

The rapid rate of urban population growth has been associated with environmental decay. Some of the problems resulting from rapid urban growth which affect both the quality and quantity of the urban environment include (Onokorhoraye, 1995; Ramachandran, 1992):

• Over-crowding in residential accommodations;
• Lack of pipe-borne water supply
• Air, land and water pollution ;
• Traffic congestion insanitary living conditions;
• Inadequate solid waste management operations;
• Congestion in health facilities and schools;
• Poor supply of electricity;
• Poor road maintenance;
• Defective land use planning resulting in such problems as flooding, erosion, poor road network and noise pollution;
• Uncontrolled growth of slums and squatter settlements;
• Unemployment and hence poverty; etc.

These problems have continued to increase in intensity due mainly to lack of funds, ineffective institutional framework, inadequate infrastructural facilities and lack of appropriate management tools to put them in check.

On their part, Ozigbo & Ozigbo (2008) alluded to the fact that there are problems in our urban areas consequent upon which they outlined some the measures that could help ensure the functionality of our numerous cities in the country. Some of these measures include:

• Putting in place an effective planning authority to ensue building and development approval and standardizations; enforcement of building set-back and sub-division regulations
• Effective road network with functional drainages
• Availability of recreational facilities and other necessary infrastructure.
• Maintenance of adequate security for lives and property.
• Good traffic management system
• Proper environmental and waste management
• Provision of pipe-borne water and reliable power
• Population monitoring and citizens participation in the city affairs
• Efficient maintenance culture
• Dedicated administrative and democratic authority founded on rule of law and due process
• Availability of employment opportunity for the populace.
• Involvement of requisite professions in matters connected with city planning, governance and development.
• Patriotism on the part of the citizenry.

From the above paragraphs, it is apparent that the various functions performed by urban infrastructure are multifarious and indispensable. These functions include transportation, portable water supply, drainage/sewerage systems, communication, power generation (electricity), generation of employment opportunity and the likes. Proactive efforts should therefore be made that will ensure that our urban infrastructure perform all their respective functions in order to as ensure that our urban centres is made more conducive for the city dwellers. Furthermore, it is obvious that infrastructure contributes greatly towards the enhancement of health and social life of the citizenry. There is no doubt that constant electricity, wholesome public water supply primary health services and sound security arrangement and good sanitary environment will go a long way to increasing the quality and standard of living of the populace but the inadequacy or lack of it in parts of urban areas have made some part of these cities more habitable than others.

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROVISION AND MANAGEMENT OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN NIGERIA

In Nigeria today, the provision and management of urban infrastructure is largely in the hands of the three tiers of government namely the Federal, State and Local Governments. These tiers of government have been involved in the provision and management of various aspects of urban infrastructures. Each of these three levels of government has some responsibilities assigned to them by the Constitution. For example,

• Section 15(3) provides that; for the purposes of promoting national integration, it shall be the duty of the state to provide adequate facilities for and encourage free mobility of peoples, goods and services throughout the Federation.
• Section 16(2) provides that the state shall direct its policy towards ensuring the promotion of planned and balanced economic development and the provision of suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, and reasonable national minimum are provided for all citizens.
• While section 17(3) provides that the state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that conditions of work are just and humane ad that there are adequate facilities for leisure, social, religious and cultural life.

Some of these responsibilities are exclusive to each of the three tiers of government while others are concurrent. Some of the agencies of government involved in the provision and management urban infrastructures are outlined below.

• Town Planning Departments: These are state government agencies operating mostly as components parts of Ministries of Lands and Surveys. The Town Planning Departments are responsible for the physical planning and monitoring of all development on land. These departments prepare master plans that guide the growth and developments on land and they also work towards the proper implementation of master plans.
• Federal and States Ministries of Works and Works Division of Local Governments: These are responsible for the construction and maintenance of different classes of roads in the urban areas and the construction of other structures such as drains and recreation centres.
• Federal, Housing Authority and State Housing Corporations: These agencies are responsible for the provision of public housing in the urban areas.
• National Population Commission: This is a Federal Government agency responsible for conducting the population census of the country and the keeping of accurate population records of the cities which is vital for the provision of the required public infrastructural facilities and definition of political boundaries.
• Federal Ministry of Water Resources and State Water Boards: These bodies are responsible for the provision of potable water for the urban and rural areas and the management of the available water resources within their respective areas of jurisdictions.
• Waste Management Boards: These boards are State Government agencies, and in conjunction with the local governments, are responsible for the management of solid waste disposal.
• Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN): This is a Federal Government agency responsible for the generation and distribution of electricity in the country.
• The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC): This is a Federal Government agency responsible for the provision of telecommunication services.
• The Fire Services Departments: These are Federal and State Governments agencies responsible for combating fire out-breaks.
• Federal Inland Revenue Service Boards of Internal Revenue service: These Government agencies, at federal and state levels, responsible for the collection of taxes and advertisement levies.
• Federal and States Ministries of Health: These Ministries are responsible for the health aspect of the urban They establish primary health centres, hospital and maternity homes.
• Federal and State Ministries of Education: These Ministries are responsible for the establishment and management of schools from primary to tertiary The Local Governments play significant roles in the administration of primary schools.
• Federal and State Ministry of Industries: These are responsible for the approval and location of industries.
• Federal and State Ministries of Transport are responsible for land, water and air transportations in the country.
• Federal Ministry of Defense is responsible for providing security at all levels and also the provision and management of security infrastructures.
• National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASEN)
• Infrastructure Concessioning Commission of Nigeria (ICCN) charged with the responsibility of contracting or granting the right to operate specific infrastructure over a specified period of time.
• The Civil Defense: The security outfit saddled with the responsibility of preventing the stealing and/or vandalisation of public infrastructure.
• Lagos Megacity Development Authority (LMDA).

CHALLENGES IN THE PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURES

The paradox of urbanisation in most developing economies including Nigeria is that the unprecedented increase in population and urbanisation has not been matched by growth in resources, particularly finance. While urbanisation over the last 25 years has averaged 5.8% per annum, GDP growth average was less than 2%, and in some years was actually negative. Nigerian cities are therefore generally under serious fiscal stress that is seriously militating against the provisions of the needed urban infrastructure consequently leading to environmental decay and degradation and the attendant grave physical social and economic consequences (Adediji, 2009).

Diverse problems have been identified with the provision, management and maintenance of infrastructural facilities which have serious implication on quality of life generally. Public utilities in some areas have deteriorated such that water taps are always dry; there is constant epileptic public power supply and there exist poor environmental sanitation most especially blocked drainage and refuse disposal problem to the extent that the access roads, most times, serves as refuse dumps. Over population coupled with grossly inadequate infrastructure could be said to be the major cause of these problems. Unfortunately, government at various levels are doing very little to maintain the few available infrastructure thus compounding the problem of over population in most of our urban centres.

Alausa (1997) identified the following problems that militate against the various government agencies in the provision and management of urban infrastructures:

• Inadequate budgeting resulting from poor socio-economics data base.
• Lack of skilled man power and poor working condition
• Outdated accounting and management practices
• Low revenue generating despite increasing capital and overhead costs.
• Inability to attract external funding from financial institutions.
• Poor capital revilement and project replicability.
• The need to balance economics of scale with the community felt needs.
• Political interference, imported technology and wrong advise by the bureaucrats.

Alausa (1997) further submitted that only privatization of urban infrastructure can reduce the problems associated with its maintenance to the barest minimum. In the view of Chukwuma (1997), constraints to maintenance planning of urban infrastructure include wrong attitude of people to maintenance, lack of funds, lack of expertise and inadequacy in the supply of essential spare parts, equipment and materials required for maintenance works. He however suggested few approaches to maintenance planning to include maintenance policy, designs and construction, maintenance manual, data base, planned inspection, maintenance programming, work scheduling and modern methods of execution of works, among others.

Other identifiable problems with regards to the provision and management of urban infrastructure include:

• There is no reasonable coordinating effort among various agencies of government towards creating a sustainable urban environment. At present, urban infrastructural development and management is largely characterized by inadequate adaptation of inappropriate standards and legislation, poor and lack of sustainable maintenance of urban infrastructure, disjointed administrative framework and uncoordinated efforts of the three tiers of government and the various government agencies.
• Imbalance in the distribution of infrastructural facilities and the resultant rural-urban migration: The existing public infrastructures are made considering the existing inhabitants without adequate concern for immigrants or future natural population growth thereby causing over utilization of the facilities and thus resulting in the early breakdown of these Apart from this, it is a common phenomenon for some State Governors to focus attention on massive infrastructural development of the State capital to the detriment of other towns and villages in their respective State. The consequences of this neglect are that there is usually no light, no drainage, no good road, and inadequate communication network thus resulting in the incidence of slum creation. This lack of infrastructure or the non-maintenance of same in the rural areas of Nigeria is responsible for the influx of migrants into the cities. The resultant upsurge in population exerts undue pressure on the existing epileptic infrastructure leading to incessant breakdown.
• Attitude of people towards public infrastructure: The government and the individuals should share the blame for the wanton destruction of installed public infrastructure. On the part of the government, inadequate planning and the resultant unguided development often leads to over loaded infrastructure with incessant breakdown. Politicization of priorities leads to some urban areas being neglected while others areas are over Instability of government often results in policy summersault resulting in inconsistency and reordering of priorities by the new administration, especially in the area of national policy on infrastructural development. This practice often leads to project abandonment and avoidance wastage. For example, the incinerators constructed for waste disposal in Lagos in the early 80’s and the metro line projects became moribund due to change in government.
• The fact that the public do not often enjoy efficient services as expected thus developing an attitude of total disregard for installed public infrastructures. Some express their frustration openly by venting their angers through willful destruction of these amenities with impurity. It is a common phenomenon in Nigeria to see telephone and electric cables belonging to NITEL and PHCN respectively being carted away by vandals; as if this is not enough, they go further to remove the underground cables as well. This is due to the misguided belief of these vandals that government property is nobody’s property and as such, nobody cares about what happens to them. For instance, the non-commissioning of various infrastructures in the country is not unconnected with the removal of the relevant cables, spare parts machines and transformers by The development which the installation and commissioning of these project would have brought to the community concerned becomes elusive thereby, hampering national development which is the yearning of all well meaning Nigerians, we need to change our attitude of theft and wanton destruction of public assets.
• In addition to the above, there is lack of:
  • political will to formulate and/or implement desirable policy decision with regard to .
  • maintenance culture on the part of government and the populace.
  • commitment and understanding of civic obligations and responsibilities on the part of the populace towards installed public infrastructure.

THE WAY FORWARD

To ensure a sustainable environment and rapid infrastructure development in the urban areas, the following measures could be adopted:

• All the relevant laws, edicts, policies and regulations touching on city development and management should be enforced as a means of rejuvenating and transforming the urban area.
• Vigorous public enlightenment campaign should be carry out to enlighten the populace on the need to imbibe positive values, habits and attitudes for an enhanced city characters in the way and manner in which public infrastructure is utilised.
• Government at various levels should endeavour to decentralise development as a means of decongesting the surfing population at our cities and by implication, allow for better management and control.
• All government agencies charged with the provision, management and securing public infrastructural facilities: should strive to always live up to expectation as a means of winning the confidence of the citizenry. There should be proper coordination and cooperation among the various government agencies saddled with the responsibility of providing and maintaining public infrastructures.
• At State and Local Government levels, there is need to recruit, train and deploy special city guards charged specifically with the responsibility of surveillance over residents to ensure they observe all do’s and don’ts designed to ensure city functionality and sustainability. At Federal Government level, the Civil Defence Commission should be strengthened and adequately equipped so that the Commission will be well positioned to effectively discharge their responsibility of policing public infrastructure.
• Government should ensure that maintenance guidelines always accompany any facilities brought into being including equipment procured from abroad or manufactured locally and such guidelines are to be strictly followed by the users.
• Effective deployment of technology in the provision and management of urban infrastructure. According to Adebiyi and Adeoye (1997), geographic information system (GIS) is a powerful tool that could be employed in the effective management of urban The duo stated that GIS is a tool that could be used for the purpose of capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analyzing and displaying geographic information in a computer. Areas of application in the urban development and management may include monitoring changes, forecasting changes, service planning, transport network management, property development and investment, education and a host of others.
• Every government establishment including government parastatals and ministries should have a welt equipped and functional maintenance department.
• Privatization of public utilities: The public utilities that are currently enjoying monopoly have proved to be grossly inefficient. There is a need for the government to privatize the provision, operation and/or the maintenance of certain public infrastructure by allowing private sectors participation in the various industries, without compromising national security and/or slacking in their social responsibility to the citizenry.
• Faced with inadequate public financial capability and increasing demand for infrastructural facilities, governments worldwide are now exploring new infrastructure procurement route through public-private-partnership (PPP) initiatives. Typical models of this PPP initiative include (Adediji, 2009):
  • Build operate and transfer (BOT)
  • Build lease and transfer (BLT)
  • Build own and operate (BOO)
  • Build Transfer and operate (BTO)
  • Rehabilitate operate and maintain (BOM)
  • Develop operate and transfer (DOT)
  • Contract, add Operate (CAO)
  • Concession Agreement (CA)
  • Joint venture (JV)

Examples of PPP projects in Nigeria

Source: Adedeji (2009)

• Eradication of corruption in high places: Corruption is the bane of our society and the collapse of our urban infrastructure can be traced to it. Government must intensify efforts on the anti- corruption crusade and quest for a National Rebirth. Money earmarked for infrastructures provision or maintenance is sometimes shared or the project is poorly executed or never sees the light of the day.
• The institutionalization of maintenance culture: The quality of life of the people depends, among other social and economic factors, on the physical conditions and special characteristics of our villages, towns and cities. Maintenance culture should be made to be part of our national consciousness, enforceable much in the same way as environmental sanitation, which is another form of To continuously ensure the enhancement and preservation of the environment, sound maintenance policy should be in place including programme of periodic upgrading and modernization.

CONCLUSION

Effort has been made in this paper to appraise basic issues concerning the provision and maintenance of urban infrastructures in Nigeria. The paper establish the reasons why infrastructure in urban areas are in a deplorable state and need for urgent attention to be made to ameliorate the negative effect of the on the living standard and productivity of the people. In order to overcome this infrastructure provision and maintenance challenge, it is imperative that we look outside government and its resources to improve on the stock of our national infrastructure. A policy thrust, which encourages private investment and initiatives, should be put in place by government to achieve its set goal of economic revival and growth through infrastructure development.

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