Spread the word
A professor of Estate Management at the University of Lagos, Prof. Timothy Gbenga Nubi has warned that Ogun State risks becoming a dumping ground and dormitory for Lagos State if its proximity to Nigeria’s commercial capital is not properly planned and managed.
Prof. Nubi, stated this while delivering a keynote paper titled “Repositioning Physical Planning for Ogun State’s Next Forty Years” during the 40th anniversary of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP), Ogun State chapter, held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta.
Speaking on the theme “Honouring The Past: Designing The Future,” Prof. Nubi emphasised that spatial advantages do not automatically yield development, adding that Ogun occupies a strategically important position within the Lagos metropolitan region but has failed to convert its geographical advantage into a planned metropolitan advantage.
“Proximity does not create prosperity, it has to be planned,” he said.
The scholar highlighted that rapid urbanization along the Lagos-Ogun frontier has generated severe physical planning challenges, particularly along the heavily populated Isheri-Ibafo-Mowe-Sagamu Interchange corridor.
Nubi observed that while state planners attempted to respond to Lagos’ expansion through the Ogun State Regional Development Plan 2005–2025 and its Gateway City concept, developments around Mowe, Ibafo, and Ofada illustrate a persistent gap between planning vision and actual implementation.
To reverse this trend, the don advocated for a complementary metropolitan development strategy based on a structured hierarchy of growth centers, integrated transport corridors, affordable housing, and protected agricultural zones.
He therefore urged the state government to urgently draft and implement regularly reviewed master plans for Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, Ilaro, and other strategic urban centers, backed by digital planning tools and strengthened regulatory institutions.
In her response, the deputy g)overnor of Ogun State, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele, acknowledged that major infrastructure investments of the government have accelerated population influx from Lagos, warning that without proactive planning, the state faces increased traffic congestion, flooding, and environmental degradation.
Addressing immediate concerns raised by participants, the deputy governor assured the gathering that key issues ncluding the deteriorating condition and planning challenges around the Sango-Ota axis had been noted for action.
Also speaking, the National President of the NITP, Tpl Chime Ogbonna, represented by the Chairman of the Lagos State chapter, Tpl David Olawale described Ogun as Nigeria’s industrial hub, noting that how its emerging corridors are managed will define regional liveability for decades.
Ogbonna commended the Ogun chapter for its advocacy in implementing the state’s Urban and Regional Planning Law, driving inclusive housing initiatives, and mentoring the next generation of professional town planners.
Spread the word