NIA Projects Lagos in Next 25 Years

By Fadekemi Ajakaiye

The Nigerian Institute of Architects, NIA, Lagos Chapter, has projected the city of Lagos for the next 25 years.

This projection was held recently in Lagos at the 12th edition of the Lagos Architects Forum tagged “The City of Lagos: The Next Twenty-Five Years”.

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu stated that “when designing a space for 22 million people, it is certainly not an easy job. As we know, the future belongs to the cities. COVID-19 has also taught us the real essence of planning our spaces very well.

“Lagos as we know occupy less than 0.4% of the landmass of this country, one-third of which is water, so the need to start building for the future,” he said.

“To be Africa’s model mega city, a global player, an economic and financial hub, we had to set up a 6-pillar of growth, an agenda, to actualise our dreams tagged THEMES; Traffic management and transportation; Health and environment; Education and technology; Making Lagos, a real 21st century economy; Entertainment and tourism; and lastly, Security and good governance,” he said.

The Oniru of Iru Land, HRM Oba Abdulwasiu Lawal, stated that the world is undergoing massive urbanisation, at an unprecedented rate and Africa is not exempted.

“According to the world Bank, for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s people live in the cities and over 90% of urban growth is occurring in the developing world, adding an estimated 70 million new residents to urban areas each year. A report by Gensler states that by 2050, we would need to build a city the size of London every month, for the next 400 months to accommodate the increasing global urban population growth,” he said.

“Talking about our beloved city, Lagos; This city is one of the few in the world in a phenomenon called hyper-urbanisation with its attendant problems including micro and macro slum developments, crippling traffic congestion, poor waste collection and management amongst others. This raises like; what kind of cities should we be making? And having answered this, how should we go about making it? “he asked.

“I strongly believe it is possible to create a better world through the power of design. It starts with a focus on people, the places, and the spaces they occupy every day, human-centric design – design solutions that prioritise human experience. Through this lens, we can reimagine the future of our cities,” he said.

The Chairman, NIA, Lagos Chapter, Arc David Majekodunmi stated that the chapter had a line-up of activities, both physically and virtually in areas of networking, economic opportunities, sharing of knowledge, experiences, and a lot more.

“The theme; The City of Lagos: The Next Twenty-Five Years, will examine critical contemporary issues, live case studies of successful business models, projects, etc.”, he said.

“We hope to succeed in achieving our advocacy role in sensitizing the various stakeholders in the Built Environment on steps and implementation strategies in achieving not just a mega-city, but a sustainable, resilient, eco-friendly, and liveable mega-city that is also an international cultural metropolis. As we step up in our commitment and involvement levels in activities to achieve all these, and also build on the inspiration from where the ocean meets the land,” he said.

“The students are the hope of the future of our profession, and they will be at the forefront of the construction industry in the next 25 years, hence a good reason to chart a vision for the future of the Lagos built environment,” he said.