'Nigeria Not Ready for Rapid Urbanisation'
Habitat
By Dan Ede
Its mandate is almost as wide as the full stretch of the imagination of its members. Ranging from the mundane to the sophisticated and complex millennium issues, the responsibilities of the House of Representatives Committee on Habitat place it in a position to contend with virtually everything that affects man and his environment.
Speaking in an interview with THISDAY in his office at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, last week, Honourale (Rev.) Musa Wuyep, Chairman of the House Committee on Habitat, said his committee has oversight function over all the ministries, parastatals and agencies that have to do with the Habitat Agenda of the Millennium Development Goals. And he believes that the achievement of these goals can go a long way in checking the malaise of rural -urban drift the world over.
According to him, "the world over, there is migration from the rural to the urban centres. And the reason for this migration is the siting of basic amenities of life in the urban centres: communication, roads, water, availability of health care facilities and so on.
"Now, because of knowledge as it were; and because of the educational level that is getting to the peak, everybody wants to be a part of what is happening. And for that reason, there is a drift towards the urban centres. And because of this drift, the world over, Lagos is seen as one of the cities that has grown at a rate that has never been known before. This has created so much concern. But the point is: are we really ready for what is happening? That is where the millennium Development Goals will go along way in helping us. That is why my committee is so concerned about what each sector is doing towards combating the problems that are forthcoming", the Reverend gentleman said.
He said his committee was looking at a situation where there would be houses available for the people, adding that "not only houses for the people, but there should be a situation where these basic amenities are sited in the rural areas".
He continued: Now, with these things sited in the rural areas, it makes it easy for the rural dwellers to dwell in the rural places".
Wuyep cited China as a country where development in the rural areas seems to be growing more rapidly than that of the urban centres because of the even distribution of basic amenities across the country, arguing that should Nigeria adopt a similar approach, it would make for sustainable development.
The committee chairman disclosed that soonest, his committee together with the Urban Forum and the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development would hold a workshop to enlighten the stakeholders on this matter. At the workshop, all the major stakeholders will convene to discuss Nigeria's urbanisation problem. A letter to this effect has been written to the Urban Forum by the Habitat Committee, THISDAY learnt.
Honourable Wuyep contended that Nigeria has everything it takes to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, save good governance and adequate knowledge level. In his words: "Governance is based on Knowledge. As far as you are not properly informed, you rarely will be able to know what to do".
He cited the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) as a veritable platform for the attainment these goals. "The federal government has set a platform for these to be achieved. You have NEPAD (for) the development of global partnership which is the 8th millennium development goal, which led to the establishment of NEPAD. It is a good platform to achieve this because we need to develop a situation where we relate with other nations and see how things are done. And in Africa in general, which is a continent of developing nations, NEPAD will serve as a strong pillar to help put together what we need to do to achieve these fundamental goals that have been set before us", he said.
Among these goals are the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, achievement of Universal Basic (Primary) Education, promotion of gender equality, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, combating of HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability.
"By the time we have our focus (sharpened), these can be achieved. And if our ministries and our leaders set their minds towards achieving these, it will be very easy for us to achieve them because we have the manpower to achieve these", he contented.
Against this backdrop, he disagreed with the notion that the Ecological Fund should not be spent because there are some pending issues to resolve.
The National Assembly had earlier put the Ecological Fund on hold as a result of a recent Supreme Court ruling that the disbursement of the fund to the states by the federal government was a negation of the principles of federalism as it amounts to the federal appropriating for the states.
But Wuyep maintained that leaving the fund untouched in the face of mounting ecological problems in various parts of the country smacks of government shirking its responsibility. "I want you to look at it from this perspective. The fact that there is a pending issue on ground does not mean that the people should be in disarray", he said, citing the recent flood disaster in Gombe State as an event that required urgent attention. "Just of recent, you saw what happened in Gombe. Fortunately or unfortunately, I happen to be on the Committee on Governmental Affairs; and we were in Gombe. When I saw the level of destruction, I was deeply touched. Gombe is situated in a valley. And at the end of the day, if we are not careful, I see houses being washed away.
"Now, we have similar situation in my state (Plateau). If you think of the mining ponds in Plateau, it gives you great concern because people are dying every day. And you keep wondering how we can manage this. Do we sit down and wait till people are destroyed? Remember, the fundamental responsibility of government is the protection of the lives of the citizens. And, therefore, we cannot because there is a pending issue completely leave this out. That is why I believe that government should still be taking some strides to combat this problem until some of these pending issues are finally resolved", he argued.
The House Committee on Habitat serves as a data bank to other House committees. Essentially, it has seven functions as enshrined in the House Rules. These functions are closely or directly related to Habitat Agenda and commitment regarding sustainable development. It is to act in tandem with such House committees with specialized programmes as the United Nations Centre for Human Settlement Programs; facilitate the implementation of the resolution of the regional council for African and global parliamentarians on habitat and institutionalize habitat committees in the parliament of members countries.
Other functions of the committee are: to advise the House regarding networking regionally and internationally; initiating dialogue and technical co-operation in the areas of urban development strategy; on behalf of the House, maintain close symbiotic relationship with the following organizations: Habitat Agenda Programs, Global Forum for Parliamentarians; Commonwealth Consultative Group, Commonwealth Human Ecological Council; and liaise with other House committees to promote and help actualise habitat agenda principles and commitment of the Habitat Agenda. It is also to work on the budget estimates of the different ministries that have to do with Habitat Agenda of the Millennium Development Goals.
In the course of its duty, the committee relates with the ministries of housing and urban development, water resources, environment, agriculture, women affairs, health, education FCT, and intergovernmental affairs; National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
"These are the areas that have something to do with the Millennium Development Goals; and we have no option than to have an indepth knowledge of their plans and focus for Nigeria as a whole. We have written letters to these different ministries with an intention that they will furnish the committee with their relevant plans to achieve these goals within the benchmark set by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). And these goals are there with their targets", Wuyep told THISDAY.
And after this, where does the committee go from there? "From there, we have to relate with the different relevant committees that supervise those areas; and that relationship will create an opportunity for us to monitor what they are doing through the different committees; and we will be able to tell them what to do.... My committee is to catalyze other committees of the House to perform their functions effectively", he said.
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