The Challenge of Development Control in Nigerian Capital Cities-A Case of Some Selected Cities in the Niger Delta

The astronomically increasing population and the spatial expansion of the primary cities in Nigeria necessitated the introduction of elements of development control in the country. This rapid population increase was occasioned by the economic and administrative roles which these cities played before and after independence in the country. These roles combined to trigger off rural-urban migration. The resulting situation was housing famine, haphazard spatial development, environmental chaos etc. in most parts of the cities. There became the need for the introduction of more stringent development control measures to prevent further environmental chaos. This step has resulted into the establishment of several physical planning laws to regulate physical development in the cities and major urban centres. Despite the existence of these laws over the years, most Nigerian cites are still far from being referred to as ‘world class’ cities. This has placed a serious question mark on the effectiveness of the development control mechanism in the country. In view of the question raised, this paper had taken a look at physical development control in some selected capital cities in the Niger Delta region of the country. In this regard questions were raised and directed at both the agencies in charge of development control and property developers in the study areas. It was discovered that inadequate funding, lack of equipment and machinery, lack of adequate public enlightenment, corruption on the part of planning officers, political interference etc. are some of the problems confronting effective development control in the capital cities. The findings had helped this paper to make appropriate recommendation as to how improvement can be made in the area of physical development and control in Nigerian cities. This paper is a product of intense days of field research that covered four cites in the Niger Delta. The information gathered from the field and the available literature from previous scholars on the subject matter made it possible to achieve the level of success recorded in this study. The use of structured questionnaire and direct observation technique made it possible to extract relevant information from our target population in this research. Face-to-Face discussion was also helpful in this research