Timothy Choji, Abuja
The Nigerian government is considering constituting a presidential task team for the conceptualisation and operationalisation of standard architecture in Nigeria.
This was one of the requests made on Thursday by a delegation from the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) led by its President, Mobolaji Adeniyi, during a courtesy visit to Vice President, Kashim Shettima, in his office on Thursday.
The Institute also named the Vice President as Nigeria’s Champion of Good Architecture to elevate design as a national priority as well as a vehicle for unlocking economic potential.
Speaking during the meeting with the NIA delegation, VP Shettima assured the NIA of the support of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying the President is a dependable ally who is ready to work collectively to move Nigeria forward.
“I want to assure you that all your requests are hereby granted. I want to assure you that in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu you have a very very formidable ally with whom we can work collectively to catapult our nation.
“We have more than ten thousand architects in this country; we have people with the experience, with the exposure and technical knowledge to add value,” he stated.
While urging Nigerian Architects to support the current administration, VP Shettima described President Tinubu as “a compassionate leader who won’t even want to hurt a fly. But leadership requires taking hard decisions, and I believe that in the fullness of time posterity will be kind to him.”
The VP continued: “I want to implore you to support the government. We will, in turn, reciprocate by supporting you, by involving you because expertise is not something you can buy in the market place. Experience, skills are things that you have to learn and earn at a price.
“Together, we can make this country a great nation. What binds us together supersedes whatever that divides us. If this country succeeds, the black man can hold his head high in the gathering of the black.”
President of the NIA and leader of the delegation, Mrs Adeniyi, had earlier said the reason for their visit was to share the vision and mission of good architecture in Nigeria and its role in delivering not only the Renewed Hope mandate of the Tinubu administration but the all-round attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the country.
She noted that “architecture embodies not just the physical structure but a representation of our culture, society, and ways of life and other concepts of human lives most especially in today’s contemporary world.
“Good architecture propels societal progress. When we design and deploy good architecture it positively impacts society and those who live in our cities and use our buildings in schools, hospital, airports, rail stations, factories, homes, markets, tourist resorts, green recreation areas among others,” Mrs. Adeniyi added.
Challenges
She highlighted some of the challenges in the sector to include increasing departure from architectural design standards and specifications in the construction and oversight functions for buildings, paucity of locally manufactured building materials, lack of up-to-date expertise and capacity for advanced buildings, supply chain constraints as well as sub-standard or poor-quality building materials.
Adeniyi urged the Vice President to be the country’s “Champion of Good Architecture, to elevate design as a national priority and making architecture the bridge between aspirations and a reality.”
She also invited the Vice President to its 65th Annual General Meeting on November 26, under the theme “Architectural Excellence for Economic Resilience,” revealing that VP Shettima would be conferred with the Honorary Fellowship of the Institute during the event.
Hauwa Abu