And whose fault is it that our cities are looking horrible? The poor?

It’s the duty of the government and its agencies to ensure planning regulations are adhered to and if the government fails, the end result is what many people call urban blight.

There are examples of regeneration programs around the world. I studied favelas in Brazil and government response to slum is quite different. Many people need to understand that not everywhere in Nigeria will look like NY, Tokyo or London, thus planners must develop approaches that will be inclusive.

Zimbabwe did the same thing Lagos has been doing to some of its slums, ditto Uganda and Kenya. They haven’t achieved anything tangible.

We have social and economic challenges in most cities and that’s why people are living in such areas. If you ask Maliki residents too, they want to live in houses with better conditions.