Cities and communities are always shaped by the people who live in them. Building communities in a way that ensures future growth and development is unquestionably critical.
“A city always holds more than any person can know,” writes feminist author Rebecca Solnit.
“Great cities, spaces, and places are conceived, built, and structured around citizens’ participation in public life,” she continued.
Because communities are rapidly changing, structures, both residential and infrastructural, should be planned and built along places that are welcoming to everybody.
With this in mind, Governor Obaseki, who has a strong desire for Edo State inhabitants to live in a respectable and well-planned state, launched “Operation Plan Edo,” which began the government’s recertification of building plans as well as the collection of data on community socio-economic needs.
This project, which is in keeping with the Government’s vision of implementing the State’s 30-year development master plan, uses data collection and analysis to help the government better understand the most pressing needs of various communities in the State and make appropriate arrangements for them.
The Commissioner for Physical Planning, Urban and Regional Development, Isoken Omo, stated at the outset of this project that “the program will enable Government to key the State into the Edo Regional and Benin Master Plan formulated by the government to develop the State.”
According to the Commissioner’s account, Operation Plan Edo is also intended to address gaps in health centers, police stations, schools, marketplaces, and transportation hubs in several areas around the State. These are the much-desired government presences in communities that promote rapid growth.
It is vital to note that in order to carry out this exercise, 12 key-line ministries have been asked to collaborate with the Ministry of Physical Planning, Urban and Regional Development in order to determine people’s requirements. The findings will be organized to fulfill citizens’ immediate as well as medium and long-term demands.
In light of these results, all Edo people at home and abroad should support this project, which will restore order in the housing and infrastructure development sectors and generate the data base required for the State’s long-term growth.
Abuse of city planning has been rampant in the past due to weak oversight by prior administrations. Operation Plan Edo will take care of this. In certain towns, for example, land designated for roads, marketplaces, schools, and hospitals was sold to people who erected residential buildings without following approved plans.
The State’s Operation Plan Edo will ensure that this dreadful trend does not continue.