The Ogun Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tunji Odunlami, has lamented the rise of insecurity in the country, urging professionals in the infrastructural sector to partner with the government to address the menace.
Odunlami spoke at the 2026 and 12th Waheed Kadiri Lecture organized by members of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Ogun State chapter on Tuesday.
The lecture themed,” Designing Safer Nigeria: Engineering, Planning and the Fight Against Insecurity”, was held at Leme, Abeokuta, the state capital.
The commissioner, while stressing that the lecture’s theme was apt and focuses on current issues in the country, argued that Governor Dapo Abiodun has supported the security agencies in the state by proving funds, vehicles, arms and ammunition including drones to ensure that residents are safe.
He said, “We are planners and engineers and so we should design into whatever we do, safety and security so that our environment can be livable and peaceful for our people.”
Odunlami advised all participant to become better informed, equipped and put into practice things that will improve the security and safety of citizens.
Delivering the lecture, Prof. Jeremiah Ojediran, Vice Chancellor of Bells University of Technology, Ota, opined that insecurity is a multidimensional challenge that demands coordinated and integrated response.
He asserted that no single profession, institution, or agency can effectively address it in isolation, harping on the need to foster synergy between engineers, planners, policymakers, and communities.
Ojediran, noted that while law enforcement remains indispensable, security outcomes are shaped long before crime occurs.
“Insecurity is not simply a matter of individual criminal acts or law enforcement deficits; it emerges from the way spaces are designed, maintained, and managed. Security outcome is shaped by the interaction between physical space, the resilience of infrastructure and institutional capacity.
“Crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping, cult-related violence, and organized criminal activity thrive in poorly planned neighborhoods, abandoned buildings, unlit streets, informal transport hubs, and congested corridors that limit visibility and response time
“What this clearly tells us is that insecurity in Nigeria cannot be sustainably addressed through policing and military force alone. It is deeply embedded in how our spaces are designed, how infrastructure systems function, and how planning decisions shape human movement, visibility, access, and control.
Meanwhile, the Rector of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Waheed Kadiri, stressed the importance of strategic planning and the need for professionals, particularly town planners, to combat insecurity through their work.
He also encouraged all the stakeholders to contribute their quota in the process of fighting insecurity in the country.
