Over the last thirty years many urban areas in Nigeria have experienced dramatic
growth as a result of rapid urbanization and population growth. While cities in
Nigeria as well as other parts of the world, command a dominant role as both
centres of production and consumption, rapid urban growth of Nigerian cities has
seriously outstripped the capacity of most cities to provide adequate basic
services to their citizens. This study investigates the factors that led to the rapid
urbanization of Nigerian cities, especially Onitsha metropolis; the constraints to
effective provision of urban amenities; and the causes of poor urban planning.
The findings showed that the presence of substantial social infrastructure in
Onitsha urban area has been the major factor that engendered its urbanization. It
also revealed that there is rapid urbanization in relation to effective plans to
provide adequate urban infrastructures/amenities to service this trend.
Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between lack of good population
projection, inaccurate census data and poor urban planning in Onitsha. Hence,
these engenderers the bad effects of urbanization. The study calls for a revision of
the existing planning practice to take into account the growth in the urban area,
and the consequent increase in the demand for urban infrastructural services. It
gave suggestions on ways to improve urban planning in Nigerian cities to
include; proper articulation and implementation of planning policies and
programmes to address future influx of people in Onitsha urban area; urban
renewal and slum clearance programmes; imposition of a moratorium on
residential developments in urban areas and most importantly, governments’
commitment to tackle the multifarious problems of urbanization and urban
planning our urban areas.