The Nigerian Institute of Architects has highlighted the need to build effective institutions in Nigeria.

The Chairman, NIA Lagos Chapter, David Majekodunmi, made a case for such institutions on Thursday at the fifth distinguished lecture of the institute on Thursday in Lagos.

He said, “The building of effective institutions based on the rule of law is paramount.

“The need to address the full range of socio-economic and political factors for lasting peace to take root is needful. And the acknowledgement that in extreme situations, the use of force remains an important tool to prevent even greater atrocities is necessary.”

According to Majoroh, many architects today are grounded in knowledge of the aesthetics of design while lacking the requisite knowledge of how things work.

“While technology has made things easier, it has also created a dilemma, especially when technology is misused such as cyber fraud and the weaponisation of biochemical agents,” he said.

He noted that the constant quest for pushing frontiers and finding relevance had made it impossible to do away with technology.

On rural-urban migration, Majoroh said the search for self-actualisation and economic survival had created unplanned urban growths, loss of identity, creation of urban ghettos and dangerous journeying by sea from Africa to Europe.

To address the dilemma, he proffered various ideas such as more reliance on manual and drawing board schemes in tertiary institutions, restructuring architectural courses and enlightenment on the dangers associated with overreach of science with a view to prevent, rather than mitigate the fallouts of the misuse of technology.

He also called for greater implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility schemes to alleviate poverty, and rally against deforestation, which he said had encroached into the habitat of animals, creating environmental imbalance.