Architecture has contributed N6.17trn to GDP –NIA

From Isaac Anumihe, Abuja

President, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Mobolaji Adeniyi, has said that architecture contributed over six per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025, about N6.17 trillion.

Addressing newsmen during the 65th Annual General Meeting, Conference and Exhibition at the weekend in Abuja, the president explained that architecture contributed N6.17 trillion and that there is no developing nation that does not depend on its architects.

“What is driving the economy of Dubai is the architecture. It is the tourism industry. And what drives the tourism industry is the architecture.

“How do you get employment for people? Do you know how many people get employed when you have a big building site? When you have urban regeneration? This is what architecture is doing concerning the economy. And so, architecture plays a very vital role, and we will continue to do so.

“Finally, this administration has been able to reach out locally and internationally, to government and stakeholders. And we have become a voice on the table — a strong voice on the table.

“We are partnering with government right up to the presidential level. The Vice President of this nation has agreed to champion a good-design initiative, and very soon you’ll be hearing much more about that.

“Also, we have partnered with the federal ministries to ensure that all public buildings are inclusive. Can somebody who is on a wheelchair access a public building? Do our public buildings meet up with the disability acts to ensure accessibility for people living with disabilities? So, we have partnered with the federal government, and we shall be retrofitting buildings all over the country — all public buildings — and we are working on that. Also, of course, we are doing a lot of advocacy to ensure that Nigerian architects occupy their space,” he disclosed.

On building collapse, which has remained Nigeria’s albatross for years, the First Vice President, Sani Saulawa, was emphatic that, so far, no member of the institute has been implicated in the menace of building collapse.

According to him, those involved in the unprofessional jobs are those who dabble into the building industry for money.

“So, they have no respect for the rules and regulations of building.

“They don’t have any background in any of the built-environment-related professions, but they just see it as an avenue to make money through construction. They just dabble into it without knowing the rules and regulations.

“There are no registered members of the Nigerian Institute of Architects involved in the unprofessional job. And to the best of our knowledge, we have not heard that any member of the sister professional bodies is involved.”