Efforts to advance sustainable buildings and climate-resilient cities in Nigeria are being undermined by fragmented initiatives and a lack of coordination among stakeholders, the Green Building Council Nigeria (GBCN) said on Wednesday at the opening of the Future Cities Summit 2026 in Lagos. Speaking at the summit themed “Building the Future: Scaling Sustainability for Greener Cities,” Danjuma Waniko, president of GBCN, said Nigeria is not short of sustainability initiatives, innovation or policy interventions, but lacks the framework needed to connect and scale them. “The real issue is not that nothing is happening, but rather it’s an issue of disconnectedness and fragmentation,” Waniko said. “We have many different people and organisations who are doing great work in this space. But it often feels like there is no connective tissue. There is no clear framework connecting our efforts,” he added. Read also: Africa’s borderless economy is outgrowing its financial infrastructure, says tech expert The two-day summit, organised by the GBCN, brought together policymakers, developers, financiers, academics, urban planners and climate experts to discuss pathways to building sustainable and resilient cities. Waniko noted that sustainability activities are taking place across government institutions, the private sector, academia and local communities, but their impact remains limited because they are often implemented in isolation. “They are often scattered. They are not visible enough. And so ultimately, even though a lot is happening, these things are not reinforcing one another and they are not delivering impact at the scale we would like,” he said. According to him, one of the central questions confronting the sector is why years of discussions, policies and projects have not translated into the scale of transformation needed to address climate risks and rapid urbanisation. “Why does awareness not translate into action? Why does the finance that is available not reach the projects