Analysis of urban planning process and outcomes in dependent capitalist society shows that orthodox urban planning has not
only failed to address the root causes of informality and illegality of housing and human settlements but it has also failed to show
adequate concern for those facing the problems. Against this background, this study examined how planning laws and building
standards influence the politics of illegality in human settlements in Nigeria using Ibadan, the largest indigenous city in Africa,
south of the Sahara as a case study. The concepts of social exclusion and governance provided the conceptual basis for this paper
and data were sourced from both primary and secondary sources. The findings revealed that orthodox urban planners directly
influence illegality of housing and human settlements through the enforcement of mandatory and inflexible building standards
and planning regulations which have always generated conflict between the major actors in the planning process. The
politicization of building and planning legislations made some residents feel that they have been granted the license to develop
illegal houses and settlements. The need to shift emphasis from minimum desirable to the minimum feasible standards is germane
to discouraging the growth of illegal housing in human settlement