By Charles Ajuwa Nzete
Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the World Bank (2014) put housing deficit in Nigeria at over 17 million units. According to the United Nations, Nigeria has a population of almost 180 million and annual population growth rate of 2.8 per cent (2015).
In 2013, the then President Goodluck Jonathan stated that Nigeria would require 17 million housing units to bridge the gap. The cost implication he puts at a staggering N56trn. Then minister of Labour and Productivity stated that Nigeria would need to build at least 720,000 units annually to systematically bridge the gap.
Ezeigwe Patrick, in his ‘Evaluation of causes of Housing Problems’ identified the following causative factors: ‘Poverty, population increase, high cost of land, non-implementation of the housing policies, failure on the side of the government, high cost of building materials and corruption. He states that the factors were arranged in descending order; which implies that the least problem is corruption.
In truth, the effect of urbanization and urban growth on inadequate housing has been paramount. Nigeria has been experiencing a rapid rate of urbanization. The trend since the early 1950s has seen a significant rural-urban drift.
The thrust of housing policies by successive governments has been the same – to meet the quantitative housing needs of Nigerians. The current deficit of over 17m only serves to confirm failure of past efforts and policies. With our ever rising population, the problem can only exacerbate. Lack of consistency and continuity is commonplace practice. Each government comes in and introduces its own policies and programmes.
Government’s latest efforts at meeting housing deficit is the establishment of the National Housing Fund by Act 3 of 1992 to enable Nigerians in all sectors of the economy, particularly ‘those within the low and medium income levels who cannot afford commercial housing loans, such as civil servants, traders, artisans, and commercial drivers etc., to own houses’.
Aside the unrealistic down payment required to access the fund, there is a general lack of awareness on how the fund is being operated and how contributors could access it. In fact, as the contributions are done through the check-off system, many see the whole arrangement as a fraud. The Primary Mortgage Institutions, being the intermediaries between the Federal Mortgage Bank and the intending home owners are supposed to be the catalyst for ensuring the success of the NHF, but sadly, they are not even in all the states.
The solution here is the appreciation of the fact that the nation has a supply gap and that urgent steps are required to address the situation. The next is for the government to make conscious efforts coupled with strong political will devoid of the usual cavalier. A deficit of 17m housing units creates significant opportunities for innovative and affordable housing solutions.
Barriers to obtaining land to build own-houses are well documented. Government needs to take urgent steps to review the procedure to acquire land. The is need to amend the Land Use Act so as to relax some of its provisions. Government should show real commitment by launching a workable National Housing Plan; not just another trite policy pronouncement but with genuine political will to address the housing gap.
More Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) should be licensed and made to open offices in the states and rural areas. The Micro Finance model where some were licensed to operate in particular locations should be adopted and the requirements for licensing PMIs should be toned down. The PMIs should serve as the catalyst in the drive for housing solutions.
There should be an aggressive awareness campaign on the existence, purpose and workings of the National Housing Fund. It beggars belief that some senior public servants interviewed recently claimed ignorance of the fund. Some who knew were not aware of the process of accessing it.
The activities of private property developers should be properly regulated. In Abuja, for instance, there are empty estates everywhere because the houses are unaffordable.
Government should subsidize building materials and ensure that the price of houses by developers reflect the gesture.
One of Nigeria’s biggest social ills today is the plight of IDPs. The activities of insurgents have created serious new concerns with respect to housing as countless number of homes have been mindlessly destroyed by Boko Haram. Today, there are innovative housing solutions that could address the social needs of a ravaged and displaced people. In Rwanda for instance, two million people became homeless after the infamous massacre of over half a million Tutsis by the Hutu-led government. The war created a serious humanitarian crisis.
After the war, Shingeru Ban, winner of the 1994 Pritzker prize suggested low-cost ‘paper tubes’ as an alternative shelter solution, in view of the unmanageable number of displaced persons. The novelty did not just help save money but conserved trees in a move to reduce deforestation. This innovative shelter solution has been reciprocated in the Philippines after typhoon Haiyan destroyed 130,000 homes in November 2013. It is reported that Ban has been creating emergency paper shelter solutions around the world. The federal government, through the ministry of Works and Housing should carry out a work study on the practicality of this modern housing solution, in view of enormous challenges faced by humanitarian agencies in sheltering Nigeria’s IDPs which a UN report recently put at over 2.5 million.
The Federal Government recently announced plans to make use of local materials to execute its proposed new housing blueprint. It is of paramount importance that the pitfalls of previous efforts be avoided. The plan to use 90% local content is quite commendable as it will make the houses affordable as well create employment for our teeming youths.
As we await the unveiling of the new National Housing Policy, it is our sincere hope that the government must have done a critical analysis of why past policies have not been very successful. Officials should think outside the box and act differently this time by displaying genuine political will to confront housing deficits.
Nzete wrote from Ajegunle in Lagos
