Alhaji Musa Paiko is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Musa Paiko and Co, a real estate firm in Abuja.
In this interview with TOPE SUNDAY, he spoke on why the country’s housing deficit persists.
Despite the huge housing deficit in Nigeria, some houses are still unoccupied in Abuja.
What do you think is responsible for this? The problems of unoccupied properties in Abuja are in two dimensions.
One, money is not much in circulation and secondly, property owners are very greedy.
Under normal circumstances, investment in a house is supposed to be recouped within fifteen years, but landlords would want that to be within the next five years.
As a result, they fix high prices on their property.
A house that’s supposed to be for N500,000 is fixed at N1m.
Also, a N1m house is fixed at N3 million, while a N3m house is fixed at N7m.
So, people can’t afford it because of the economic situation of the country.
On the other hand, some people believe that anyone living in Abuja is a millionaire.
Not everyone can live in Asokoro, Maitama or Gwarinpa because of the high cost of accommodation in Abuja.
Only few people stay in these, while the rest of the populations stay in settlement areas because of the affordability of housing there.
While you can’t get rooms for less than N500, 000 in the developed areas in Abuja, you can actually get accommodation for N30,000, N50,000, N100, 000 and above in the settlement areas, depending on your budget.
How can this be addressed? The government has to intervene by putting laws in place to checkmate landlords to reduce prices of their property by 50 percent so that people can afford them.
On the part of individuals, landlords should know that we are all humans and that it’s God that blessed them with those property; so they should not use it to intimidate others.
How do you think the huge housing deficit in the country can be addressed? Government should intervene by allocating mass housing to those that can afford to build and not just to allocate and start selling them.
Through the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, or Federal Housing Authority, government should be involved in massive housing at the state and local government levels.
I have observed that the federal government limits itself to cities.
There is no federal housing estate in many local government areas, especially in Paiko local government, where I hail from.
The federal government should build the house and give to individuals and companies that can afford them like they are doing here in Abuja with Karshi and Lokogoma housing estates.
Something like that will help.
Out of 180 million Nigerians, people that can afford to build houses are not more than 80m, while the remaining 100m people are tenants.
What is your assessment of the federal government’s massing housing project? Government is trying, but the truth of the matter is that even after building these houses, it will not go round because many people still cannot afford them.
Therefore, government can build houses where even someone with N500, 000 can acquire a house, not just a land.
Federal government houses are about N3 million.
Is this affordable in a country where majority are poor it? In Abuja, there are many federal government houses, estates, but only millionaires buy them.
One person can buy 10 and then resell, thereby defeating government’s effort for everyone to have a house.
The houses are built and shared secretly among Senators, generals who resell them because they can’t live there.
Where I live in the Federal Housing Authority at Lugbe in FCT, all amenities are there, street lights, drainages, just like Wuse 2.
But a senator came and when he couldn’t see his friends, he moved back to the city.
Federal government sold each of the unit of the estate for N13.5m, while some bought it between N16 and N20m.
Is it right for the government to collect N13.5m for a house it claims is meant for everyone? So, there is a problem, which cannot be solved at the moment.
As an estate developer and valuer, how can people can be house owners? I always advise my clients to go to environments where they can spend like N5m to buy a land and also erect a structure, instead of spending the entire money on acquiring the land alone.
Through my efforts, ordinary people like akara sellers have bought lands.
There are lands for N100,000, N150,000, N200,000, N1m, N1bn and above, depending on the area and hectare clients are looking for.
In places like Paite, Orozo, Ijah all in FCT layout, there are land at cheap prices.
The problem with Nigerians is that everyone wants to live in the city where all amenities are in place, instead of going to these local places.
It is not everyone that can become a landlord, but people should find their own level.
Even in terms of renting, ask yourself if you can afford the rent in Asokoro, or whether you should go to Karu, Kubwa, Gwagwalada, Karshi, Orozo or Keffi.
Personally, I have settled in many satellite towns like Suleja with only a road from Gwagwa Karim.
All the roads you are seeing today were not there.
I have lived in Life Camp, Nyanya, Karu, Mararaba, Kubwa, Lugbe.
It’s not that I don’t like the city, I was managing myself so that I can retire in the city.
