The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Dantata Town Developers Limited, Alhaji Alhassan A. Dantata, has explained why the huge housing deficits persist in Nigeria.
Nigeria, the acclaimed most populous black nation in the world, is said to be battling with a huge housing deficit in the region of 22million.
Though the housing deficits’ figure had been disputed at the different fora, Dantata said despite the challenges, Nigeria’s housing sector has been revolutionised.
Dantata, who spoke in an exclusive interview with Blueprint recently in Abuja, called on mortgage companies to rescue the housing sector in order to bridge the huge housing deficits.
He said: “Nigeria’s housing delivery is quite amazing and we have come a long way. Though it is not what we want, we have achieved a lot. Housing has been revolutionised and we now have people living in flats, and this was not so at the independence.
“Now things have changed. There are a lot of housing deliveries even if it is not enough. We have moved forward compared to when we got independence.
“The (housing deficit) figure may not be the exact one but definitely there are a lot of housing deficits because the purchasing power also contributed to this deficit. A lot of people who want to own the house don’t have the means to do so.
“Some of the houses are beyond their power and this contributes to the huge housing deficits we have in the country. If the mortgage companies can come up with innovative ideas, I think we can bridge the gap’’.
