Who builds 1m affordable housing units for Nigerians?

To the apologists and exponents of private enterprise as a major driver of economic growth, this question may pass as a mere rhetoric because 90 percent of them  would say “government has no business delivering housing”, but in a country where government has welfarist inclination but shirks responsibilities that drive that inclination, the question cannot be more apt anytime and anywhere else than now in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy.

Housing  is a critical issue and its staggering deficit in this country has elevated it to a level where it has graduated from being  just a social and economic need to a political issue that political office seekers leverage on to make campaign promises.

Not long ago, Nigerians were promised one million housing units annually as a bold step towards bridging the 17 million housing deficit that has remained intractable as the figure has remained the same several years after it was foisted on the housing sector by book keepers.

As if in preparation to fulfilling this promise, the federal government announced, a couple of months ago, that it had plans to build 40 blocks of houses comprising 12 apartments each in each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

“Government will lead the aggressive intervention to increase housing supply, by undertaking construction of public housing and formulate policies that will invariably lead to private sector participation and ownership to reduce our housing deficit”, Babatunde Fashola, the Minister for Power, Works and Housing, who made the announcement in his maiden media briefing in Abuja, assured.

But recently, President Mohammadu Buhari , at a National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja told the 22 states governed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to build 250,000 housing units annually that would be made available to Nigerians at affordable prices.

Buhari explained that the move would enable the party redeem its campaign promise of bridging the country’s 17 million housing deficit by providing one million housing units yearly for Nigerians, and also as part of his administration’s  response to the lingering challenges in the economy.

Fashola at an advocacy roundtable on ‘The Nigerian Real Estate Sector: A Reform Agenda’ organized by the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) in Lagos recently, threw in another dimension to the dilemma of a hopeful home seeker who had listened to him and his principal with his questions.

“Can (or should) government  provide homes for every Nigerian?” “Who should own houses?” The rich, the middle class or the poor? “What kind of house can we adopt as the Nigerian house?”, Fashola who was represented at the roundtable by Biodun Oki, his Special Adviser on Housing and Urban Development, asked.

Housing industry stakeholders have expressed worry over these discordant tunes coming from one government, alleging that, by its directive to the states to provide housing, the Federal Government may have jettisoned its planned intervention in the housing sector.

The stakeholders are also worried with the restriction of the proposed 250,000 housing units to only the APC controlled states, saying that such restriction leaves much to be desired as it amounts to reducing the president’s influence and powers to a some states and not all.

 “The usual policy talk or ordering the construction of housing units by this and past governments does not hold water and gives no cause for excitement”, says Chudi Ubosi, the President, Africa Region, International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI).

Ubosi, who noted that the present government was still struggling to come to terms with the reality of what they met on ground, explained that “there is so much that goes into achieving these objectives and, in most cases, political will, enabling infrastructure and regulatory environment are completely missing in heading towards realizing these objectives”, warning that unless some drastic actions including changes in laws governing land and land acquisition, etc are made, this call would be another policy on paper.

An investor, who did not want to be named, however commended the president for identifying housing along with power, agriculture and manufacturing  as growth sectors of the economy, advising that government should engage professionals and other relevant  stakeholders to deliver housing because, according to him, government has no business going into direct housing construction.

Adetokunbo Ajayi, MD/CEO,  Propertygate Development & Investment Company Plc, agrees, warning that  government should thread cautiously with its planned intervention in housing development.

“Government should avoid the temptation of getting into housing construction in its zeal to accelerate housing delivery. That will lead to regression and breed corruption. The government should rather focus on helping to build strong housing and mortgage systems with the private sector serving as the engine of execution”, Ajayi advised further.

“Descending into the arena to quench an inferno without proper planning may be grand standing, but it hardly secures real success”, Ajayi noted, advising further that government should embark on deliberate infrastructure development, especially major transportation-infrastructure, to stimulate massive housing projects.