By Udeme Clement
The housing sub-sector is currently in the news for various issues. Recently, the Federal Government launched a mortgage scheme with a take-off grant of $50million to reposition the sector in order to create jobs for the citizens.
During his nation-wide broadcast on the occasion of the 54 anniversary of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan, said government would invest more in housing to rejuvenate the economy.
Also, the incessant cases of buildings collapse in the country, especially the latest collapse of Synagogue Church in Lagos, which killed about 115 people has attracted attention of many Nigerians and professionals to the sector.
Bode-AdedijiMr. Bode Adediji, a member, Federal Government Vision 20:2020 and the Group Executive Chairman, Bode Adediji Partnership/ Kontiental Developers Nigeria limited, spoke on the challenges facing the sector in the last 54 years, the need for a sizeable proportion of the nation’s revenue to be channelled to the real sector for optimum productivity, while calling on government to roll out revolutionary measures to stimulate rapid growth in the sector
Looking at housing and construction sub-sector in the last 54 years, what policies would you say government has implemented to fast track development?
To start with, it would be wrong to say that government has not done anything in the sector. Rather, we should look at the adequacy of government’s area of focus in terms of capital injection, the kind of housing policies and implementation. The extent that Nigeria so endowed still has 15million housing deficit units speaks volume of the progress made in the sector in the last 54 years.
However, another area of challenge is the totality of the perception of people and government at all levels about the sector. Without doubt, housing is a sector, which ought to be one of the drivers of our overall economic activities as a developing country and contributes significantly to creation of jobs, especially for the youths. Housing ought to play a vital role in the components of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which has been rebased. I am of the opinion that, until we have a government that is bold enough to roll out a revolutionary programme in the sector to stimulate tangible growth, we would only have crusades everyday without positive changes.
What do you mean by crusade, is the housing sector a church?
I see it as a crusade because government agencies announce to the public everyday new housing scheme and programmes without any tangible achievement on ground. Only Lagos State Government is always waking up to its responsibility in the sector as the economic nerve centre and the melting point in all geographical regions in the country.
We have not seen commensurate efforts from the Federal Government by unleashing revolutionary thinking and practices to address the spiral housing crisis facing the nation.
As a member, Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economic (CASLE) and a known professional in the sector, could you give us statistics on what housing contributes to our GDP currently?
The sector contributes only 3.5 per cent to the GDP, compared to advanced countries, which contributes between 20 to 40 per cent. For instance, America places much premium on housing and construction sector, such that, it becomes a barometer with which the boom of their economy is always measured.
When contributions from their housing sector to the GDP is rising they know that the economy is doing well, but when it declines, they would sense that something is wrong because they give attention to the sector at all times.
Nigeria is celebrating 54 years of independence. Looking at housing holistically, at what point did government loose focus in growing the sector like what obtains in developed economies?
In dissecting the housing problem one must understand the basic factors, efforts as well as pronouncements from one regime to another, and how everything has come to virtually nullity when we compare the indices of growth in our housing sector to other countries in the world.
For as long as we don’t have the political will to overhaul the Land-Use Act, which today constitutes an impediment on assess to land and affordable houses for Nigerians, all pronouncements regarding the housing delivery system being on track are simply political or gibberish. Until a sizeable proportion of our revenue as a nation is channelled to the real sector of our economy in particular, finance that is oxygen to development would never be available or adequate.
One fact that a nation cannot run away from is that a perpetual culture of cash and carry syndrome in our engagement with the housing sector at all levels has been the tragic phenomenon hampering the roll out of a robust mortgage system, which today for all nations is the panacea to solving housing crisis.
Based on this assessment, I have not seen any dramatic change in policy formulation and implementation from one regime to another, especially in the last 30 years. As a professional, I would humbly submit that every regime addresses the issue but I have always seen such intervention not as sustainable reality but as symbol of tokenism.
A credible housing programme must cut across all social classes and in most cases should be inward driven, rather than external dependent on massive importation of building materials. Nigeria as a nation is not self sufficient in producing local housing materials but only dependent on importation of such materials. We lack the capacity to produce sufficient housing materials to improve the sector for optimum growth.
Aside from lagging behind in housing development, why is Nigeria experiencing incessant buildings collapse, especially with the recent collapse of Synagogue Church, which government said that about 115 people died?
My heart goes to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones. Professionally speaking, buildings collapse in Nigeria has become a tragedy always waiting to happen. However, this to my mind is the first time in the history of Nigeria that such a tragedy extended to people from other nations who came to Nigeria to seek spiritual help, safety and prosperity from one circumstance to another, only to meet their untimely death at a point where they expected life.
My assessment of Nigeria in terms of the menace of buildings collapse shows that the government at various levels appeared not to have taken this issue with any measure of exceptional seriousness. We as the people, especially professional bodies in Nigeria have not lived up to expectation like what we see in developed countries.
For example, every time there is building collapse, local intelligence from neighbouring on-lookers have always confirmed the apprehension of people regarding effect of such building well a head of the time of incident, which shows the unfortunate disconnect between local people and relevant government agencies charged with the responsibility of monitoring and preventing incident of buildings collapse in the country.
I always say that am not aware of the magnitude of budget that government at all levels set aside to fight the menace of buildings collapse. There is a greater tragedy, which confronts Nigeria on a regular basis, which is our sorrows and sympathy expressed during every incident of buildings collapse hardly last more than a few weeks, when all of us and government officials, relatives of the victims and concerned citizens return to the concept of business as usual.
But what would the citizens who are already helpless do in such situations?
Have you ever seen a situation where a family of the deceased takes government to court to fight it out, because government exists to ensure safety of lives and properties of citizens? Also, the mass media has not out grown the known practice of abandoning investigative journalism and a reporting fight as soon as another matter of greater concern comes up.
Once another issue occurs, that marks the end of the preceding national tragedy, compared to what you find in other countries, where the media never goes to rest until such issues are pursued to where justice is done. Notwithstanding, I must commend Nigerian media in following reports on other issues like sustaining the issue on Chibok girls and outbreak of Ebola epidemic.
You said that government has not done enough, how about the recent launching of Mortgage scheme and approval of $50million by government as take-off grant for the sector?
I commend the effort of government in the Mortgage scheme backed up with $50million grant. However, more issues need attention of experts in the sector.
The first one is that, provision of funds for any project in Nigeria is one side of a coin, but prudent utilisation of the funds for intended purpose becomes hiatus. If a country has a housing deficit of 15million units, $50million grant for this programme though a good effort, appears to be a mere drop in the ocean. But with the multiplier effect that such funding can have, I still commend government on the issue of mortgage scheme.
The second issue has to do with housing and Ebola virus. The virus in West Africa in general and it occurrence in Nigeria must be looked into in all ramifications, including our pathetic deficiency in the housing sector. Imagine a country like Nigeria where occupancy rate in a single room in some metropolitan areas may be up to six or eight people.
Meaning in a housing block of 10 rooms occupied by over 80 people, a single Ebola case would not only spell death for most occupants, but indeed a sure tragedy for entire neighbourhood. Now, why is this analogy? Nigeria must look at housing delivery system from an additional perspective of health and survival, rather than an issue that government addresses only on the basis of convenience or political propaganda, as there is no guarantee that Ebola or indeed any highly contiguous epidemic may not affect this nation again.
It is pure wisdom that the brief incident of Ebola should throw a new light into the reason we must provide decent housing for all Nigerians without exception. Each time I speak about equality for all citizens as far as housing is concerned, the pattern of Ebola has confirm my apprehension and a class struggle. If Ebola hits a rich person, our system of communication provides no safety net fashioned along social class. If the rich in government are there to provide houses for the rich, Ebola is a wake up call that every Nigerian deserves a decent house.
What is the way forward?
We need sufficient political will to tackle the menace. Again, government’s attention to this issue has not been fundamentally comprehensive, because no matter what economic and infrastructure re-engineering, the attempt to address youth joblessness would be difficult to achieve until we have a radical programme to address Nigeria’s social values. Today, the real god that most people worship in Nigeria is money. So much attention to materialism under a system that is not merit driven, value based and collective future oriented cannot take Nigeria to the next level.
Bode-AdedijiMr. Bode Adediji, a member, Federal Government Vision 20:2020 and the Group Executive Chairman, Bode Adediji Partnership/ Kontiental Developers Nigeria limited, spoke on the challenges facing the sector in the last 54 years, the need for a sizeable proportion of the nation’s revenue to be channelled to the real sector for optimum productivity, while calling on government to roll out revolutionary measures to stimulate rapid growth in the sector
Looking at housing and construction sub-sector in the last 54 years, what policies would you say government has implemented to fast track development?
To start with, it would be wrong to say that government has not done anything in the sector. Rather, we should look at the adequacy of government’s area of focus in terms of capital injection, the kind of housing policies and implementation. The extent that Nigeria so endowed still has 15million housing deficit units speaks volume of the progress made in the sector in the last 54 years.
However, another area of challenge is the totality of the perception of people and government at all levels about the sector. Without doubt, housing is a sector, which ought to be one of the drivers of our overall economic activities as a developing country and contributes significantly to creation of jobs, especially for the youths. Housing ought to play a vital role in the components of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which has been rebased. I am of the opinion that, until we have a government that is bold enough to roll out a revolutionary programme in the sector to stimulate tangible growth, we would only have crusades everyday without positive changes.
What do you mean by crusade, is the housing sector a church?
I see it as a crusade because government agencies announce to the public everyday new housing scheme and programmes without any tangible achievement on ground. Only Lagos State Government is always waking up to its responsibility in the sector as the economic nerve centre and the melting point in all geographical regions in the country.
We have not seen commensurate efforts from the Federal Government by unleashing revolutionary thinking and practices to address the spiral housing crisis facing the nation.
As a member, Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economic (CASLE) and a known professional in the sector, could you give us statistics on what housing contributes to our GDP currently?
The sector contributes only 3.5 per cent to the GDP, compared to advanced countries, which contributes between 20 to 40 per cent. For instance, America places much premium on housing and construction sector, such that, it becomes a barometer with which the boom of their economy is always measured.
When contributions from their housing sector to the GDP is rising they know that the economy is doing well, but when it declines, they would sense that something is wrong because they give attention to the sector at all times.
Nigeria is celebrating 54 years of independence. Looking at housing holistically, at what point did government loose focus in growing the sector like what obtains in developed economies?
In dissecting the housing problem one must understand the basic factors, efforts as well as pronouncements from one regime to another, and how everything has come to virtually nullity when we compare the indices of growth in our housing sector to other countries in the world.
For as long as we don’t have the political will to overhaul the Land-Use Act, which today constitutes an impediment on assess to land and affordable houses for Nigerians, all pronouncements regarding the housing delivery system being on track are simply political or gibberish. Until a sizeable proportion of our revenue as a nation is channelled to the real sector of our economy in particular, finance that is oxygen to development would never be available or adequate.
One fact that a nation cannot run away from is that a perpetual culture of cash and carry syndrome in our engagement with the housing sector at all levels has been the tragic phenomenon hampering the roll out of a robust mortgage system, which today for all nations is the panacea to solving housing crisis.
Based on this assessment, I have not seen any dramatic change in policy formulation and implementation from one regime to another, especially in the last 30 years. As a professional, I would humbly submit that every regime addresses the issue but I have always seen such intervention not as sustainable reality but as symbol of tokenism.
A credible housing programme must cut across all social classes and in most cases should be inward driven, rather than external dependent on massive importation of building materials. Nigeria as a nation is not self sufficient in producing local housing materials but only dependent on importation of such materials. We lack the capacity to produce sufficient housing materials to improve the sector for optimum growth.
Aside from lagging behind in housing development, why is Nigeria experiencing incessant buildings collapse, especially with the recent collapse of Synagogue Church, which government said that about 115 people died?
My heart goes to the bereaved families who lost their loved ones. Professionally speaking, buildings collapse in Nigeria has become a tragedy always waiting to happen. However, this to my mind is the first time in the history of Nigeria that such a tragedy extended to people from other nations who came to Nigeria to seek spiritual help, safety and prosperity from one circumstance to another, only to meet their untimely death at a point where they expected life.
My assessment of Nigeria in terms of the menace of buildings collapse shows that the government at various levels appeared not to have taken this issue with any measure of exceptional seriousness. We as the people, especially professional bodies in Nigeria have not lived up to expectation like what we see in developed countries.
For example, every time there is building collapse, local intelligence from neighbouring on-lookers have always confirmed the apprehension of people regarding effect of such building well a head of the time of incident, which shows the unfortunate disconnect between local people and relevant government agencies charged with the responsibility of monitoring and preventing incident of buildings collapse in the country.
I always say that am not aware of the magnitude of budget that government at all levels set aside to fight the menace of buildings collapse. There is a greater tragedy, which confronts Nigeria on a regular basis, which is our sorrows and sympathy expressed during every incident of buildings collapse hardly last more than a few weeks, when all of us and government officials, relatives of the victims and concerned citizens return to the concept of business as usual.
But what would the citizens who are already helpless do in such situations?
Have you ever seen a situation where a family of the deceased takes government to court to fight it out, because government exists to ensure safety of lives and properties of citizens? Also, the mass media has not out grown the known practice of abandoning investigative journalism and a reporting fight as soon as another matter of greater concern comes up.
Once another issue occurs, that marks the end of the preceding national tragedy, compared to what you find in other countries, where the media never goes to rest until such issues are pursued to where justice is done. Notwithstanding, I must commend Nigerian media in following reports on other issues like sustaining the issue on Chibok girls and outbreak of Ebola epidemic.
You said that government has not done enough, how about the recent launching of Mortgage scheme and approval of $50million by government as take-off grant for the sector?
I commend the effort of government in the Mortgage scheme backed up with $50million grant. However, more issues need attention of experts in the sector.
The first one is that, provision of funds for any project in Nigeria is one side of a coin, but prudent utilisation of the funds for intended purpose becomes hiatus. If a country has a housing deficit of 15million units, $50million grant for this programme though a good effort, appears to be a mere drop in the ocean. But with the multiplier effect that such funding can have, I still commend government on the issue of mortgage scheme.
The second issue has to do with housing and Ebola virus. The virus in West Africa in general and it occurrence in Nigeria must be looked into in all ramifications, including our pathetic deficiency in the housing sector. Imagine a country like Nigeria where occupancy rate in a single room in some metropolitan areas may be up to six or eight people.
Meaning in a housing block of 10 rooms occupied by over 80 people, a single Ebola case would not only spell death for most occupants, but indeed a sure tragedy for entire neighbourhood. Now, why is this analogy? Nigeria must look at housing delivery system from an additional perspective of health and survival, rather than an issue that government addresses only on the basis of convenience or political propaganda, as there is no guarantee that Ebola or indeed any highly contiguous epidemic may not affect this nation again.
It is pure wisdom that the brief incident of Ebola should throw a new light into the reason we must provide decent housing for all Nigerians without exception. Each time I speak about equality for all citizens as far as housing is concerned, the pattern of Ebola has confirm my apprehension and a class struggle. If Ebola hits a rich person, our system of communication provides no safety net fashioned along social class. If the rich in government are there to provide houses for the rich, Ebola is a wake up call that every Nigerian deserves a decent house.
What is the way forward?
We need sufficient political will to tackle the menace. Again, government’s attention to this issue has not been fundamentally comprehensive, because no matter what economic and infrastructure re-engineering, the attempt to address youth joblessness would be difficult to achieve until we have a radical programme to address Nigeria’s social values. Today, the real god that most people worship in Nigeria is money. So much attention to materialism under a system that is not merit driven, value based and collective future oriented cannot take Nigeria to the next level.
- Culled from: http://www.vanguardngr.com
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