Nigerian government must recognise housing as a right of citizens

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Mr Olufemi Oyedele, an experienced estate surveyor and Valuer, tells DAYO AYEYEMi, that it’s erroneous to describe a property with N25million price- tag as affordable housing.

How can you define affordable housing?

One of the popular definitions of affordable housing is that it is a house that 30 percent or one-third of an individual’s salary or wage can pay for.

Therefore, with the current reality, 30 percent of N70,000 (new minimum wage) earmarked for housing can only guarantee the earners a place in the slum, going by the high cost of housing in Nigeria. It is erroneous to describe houses with price tags between N15 million and N30 million as affordable in the present Nigeria. Though some Nigerians like politicians and large to medium-scale businessmen and women can afford these houses, it should not be generalised.

What is the way out of housing affordable crisis in Nigeria?

To make these houses affordable to the general people of Nigeria, government must adopt rent-to-own scheme, workers housing scheme or cooperative housing scheme as over 80 million Nigerians do not have what it takes to access housing.

Governments, local, state and federal must recognise housing as a right of citizens and strike it out of luxury goods list. Poor people in this modern era should not be described as those that cannot afford house.

Individual has a role to play. The role of individuals is to realise that it is their basic right to have access to decent accommodation according to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which Nigeria both ascented.

Also, government must ensure that its citizens are well housed by providing social housing to the poor and the vulnerable who cannot afford economic housing.

Despite the economic crunch, many new developments (residential, commercial and hospitality) are taking place in Ikoyi, Lekki, Lagos. What’s your take on this?

This as a result, mainly Diaspora fund being repatriated back to Nigeria, bank loans and proceeds of corruption.

What makes these locations no-dull moment for real estate developments are the provision of infrastructure, the brand they represent and their accessibility to all areas of the city. People are prepared to pay premium on properties in these areas.

The buyers or the consumers of these developments are the have-to-do in the society. What makes them to be attractive is their location, Infrastructure adequacy, security provision and accessibility to source of work.

Can the use of alternative building materials reduce cost of houses?

Alternative building materials can reduce housing costs and encourage mass and affordable housing production because since they are local and available in abundance, they are cheap materials for housing development. For example, the use of recycled plastics instead of sandcrete blocks and the use of timber floor and walls instead of concrete floor or sandcrete wall. The use of plastic water closets instead of ceramic water closets will also reduce cost of housing.