PROPERTY ARTICLES

Lagos-based civil engineer, facility manager and social critic, Afolabi Adedeji, attempts an expose of the much-talked-about Nigerian construction/housing sector in the light of the recent ban placed by the authorities on the importation of bagged cement. He lists a number of measures he believes will alleviate, to a considerable extent, worrisome issues related to the vital building material.

My initial impression and reaction to this reported ban by the Federal Government on the importation into Nigeria of bagged cement is that it seems to be a "half-way-down-the-road" measure in the direction of "protectionism" to favour the local cement production /manufacturing industry. I am afraid though that we need much more far reaching policies, interventions as well as approaches than this (apparent) "protectionist" move by the government of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, if we are at all serious about fostering the development and sustenance of a viable local cement manufacturing industry in Nigeria, whose products will be competitive both in quality and in price.

Issues such as the state of the nation’s infrastructural facilities, especially power supply, transportation and distribution (especially by road and railway), water supply, security (of life, property and investments), customs, excise and border control, must also be addressed simultaneously. The final objective and the desired objective of the government at all levels and tiers in Nigeria should be to bring down the price of cement and other construction materials, so much so that the average Nigerian will build his/her own home.

The four key sectors which constitute the essential parts of construction activity are house building, infrastructure, industrial and commercial, all of which use a considerable amount of building materials including cement-based ones.

The list of building materials utilised within the construction market is extensive and a selection of materials which typify sector activity include sand and gravel, (burnt) red bricks/sandcrete blocks, cement, clay and steel, sawn and laminated wood and builders’ carpentry and joinery. With very few exceptions, virtually all materials used for construction work in Nigeria are imported from overseas. This is due to the fact that local capacity to meet the demand for these materials is either inadequate or completely non-existent.

From housing estates for various income groups to highways and bridges, airports, seaports, cell sites through to oil pipelines, refineries and independent power projects, elements of construction activity are involved in all these. Without any doubt at all, construction lays the infrastructure for development.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has of recent brought to the attention of the Nigerian government, the alarming rate at which many organisations are re-locating their factories to neighbouring Ghana because of the apparently more conducive environment there. This should indeed be a cause for concern (if not shame and embarrassment) for our leaders.

Relating this to the main subject of this article, if after factoring in the cost of transportation, plus the product procurement cost at the factory gate such imported cement is still less expensive than what we produce locally.

Construction has been described, and quite correctly so, as the measuring gauge) of the economy. In most nations of the world especially developing ones, whenever there is an economic boom the tempo of construction activity increases in tandem. Likewise a downturn in the economy is usually accompanied by a slow-down of construction activity. New capital projects are suspended and payments on on-going capital projects are delayed or cancelled at such low periods.

High prices of cement and other building materials are definitely injurious to Nigeria ’s construction industry and by extension the larger national economy since construction lays the infrastructure for development. My suggestions for a way out of this morass and the salvation of this vital area of Nigeria ’s economy are summarised below.

Firstly, the enhancement of local capacity for the production of building materials is the best way forward but it can only be achieved in combination with medium to long term improvements in the state of our infrastructural facilities in Nigeria .

Curtailment of our taste for foreign goods is also a key element because it will lead to more patronage for local producers of building materials and the attendant multiplier benefits that will be derived by the nation’s economy.

Improvement in the quality of locally-produced building materials should be pursued vigorously in co-operation with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON).

Research into more affordable local building materials should be taken beyond mere rhetoric and the paying of "lip service". Existing research agencies and universities should be well funded and some of their prototype designs that are gathering dust on library shelves should be further developed and commercialised. The National Universities Commission (NUC), the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI), the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and the Project Development Agency (PRODA) all need to be further strengthened.

The war against corruption must be intensified, with the bodies like the EFCC, ICPC and Code of Conduct Bureau given more powers to deal with beneficiaries of sleaze and illicit income as a deterrent to others. Our politicians should also learn to lead by example rather than by mere precept.

Dialogue and brainstorming with stakeholders should also not be discounted in the list of solutions to this problem. All stakeholders in the Nigerian construction industry - government, banks that fund construction work., professional bodies such as the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Federation of the Construction Industry (FOCI), the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS), the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Nigerian Institute of Town Planers (NITP), Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) and the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), the various Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and MAN - should be encouraged to dialogue regularly, proffer solutions or even nominate volunteers to form a "think-tank" on how to bring down the price(s) of cement and other building materials in Nigeria.

Should we go back to the era of "price control" by administrative fiat? I will say a categorical "No Way" to this approach. Free market approaches promote the best long term interest of all of us and I believe that the role of the government should be more of that of an enabler and a facilitator rather than anything else. Administrative price controls are bound to cause distortions in our economy that will do us more harm than good. It will also make room for more "rent seekers" and "black marketers" to thrive in our economy at the expense of the common man.

Concerted efforts should be made by all parties to help bring down the prices of cement and other building materials in Nigeria to affordable levels so that all Nigerians can own their own homes. This gives security and peace of mind in old age. It will also reduce the penchant for resorting to "self-help" by those holding public office(s) that has been giving more work (and "stress") to Madam Farida Waziri of the EFCC, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola of the ICPC and Mr. Ogbonnaya Onovo, the recently-appointed Inspector-General of Police.

This article has attempted to bring about a clearer understanding of the uses of cement in construction work, the causative factors behind the problem of high cement and other building material prices in Nigeria as well assess the impact of the recent ban by the Federal Government of the importation of bagged cement into the country. It has also put forward some suggestions about possible solutions that will hopefully form a basis for further discussion and improved policies by government agencies and other stakeholders in the housing and construction sector of Nigeria ’s economy.