PROPERTY TRANSACTION GUIDE

Presidential Mandate On Housing: A Mirage - Experts
By Dada Jackson, Senior Correspondent, Lagos

Independent, Sunday, 13th December 2009

The Presidential mandate to the defunct Federal Ministry of Housing (now subsumed into the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing & Urban Development) to provide one million housing units before the end of the tenure of the present administration has been described as not only a mirage but also ‘a huge joke’

This was the position of a cross-section of professionals in the built environment,

According to Dr. Olushola Atilola, President, Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS), ‘everything in this country is usually done in arrears’. He added that with the little time left for the President Yar’Adua to complete his tenure, it would be a miracle for the Housing Ministry to build one million houses in less than 16 months

Atilola said that it was not realistic going by the bureaucratic bottlenecks associated with civil service procedures. He added that the provision of one million housing units before the end of the first term of President Yar’Adua would be akin to asking the camel to pass through the eye of the needle.

According to him, even if the so called housing units were provided, the question is who are those who will eventually buy the houses, are they not going to be the rich in society. He added that after they have succeeded in buying the houses, they will thereafter, rent them to the common man.

He posited that unless the opulent in society who buy houses meant for the poor are compelled to occupy these houses themselves, for a minimum period of 10 years, then we have not started.

Atilola said that the issue of building one million houses before the end of the first term of the life of the present administration, should not be debated at all, because it is not feasible but a mirage..

Speaking in similar vein, the immediate Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Kunle Awobodu, said that there was no way the mandate could be realised considering the time left for the administration to end its tenure.

According to him, the term ‘mass housing’ is highly subjective and not well defined in the Nigerian context.

 He pointed out that what most people refer to as mass housing in Nigeria is not actually meant for the masses as often times, the rich are the ones who invariably purchase the units.

Awobodu pointed out that the cost of each of the so-called houses were often beyond the reach of the masses they are intended for.

The former NIOB helmsman lamented a situation whereby the cheapest unit sells for between N1.5 million and N2 million, adding that for an average Nigerian worker, the hope of owning a house could end up being a mirage.

He wondered how the Federal Government intends to build one million houses before the end f the life of the present administration.

A chartered builder,Mr.Godwin Erhabor, submitted that there was no way the Federal Government could realise the dream of providing one million housing units for Nigerians before 2011,pointing out, that this ‘is a tall dream’

According to him, unless the Federal Government partners with the private sector, this dream would remain a dream.

Erhabor, who is based in Abuja, said that adequate provision should be made for an enabling environment for private developers to key into the [project if it is sincere in its desire to provide houses for the masses.

However, the Minister of State in the Federal Ministry of Works, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs.Grace Ephikwre, had in an interview, said that the dream was realisable.

According to her, the involvement of the Real Estate Developers Association (REDAN) in the project would certainly fast track the actualisation of the presidential mandate.

She noted that with political will on the part of government, the provision of one million housing units would be a thing of reality. She was however quick to add, that Nigerians should not despair in respect of government’s desire to make mass housing come to fruition in Nigeria