Why real estate investment is poor in Niger Delta Region, by Odeleye
By Tony Edike
ENUGU-A foremost Estate Surveyor and Valuer, Elder Biodun Odeleye has identified the high level of insecurity in the Niger Delta Region as the major factor militating against real estate investment in the area.
He declared that “peace must reign for ample resources to be attracted for real estate investments to be encouraged within the Niger Delta Region and in any part of Nigeria or any part of the world.”
Odeleye made this known in Enugu while delivering a keynote address at the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, National Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Seminar which has a theme “Prospects of Real Eastate Investment in Niger Delta.”
He stated that prospective consumers of real estate want to be assurred of a peaceful habitation and unihibited enjoyment of interest in land or their developed properties, stressing that no investor would take the risk of investing in an unsafe environment.
According to Odeleye, the decision to invest will almost be predicated on the quality of environment within which such real estate is to be sited, the objective or goal of the investor, the quality of access to fund, the land tenure or ownership system, the quality of the infrastructure in terms of enabling environment which the government ought to provide as well as some other socio-economic parameters that must be critically assessed by an investor.
“Suffice it to note that real estate investment thrives best in an atmosphere of peace; in a conduicive environment, where security of lives and property is assured; where there are no crisises; no civil disturbances; no voilence; no political unrests; no acrimonies; no mutual suspicion; no civil or uncivil commotion/pandemonium; no religious upheaval; but where there is peaceful co-existence, and where social, political and economic stability can be guaranteed without or any misgiving whatsoever,” he said.
Odeleye pointed out that the current crash in the stock market should be an eye opener to investors who must be encouraged to devote attention to delibrate investment in real estate with an eye to take advantate of the intrinsic benefits that lie in real estate investments both in the short term and long run situations.
In a paper entitled “Real Estate Investment in Niger Delta,” Dean Faculty of Environmental Studies, Abia State Univeristy, Uturu, Professor I. U. Kalu observed that despite the impediments to real estate investment in the Niger Delta, the region out-performed the South west and North Central which has Lagos and Abuja respectively.
Kalu pointed out that the high performing status of Lagos is brought down by the South West cities on aggregate basis while the high performing Abuja is affected adversely by the low performing cities of Markudi, Minna, Lokoja, Illorin, Jos among others.
“All considered the high returns and low risk associated with those returns make the Niger Delta environment the region to beat in terms of real estate investment,” he declared.
