Prince Olubunmi Adewa-Faboro, Executive Chairman, FHT Ventures Plc, who are Multi-Disciplinary Consultants and Developers. He is a World Bank trained and qualified estate surveyor and valuer with 33 years of experience in the household of real estate development. What he represents in the industry made it possible for him to procure foreign investors into the Nigerian real estate business especially FCT.

In this interview with Saturday Vanguard Business, he proffers solution to the confronting challenges of Nigerian real estate business, and how Nigeria can generate huge revenue through agriculture and agro-based industries investment. He also questioned why the mass housing scheme initiated by FG to provide shelter for two million Nigerians in FCT had been defeated, rubbished and hijacked by millionaire Nigerians who feel they are above the law. Excerpts:

May we know what FHT Ventures Plc’s  activities are in the economy of Nigeria?

FHT was actually a Limited Liability Company before it was turned to a Public Limited Company (Plc). It was registered Plc when the vision of the company came up with the implementation of mega projects in both Housing and Agriculture. The company since 1990 of its inception has been trying to formulate policies that can make Mass Housing work in Nigeria and have been trying to partner with government at various levels, both state and federal in making this to be possible.

Recently, FHT initiated a project in Agriculture to promote Agro-based industries and export of food to the entire world. It has not been easy because it took time for Federal Government of Nigeria to realize and create a conducive atmosphere for making Mass Housing projects and Agricultural mega projects to work in Nigeria.

Olubunmi Adewa-Faboro

But presently, we have already sent proposals to all the State Governors and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and FCT to create the enabling environment for FHT to create new towns in all the State capitals and create Agro-based industries to exist in all the states in Nigeria and use our FADAMA farmers that the World Bank has spent a lot of money in putting in place, to be active, to be Out-growers, supplying all the materials to these  Agro-based industries that we want to establish in Nigeria.

We have ongoing efforts as our proposed implementation areas, to start at the last quarter of the year, Bauchi, Sokoto, Oyo, Delta, FCT, Lagos states coming in as our first phase.

We are already concluding our proposal and the issue of overseas funds with both States and Federal Government so that we shall not only be using local funds from our banks because their interest rates are higher, rather we are already using our partners in the United States to come up with an onshore fund that would come in at a very low interest rate under five per cent to be able to execute these projects in Nigeria.

You said that one of the company’s vision is to provide shelter for an average Nigerian, how do you intend to achieve that to the benefit of Nigerians?

We are actually working out Public Private Partnership relationships with State Governments, which we have already done with Niger and Bauchi States precisely and we are trying to conclude similar arrangement with FCT. As you are aware, FCT has been trying to come up with what is called Mass Housing Development since 2005 in Abuja, and we have been able to proffer solution and tell the Government what challenges that we have come through in the course of all this.

The company is into promoting agriculture and agro-based industries to make Nigeria earn income from non-oil exports, how will  it work?

First and foremost, the transformation agenda of the President favours this presently and this is the first time the Government of Nigeria after the First Republic is taking a very practical view to promote commercial agriculture in this country and giving maximum assistance to farmers in terms of getting them to be registered, making a lot of them to be irrigation farmers referred to as FADAMA farmers. Also, The World Bank has been putting a lot of money to make FADAMA farmers viable and a lot of farm lands all over Nigeria are now being harnessed to make it possible.

These are the things that encouraged us to formulate a policy whereby we say FADAMA farmers will be our out-growers and they can seriously grow enough raw materials for these industries. We also commend the frantic attempts being made by our government to decentralize Power Holding Company to make the private sector generate power because there is nothing that can work in the industry without genuine source of power.

So with all these things Government is doing, we are very optimistic that given time, within the next twenty four months to thirty six months, there will be dramatic transformation in agriculture in this country. We have a young man there as our Minister of Agriculture, who is making a sincere effort. So we are queue ing into this transformation agenda and all the templates are in place to make commercial agriculture viable in Nigeria and to make FHT viable so that Nigeria can be the major stock food country in the entire world, which is possible.

Some developers complained bitterly that the process of land allocation to non developers, novice and unqualified Nigerians in FCT has defeated the purpose of mass housing scheme FG initiated, how true is it?

It’s more than true. It took the presence of the present minister, Senator Bala Muhammed to set up a land probe panel and what did it come out with? It revealed that most of the people that got land allocation through El Rufai sold them out illegally, and the Department of Development Control, (FCDA) could not do anything, thereby making it possible for them to sell these lands to dubious millionaires who are building illegally on these lands. Instead of the Development Control to bring down these houses, they are busy hunting other developers in Abuja.

Unfortunately, companies like ours that partnered one of these companies at Coppa Cabana Estate, we lost five hundred million because we mobilized five thousand off-takers; we cleared the land, sunk bole holes, setup our office, only for them to carry out these illegal activities of land sales openly.

The shocking aspect of it is that all our attempts to get them prosecuted by the police and EFCC fell on deaf ears, and I tell you that until date EFCC is yet to charge most of these people to court who are illegally building in Copa Cabana Estate.

Meanwhile, the real owners of that estate are Brazilians and Nigerians in diaspora, and they have lost three hundred thousand US dollars because they are the people that did all the designs for this estate, while we lost five hundred million naira because we are the Developer/Financiers (with legal agreement with their company) that mobilized five thousand beneficiaries (off-takers), developed the site to some extent before they divided the estate into plots and sold illegally.

Today, Senator Bala Muhammed is yet to implement the report of the land probe, and all the houses on the site are still standing. God forbid, by the time Boko Haram will finish with the Jonathan administration, they can turn their illegal battle to those estates where millionaires are enjoying their living now after depriving average Nigerians from having affordable homes in these Mass Estates legally meant for them.

Presently, two million Nigerians are squatters in Abuja. People that would have benefitted in the Mass Housing Scheme in FCT are now renting houses at exorbitant rents in some local governments in Nasarawa, Niger States etc. People have been robbed of their affordable homes in FCT, and the President and FCT Minister are yet to take decisive actions against those defaulters and that is pointing to another dangerous dimension in this country that we don’t want to boomerang on this administration.  We all love this democratic government and we want the government to succeed in all facets of our living.

What are themajor challenges confronting mass housing in Nigeria?

What is happening in FCT is a clear case study. The President and FCT Minister should identify people who are genuine Estate Developers –   companies like FHT Ventures Plc. They should partner sincerely with them, give them land and give Sovereign Guarantee to companies for offshore fund. Presently, we have $1.2billion that we have sourced and  we want Federal Government to give us Sovereign Guarantee to be able to utilize this fund.

Federal Government should stop making any project that is giving offshore fund to be public sector led. It should be private sector led. When things are managed by the private sector, it will not be a burden on the government and individual as well. So government should stop allocating land to portfolio carrying developers, people that are not trained in real estate business. For instance, I can not go and start doing the work of a medical doctor or that of a lawyer.

I’m trained to be an Estate Surveyor and Valuer and I’m doing what I love to do most for the past 33 years of my life, having acquired sufficient training and experience from an institution like the World Bank Urban Development Project Unit.

Those involved in allocating lands to Nigerians should allow the Land Use Allocation Committee to do their work. This is why these lands are in the hands of speculators who grab these lands and turn it to the open market for us genuine developers to buy and by the time we now buy and build the cost will be above the reach of the masses. So the President should take decisive actions now to stop these illegalities going on at Coppa Cabana Estate and others in FCT. They should allow the Department of Mass Housing that is now constituted with a good head, an Engineer to monitor what is happening in these Mass Housing Estates and to do his work without the involvement of other agencies.

It has been discovered that real estate development is a business that can attract foreign investors if planned well, what do you think should be done?

First and foremost, we must allow professionals in real estate to do their business. When they do their business, the first thing foreign investors will look out for is the structure of the company inviting them.

If they find out that the key players or promoters are not professionally qualified and they don’t have the pedigree and experience they will not come. Secondly, our government should start giving Sovereign Guarantee to private sectors like us who have the clout to convince people to invest in mass housing in Nigeria.

No finance house coming from outside with cheap fund will put his fund down without FG providing Sovereign Guarantee. So, the essence of Sovereign Guarantee must be legalized to the point that we can work with the Debt Management Office and Federal Ministry of Finance without any hindrance. Thirdly, in the Real Sector like Housing, only professionals should be allowed to do their job.

The President should have Land Allotees to work with government on Public Private Partnership so that government can able to influence the prices of the built houses to the benefit of the citizens of Nigeria. Here lies the solutions.