By Prisca Sam-Duru

The highly anticipated book, “Eldorado Lost: Prognosis and Therapy for Nigeria’s Real Estate Deficit” by Debo Oladimeji has continued to receive commendations from renowned firms including, Dangote Group, City Lights, Kam Group Holdings, Sujimoto Group, Dynatech Group, Lanco (Nigeria)Limited, Sahara Power Group and many others.

The book, which x-rays the housing problem in Nigeria, beginning from the colonial and post-colonial era up to the current dispensation, also proffers solutions to the lingering housing deficit.

Describing “Eldorado Lost: Prognosis and Therapy for Nigeria’s Real Estate Deficit” as a priceless chronicle of deficit in the real estate sector in Nigeria, Senior Lecturer at the Department of English, University of Lagos, Dr Eniayo Sobola disclosed that the problem started with a dramatical evacuation of the inhabitants of Federal Government Estates in Lagos, adding that the book vividly accounts for housing challenges in the urban centers in Nigeria. “It compares the deficit in Real Estate in Nigeria with that of developed countries, in order to showcase the strategies being employed in those countries to handle the problem as a model that can be employed in Nigeria.”

The book also discusses the contributions of the president of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; the CEO of City Lights, Dr. Emmanuel Okeson; the CEO of Kam Group Holdings, Dr. Kamorudeen Yusuf; the Managing Director of Sujimoto Group, Dr Olasijibomi Ogundele; the Chairman/CEO of LANCO (Nigeria) Limited, Engr. Lawrence Ajayi; the MD/CEO Dynatech Group, Sir Chigozie Okafor; the

Managing Director/CEO Coleman Wires and Cables, George Onafowokan; and the Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, Mr Kola Adesina, among others, to the built sector.

Courtesy of the Dangote Group, Nigeria’s current cement production at over 58 million tonnes of cement per annum, is more than any other country’s output in Africa. It represents a massive potential to change the nation’s infrastructure story, taking advantage of the abundant availability of the essential building materials.

City Lights, which is a household name in Ghana, recently spread its tentacles to Nigeria with the commitment to give Nigeria and Ghana quality lighting services. Lighting plays a crucial role in any country’s economy. In Ghana, City Lights, a pioneer in the sector, continues to be pivotal, three decades after it was set up.

KAM Group Holdings is a strong contender for the title of Nigeria’s largest independent owned nail and wire producing company. The company produces different types of nails in addition to wire mesh for concrete reinforcement, binding wires, roofing sheets, and other materials.

Sujimoto is recognized as the Czar of Luxury Real Estate Development and the mastermind behind renowned projects such as the Giuliano, Lucrezia, Sujimoto Twin Tower, Queen Amina, Leonardo, S-Hotel, Ilu Titun and Giovanni.

LANCO (Nigeria) Limited fabricates quality aluminium doors and windows for corporate bodies. It fabricates aluminium roofing sheets and casement windows. It produces different types of aluminium products.

Dynatech Group has a factory in Onitsha where it produces household items like toothbrushes and shaving sticks. It has three different factories in Anambra State, independent of each other. It has a place where it does recycling of plastic, injection of plastic. Its quality and price are the most competitive in the market.

Coleman Wires and Cables are popular in Nigeria. The quality is trusted. Coleman Technical Industries Limited remains committed to manufacturing quality electrical and telecommunications wires and cables that meet the need and exceed their customers’ expectation consistent with relevant stakeholders and ISO 900:2015 requirements.

Sahara Power Group thinks paying more tariff for electricity is relative and can only be appreciated when the countries being compared have similar challenges or levels of sophistication in the power sector.

Part one of the book is a projection of the reality of the real estate deficit in Nigeria. Chapter one presents the historical trajectory of the housing policy in Nigeria from the colonial era to the post-military era, stating the challenges and achievements of each period. The author points out that the government had viable plans to improve the housing situation in each period while achieving some level of success.

Chapter two projects the relevance of real estate to the economic status of individuals in society and raises the question on its sustainability. Also, the importance of a good housing system is emphasized in this chapter as well as challenges confronting the development of urban slums and possible solutions.

The reality of the deficit in Nigeria’s real estate comes to the fore in chapter three, where the author projects the facts from his study that Nigeria truly faces a deficit in rural and urban housing. Different housing models are presented in this chapter to buttress his argument while proffering solutions.
The book sheds light on the danger of building collapse as a result of using substandard materials and illegal demolitions that caused loss of many lives in various places in the country. This is documented in chapter four.

In rising to the challenge, it is recorded in chapter five that the government made a lot of efforts with financial
commitment to solve the housing crisis in the country, and especially in the states plagued with insurgency.

The second section of the book starts with a change in the narrative of the housing deficit in the country. It is a story of betrayal, subjugation, oppression, and humiliation, projecting brutal force over right. The section is a dramatic presentation of pre-eviction, eviction, and post-eviction experiences of the residents of the Federal Government

Quarters in Lagos. The experiences of the victims in Lagos started with their forceful eviction through the use of the brutal force of government. Dislodgement of the residents took place in six Federal Housing Estates in Lagos at the same time, using the same strategy.

The whole of the fourth section accounts for contributions of different organisations through their partnership to resolve the problem of housing deficit. The partnership comes in diverse ways, such as the provision of mortgage loans and the production of quality building materials at affordable prices.

The book concludes with solutions proffered by the author not only to the housing deficit but to human and national development.

The author has painstakingly documented facts on the housing deficit in Nigeria and other countries. The record is an exposé of past errors and challenges that our nation had encountered in relation to housing and infrastructural development. It is a revelation of the progress and achievements made by the governments and private individuals, especially the industrialists, in making housing deficit in Nigeria a history. It also presents the fact that the housing deficit is not limited to Nigeria without manipulating the data.

The book is written in simple but professional English. Sentences are well constructed and punctuated. Grammatical rules are fully observed. Any weakness noticed in the book only contributes to its strength.

“Eldorado Lost: Prognosis and Therapy for Nigeria’s Real Estate Deficit” is, therefore, a chronicle that must be held in high esteem by the government, organisations and individuals in the real estate sector.