Professionals in the building sector have declared that the housing crisis in the country will persist if deliberate measures are not taken by stakeholders to ensure the use of indigenous building technology and materials.

At the just concluded Lagos Housing Fair (LHF) held in Lagos, with the theme, “Indigenous Technology and Housing Delivery”, professionals in the housing industry and relevant organisations submitted that all efforts to tackle the housing crisis confronting the nation will prove abortive unless government and all stakeholders embark on backward integration in housing delivery technology.

They called for the commencement of in-depth research into indigenous technology in housing development, noting that this is the roadmap to effectively confronting the housing challenge facing the country.

Speaking on a paper titled, “The Nigerian Civil Engineers in Quest for Indigenous Technology”, National Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers (NICE), Mr. Ade Omopeloye, noted that the development of most advanced countries all over the world is based on the level of their indigenous technology.

He noted that the public infrastructure that enhances the quality of the living environment is the result of well researched and implemented technological ideas. “For a developing economy like ours, the quest for indigenous technology cannot be over-emphasized,” he said.

Omopeloye lamented that Nigeria is yet to attain the stage of self-sustained developmental goals, even though a lot of appreciable efforts have been channeled into research works on indigenous technological development.

He said militating factors include: lack of well established standards to facilitate improvements in newly discovered idea; discovery in local technology marred with skepticism and sometime with scorn; lack of government policy to encourage the implementation of researched indigenous technology; lack of funds and; lack of enabling environment to translate results of research into productive processes.

“However, in spite of discouraging factors working against this quest, the Nigerian Civil Engineers continues to wax stronger and make remarkable achievements in the practice of civil engineering,” he said.

Earlier, in his opening address, Chairman, Lagos Housing Fair Committee, Mr. Moses Ogunleye, said it was high time policies were put in place that would aid the research, development and promotion of indigenous technology.

Ogunleye, who is also managing partner, Beachland Resources Limited, noted that countries like China, Japan and others in the Asian continents have proved beyond reasonable doubt the success in the use of indigenous technology.

He urged government and other stakeholders to ensure that all hands are on deck to bail out Nigeria from acute shortage of housing provision. “The only positive approach is the use of indigenous technology that would not only be cheaper, but would be environmentally friendly”, he said.