By YINKA KOLAWOLE

Participants at the just concluded 3rd ASO Housing Exhibition and Conference held in Abuja have recommended action plans that can facilitate the development of affordable mass housing in Nigeria.

The event organised by ASO Savings and Loans Plc, provided a forum for stakeholders in the housing sector to address the political, economic, legal and socio-cultural dimensions of the challenge of delivering affordable houses in the right quantity in Nigeria.

Participants included representatives of the different tiers of government, relevant ministries, departments and agencies, the academic community, and frontline actors in the housing sector, including researchers, civil society and financial institutions from Nigeria and other parts of the world.

At the end of the conference, participants noted in a communiqué that Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights  recognises the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living . They also noted that, “the Federal Government of Nigeria is currently implementing a National Housing Programme, including a Presidential Housing Initiative.

The various state governments and agencies of government at different levels are also promoting housing schemes. However, homelessness continues to blight the lives of millions of Nigerians, especially in urban areas.”

After taking a cursory look at the housing situation in the country, the participants observed as follows:  “With an estimated deficit of 12 – 16 million housing units, Nigeria has a huge market for investment in affordable housing; Resources available to stakeholders to provide the required number of houses to address the deficit are grossly inadequate; Lack of basic infrastructure – roads, water and electricity supply, etc. – all of which are being provided by private developers, contribute to high cost of building; Mode of implementation of the Land Use Act is frustrating the delivery of affordable housing to low-income citizens; High cost of construction materials, over 60 percent of which are imported, constitute a major constraint to affordable housing provision; Majority of existing housing schemes ignore traditional architectural designs and building material, and do not take advantage of emerging non-conventional technologies; Most housing development target high-income homeowners to the detriment of
low-income earners, making the poor resort to building their own homes and neighborhood resulting in huge informal settlements in Lagos, Abuja and other fast growing cities.”

In response to the foregoing, participants at the conference recommended that: “Innovative sources of financing mass housing schemes should be explored, including huge funds lying in bank vaults in the forms of unclaimed dividends, dormant accounts, accumulated premiums from pension schemes, etc.; Governments at all levels should provide an enabling environment for private developers either by providing the basic infrastructure or an opportunity (tax rebates) for the developers to recoup investments in infrastructural development; Governments should put in place appropriate policies and laws to accelerate the provision of mass housing, including policies to bring down the cost of construction.

“In this regard, the Land Use Act, amongst other relevant legislations, should be reviewed to address the bottlenecks it creates in title registration; To encourage infusion of capital to the mortgage banking/housing finance sector, and guarantee free entry and free exit for existing and potential investors in the sector, passage of the Foreclosure Bill into Law should be fast-tracked.

Stakeholders should explore and invest in research, development and public enlightenment on use of local material and innovative architecture (e.g. green construction) in housing construction; Government should commit to training of artisans and craftsmen whose inputs are required to deliver durable and affordable housing. Government should strengthen professional associations and provide relevant practical training, and regulatory bodies to obviate the tragic effects of substandard building,” the communiqué stated.