By Samuel Adeyemi, Lokoja.
The new economic reality is dawning on landlords in Lokoja, Kogi state capital. A survey round the city shows a steady increase in numbers of empty flats and apartments. On every street in Lokoja today, it is commonplace to see several ‘To Let’ adverts within short distances.
This phenomenon started last year and has increased this year. The main cause of this trend has not been proven by empirical analysis but it is not strictly as a result of current economic downturn in the country. Tenants that moved out of these empty apartments are not homeless and, in most cases, did not move into friends’ or relatives’ abodes. The unfolding truth is that more and more residents are moving into their personal residence regardless of the level of completion. Even Okada riders and Bean Cake sellers are now acquiring lands in remote areas and building their private residences, even if the structures are not so solid. Most residents can no longer cope with the unrealistic rents.
A typical 2-bedroom flat in Lokoja goes for 200-250 thousand naira per annum. Some have facilities like borehole, fenced and floored compound, all-tiled rooms etc while some do not have these but charge same fees. The new dimension for new developers is to add more aesthetics and charge three hundred thousand naira for 2-bedroom flat per annum. Location also matters.
It is a fact that Lokoja market runs on a ‘impractical economy’. A largely civil service oriented economy, prices commodities and rents are unrealistically high in Lokoja. Many believed the high cost of living is influenced by her closeness to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Unfortunately, the result of this impractical economy is short life span for businesses in Lokoja. Check the mainstream businesses in Lokoja – Hotels, Petrol Stations, Housing Estates and more recently, Shopping Plazas. They thrive on this bubble economy for awhile and start struggling to survive after few years of existence.
The seems to be a glut of housing residences in Lokoja at the moment. The growing number of unrented apartments in Lokoja confirms this. Some smart landlords are already reviewing their house rents to retain tenants as the mass movement continues.
Most residents are going to as far as Jimgbe, along Ajaokuta road, to acquire affordable lands to build humble abodes as a way of escape from the unrealistic Lokoja economy.
