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By Mary Amodu.
On daily basis, the nation wakes up to the harsh reality of migrants leaving the shores of the country through the Sahara and soon after the Atlantic to Europe in search of greener pastures.
The story is not quite different within the country as every now and then, migrants from rural areas flood urban cities in order to get a share of the proverbial national cake. What makes this a bit worrisome is the dearth of infrastructure that has led to the available facilities being stretched to elastic limits.
The issue of people leaving small towns for big cities without ever thinking of leaving, has further compounded the housing challenge in the country. Undoubtedly, shelter is one of the three basic necessities of life, others being food and clothing.
In different parts of the country today, issues of housing deficiency has become a challenge with both the government and the masses. What however, is becoming a norm is the increasing voluntarily movement of people in quest for better/ enhanced life by low- skill and low- wage workers from less rural areas to urban centres.
This inequality bias in development according to research findings over the years, results from the overwhelming concentration of wealth, assets, purchasing capacity, economic activities and variety of services in the urban centres as well as the continued neglect and degradation of rural environments or areas.
Available data (for 2014) from the World Bank and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) agrees that Nigeria has an estimated housing deficit of over 17 million unit with a population of almost 180 million.
Also, if one should consider the data from the United Nations (UN), that states an annual population growth rate of 2.8% (2015); and an annual urban population growth rate of 4.7% it simply means its time to take urgent steps to nip the brewing storm in the bud.
According to UN statistics, about 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing globally, while over 100 million are homeless. Nigeria hosts an uncomfortably large percentage of these two, with over 100 million Nigerians considered to live in substandard housing.
This is more so as global trends show that the world is experiencing a housing crisis and various countries, especially in the global south, have approached the issue with the urgency it requires.
Kogi State and its capital is not left out of this housing deficiency and policies to serve the exploding population. It is against this backdrop that Some land and housing experts in the State have proffered solutions to the nagging trend.
Reacting, a former Permanent Secretary, Land and Urban Development in the state,Mr. Joseph Alhassan, called for a review of the act establishing the land use decree 1978, he said despite the laws that governed the land area, management issue remained an area of concern throughout Nigeria.
He noted that going by UN standard, housing in Nigeria is grossly in adequate as “an average Nigerian can hardly afford a standard house which is due to high cost in building materials, perfecting title document is almost impossible this days. A civil servant whose pay is N100,000 in Nigeria can not possibly own a land today because the rise in cost of land does not commensurate with individual income”.
The story of Kogi State capital is a very sad one, from haphazard constructions to slums erupting everywhere.
According to Mr Alhassan, so many factors are responsible for the current state Kogi finds itself today and this include non sustainability of land use policies as well as the absence of a master/structural plan to guide the development of the State Capital.
“One of the steps in acquiring a land includes proper negotiations with the community leaders and compensation, if not properly done, creates problem which results to hazard development”
Secondly, the Ministry of Land and Urban Development which is in charge of development in the State does not have the support of the government. Staff and tools like vehicles to carryout this coordination and monitoring has promoted hazard building and buildings without approval. Sometimes town planning staff are beaten because they do not have the backing of the government” he added.
In a state like Kogi that is historically accustomed to hazard development and land congestion which is considered a big challenge to planning as a profession and other related professions that deals with land management/development; Mr Alhassan recommended that the urban renewal or slum upgrading should be initiated.
“Government can initiate slum upgrading in areas like New-Layout and Kabawa where facilities can be resuscitated and improved upon like construction of drainages, health facilities and provision of social amenities to improve the usual standard in place of demolishing”.
This method, you do not have to eject anyone out except in the interest of the public like when a building is constructed on the road in such cases demolition is required for access road” Alhassan equally emphasized.
While urban renewal has to do with facelift for instance, the proposition of six lanes from Kabba junction to Old market he pointed out would require compensation to many people as stated in the land policies.
Finally, he advocated that a consultative forum with various settlements within the town leaders, community leaders, religious leaders and professionals can be initiated to control development within their environment in view of the fact that they now see themselves as stakeholders in the development of the State.
Also reacting, the Chairman of Association of Estates in Nigeria and head WisdomGate Properties, Chief Tony Ologun observed that though simple, housing policies in Nigeria are yet to be properly handled.
Citing South Africa as an example, he said if a particular structure of building is approved in certain areas and anyone was found going against the rules, such would be made to face the law.
“Lets say a bungalow is approved in phase 2 housing estate, for instance, the relevant authorities would expect every house in such areas to be bungalows.
On the issue of security, he urged estate developers to adopt certain practices as obtains in some estates in Lagos were it is mandatory for any occupant expecting a visitor to identify the person before he or she is allowed entery into the estate rather than allow people to zoom in and out as they wish anytime.
He further recommended that a check in a layout, numbering of streets, provision of basic social amenities like water, electricity, public toilets, waste bins should be made available to every house in Kogi State stressing that it is the duty of government to provide poles, wires and connect water to various houses; just as it is the duty the people to pay for their consumption bills.
Our economic growth is non-inclusive and this has impacted on the housing deficit that Nigeria suffers.
The government would also need to promote favourable macroeconomic policies which will in turn encourage private sector investors to partner with her in providing low-cost mass housing.
These policies must result in low interest rates, stable exchange rates and low inflation to encourage investors move into mass housing projects and low-income earners move from rented (substandard in most cases) housing to their own affordable mortgage-enabled homes.
These policies, in conjunction with a broader economic growth stimulation that results in lifting more Nigerians above the poverty line, will make low-cost housing actually affordable for the low-income earner.
Processes for land acquisition, construction permits and property registration must also be simplified and automated in line with global best practice.
We simply cannot continue with a culture that frustrates estate developers and discourages prospective home owners. In extreme cases, prospective property owners have had to wait years to secure required approvals and documentation.
Controversial legislation such as the 1978 Land Use Act and the 2012 National Housing Policy must be revisited to tackle areas of their implementation that stifle the growth of the real estate sector.
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