With the widening housing deficit amid a struggling economy, stakeholders in the real estate sector have advised the federal government to return to the era of building large number of houses as it will help reduce the high cost of renting, buying and developing properties.
Some of the players in the built sector have noted that the law of demand and supply could be applied in this regard, as the more houses are available for rent and sale, the lower the prices would be.
A property developer in Lagos, Mr. Jubril Umar, opined that the line of poverty was being elongated with government’s attitude of leaving the provision of housing to the private sectors alone. He said, “If there is real competition between the government and the private sectors, there will be price control in the sector. The fact that the government relinquished the provision of housing to private individuals caused a monopoly and that is what we are experiencing at the moment. The private sector players will be happy that the government has taken its hands off the sector so that they can play it the way they like.”
A development manager, Mrs. Iquo Bassey, said that except government takes interest in real estate, private individuals will continue to have their way. “If the government begins to build estates in every senatorial zone in the country, the cost of renting properties will crash. The only way to make housing available and affordable is by creating massive housing. Building housing estates in states, will also bring about development in those areas where these estates are situated.
“The government finds it difficult to go into massive housing because it will amount to government competing with itself. Most of the housing estates that are built and not leased are owned by government officials. They looked for an avenue to hide their stolen money and real estate provided them the opportunity. If it were not so, what deprives the government from declaring emergency on vacant estates. Why should there be estates lying here and there unoccupied while a large number of the population lack shelter? The answer is not far-fetched,” she said.
An importer of building materials, Mr. Alex Chukwuma, said even if the conversation on provision of housing is had continuously, nothing would change.
“We must first of all kill corruption in this country before we talk about provision of housing. Corruption has finished this country because no one thinks about the Nigeria again. Even those elected are not there to better the lots of the people but to transform themselves. The government has become an orphan who no one cares for. You see what is prevailing in the system now, it is the winner takes all. The moment you become elected, you care and cater for your people alone.
“The scenario is like the story of Lazarus and the rich man in the bible, where the rich man had everything while Lazarus who had none was struggling with the rich man’s dogs for the crumbs that fall from the table. Is it not absurd that those in government are now helping themselves at the expense of the public they promised to help? Except the government becomes serious with real estate, we will continue to have it this way.
“We import building materials because the government failed to develop building materials locally. If the government had developed building materials locally, it would be another way to crash the cost of building and renting or selling properties in Nigeria. They will not develop the local content because they want to live like people in the developed climes but will not like to behave like them. The situation we have in the country is very confusing entirely.
During election campaigns, people will be promising heaven and earth but once they clinch the position they campaigned for, they will disappear into thin air,” he said.
The Sun
