At the annual Builders’ Day 2024 event which was held on March 13, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Building called for government intervention by implementing policies that encourage local production of building materials. Recall that in the early 1990s, there was a popular slogan, “Housing for all by 2020.” Thirty-four years down the line, successive administrations have failed to provide housing for the masses.
The provision of housing in Nigeria has become a mirage due to some challenges. These include the lack of a clear-cut national housing policy, lack of political will, the use of quacks and substandard building materials, high cost of building materials, abusing the implementation of the Land Use Act 1978, and institutional barriers.
Five stages are involved in developing a comprehensive national housing policy. The first stage has to do with ‘needs assessment.’ The needs assessment must answer questions such as the categories of people in dire need of housing, the social class of those to benefit from the housing project (low-income earners or middle-income earners), the project site, and affordability.
The second stage must identify project inputs, how labour is going to be provided, how the land is going to be acquired, how materials such as cement, aluminium sheets, iron rods, sand and gravel, are going to be procured, how the materials would be sourced (locally or imported), and how long is the project going to last.
The third stage has to do with the cost of the housing project. In determining the costs of the project, there is a need to be realistic because not getting the costs right can be detrimental to the project. The fourth stage, which is very crucial, is the funding mechanism; whether the project is going to be financed by the government, an international organisation, financial institution(s), or a public-private partnership.
Finally, when all the aforementioned points have been resolved, the project will be subjected to constant monitoring. It is the responsibility of the Minister of Housing and Urban Development to set up a committee of experts to develop the policy document. It is also important that both the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Minister of Finance be co-opted as members of the committee. When the document is finally drafted, it should be subjected to public debate and the outcome will be presented to the National Council on Housing for approval.
There are quite a few African countries that have developed comprehensive national housing policies with the assistance of foreign donors. They include Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Nigeria can take a leaf from them. One challenge inhibiting the development of a comprehensive National Housing Policy is the lack of political will on the part of our leaders. Most often, our leaders are fun of making a lot of promises during campaigns but at the end of the day, won’t fulfil those promises when they are at the helm of affairs. The majority of them pay lip service to housing, they don’t walk the talk.
Another challenge that has militated against the provision of housing in the country is the use of quacks and sub-standard materials. This has resulted in the collapse of many buildings in most of our big cities like Lagos. Any contractor who is not a professional should not be allowed to handle building projects and this is where the monitoring of housing projects comes in. It is also important to mention that the high cost of building materials has contributed significantly to poor housing delivery in the country. A significant portion of construction materials in Nigeria are imported and fluctuations in the exchange rate have drastically affected their prices.
Institutional barriers also play a major role. Both the federal and state governments have institutions saddled with the responsibility of monitoring housing projects. However, some of these institutions are not living up to expectations because most of them are incapacitated due to inadequate funding of these institutions. Moreover, the logistics needed for monitoring housing projects are not readily available, and personnel are not well-equipped.
To achieve sustainable housing delivery in Nigeria, there must be first and foremost a development of a comprehensive National Housing Policy that will stand the test of time. The policy must encourage the local production of building materials and ensure the integration of environmentally friendly practices, materials and technology into the construction process.
Also, the exploration of alternative materials and construction techniques that are less reliant on imported materials must be encouraged to promote and adopt sustainable construction methods that utilise local resources. Proper monitoring of contractors handling building projects nationwide must be upheld.
The Nigerian Institute of Building should use the current challenges to explore alternative building materials and construction techniques that are less reliant on imported materials. To bridge the gap in the housing sector, both the federal and the state governments should make it a policy to construct 100,000 housing units nationwide each year, starting from 2025, for 25 years.
Both the federal and state housing ministries should be adequately funded to enable them to discharge their responsibilities efficiently. The Land Use Act 1978 must be amended to enable both low and middle-income earners acquire lands in Nigeria;
A law should also be enacted to enable Nigerians, irrespective of social status, obtain loans from mortgage banks at low interest rates to enable them to purchase or build affordable houses.
