17m housing gap a ruse, says expert

By OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE

NIGERIANS have always been innundated with 17 million housing gap for years with no improvement.

Speaking on the figure at an interactive session organised in Lagos., Mr. Ismail Gbenga, a Fellow of Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors & Valuers (NIESV), argued that in major cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt unoccupied houses abound.

He maintained that his institution had raised the alarm over the increasing number of unoccupied houses.

He said if proper statistics of unoccupied housing units was taken, the almost unchanging and convenient figure of 17 million housing gap narrative would have changed.

He reiterated his argument with what the former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had always disputed, calling it a ruse as it is not supported by any scientific study  or statistics.

He wondered that with all the housing estates built by government and the private sector, the figure of 17 million housing gap should no longer be in vogue.

According to him, what the cities lack is infrastructure but with competitive infrastructure such as good rail system, good road, efficient waste management system and potable water, many people can live outside major cities and go to work to the cities daily. He called for a housing policy that would make it possible for a greater percentage of the citizenry to afford decent accommodation.

He advised that government to replicate housing estates, such as FESTAC 77 and Gowon, all in Lagos which are home to hundreds of thousands of people.

Commenting, Biodun Olapade said only social housing could solve the housing challenge.

He criticised the national development plan which did not isolate various and segmented needs of states and classes of people to build according to their requirements.

He said, for instance, the type of houses needed in Lagos is not the same in Zamfara State because of different influences.

In Lagos what people need is transit accommodation, such that when a person’s social status changes, he moves to a bigger accommodation unlike what is