Category: Building & Properties

All the houses stand out. Many of them are in the Lekki/Ajah axis of Lagos State, which has become the playground of the super rich. These houses are built by private developers, who sell them at cut throat prices. Will the common man ever get a roof over his head? SEYI ODEWALE reports.

Christian Ezenwa (not real name) never knew that better life existed anywhere beyond his abode around Abule-Egba, a Lagos suburb until he visited a relative in Ajah, near Lekki, a few minutes’drive from the Victoria Island.

He was dumbfounded by what he saw. The sheer beauty and serenity that characterised the landscape, gave him a different outlook about life. He concluded that living in an environment such as that could increase one’s life expectancy and give one life-changing contacts. But to live there, one must have a deep pocket, he reasoned.

“I never knew that another life existed elsewhere until I paid a visit to a relative of mine who lives in one of the estates built by Lekki Gardens. I have been so used to living on the mainland, I mean on the outskirts of Lagos, and coming to work every day. You would agree with me that the stress is not in any way small. And quite unfortunately for some of us in the emerging middle class level that we seem to belong, I wonder how much one needs to have to own a home in that environment,” he said.

Samuel Babarinde, a pastor, could not believe what he saw when he visited Ajah a few days ago. In 1997, he was transferred to Ajah, which then was no place near what some nouveau riche considered liveable. “It was a ‘Siberia’ of some sort. I remember when I was transferred to that place, my wife and I felt very bad, we thought it was not only far off, it was lonely and lifeless.

“Those living there were mostly people displaced from Maroko and its environs. In fact, it was the lack of basic infrastructure, such as roads; water and electricity that made me work on my employers to redeploy me elsewhere. Coupled with this, was that we just had a new baby who could not stand the heat in that area, so I pleaded for a transfer then,” he said, adding: “What I now see makes me to conclude that I made an error of judgment when I declined to buy a piece of land offered me on Badore road, where I resided.”

The two communities, after 16 years of Babarinde’s departure, smell of opulence. In fact, Lagosians, who go for them describe them as paradise on earth. The architectural masterpieces dotting their landscapes readily announce to a first time visitor that the areas are for the rich.

Lekki/Ajah axis ranks as the most sought after by prospective estate developers and home owners. The reasons are simple: More than 20 high-brow estates litter the place and more are springing up, with prices above the N200million range, while apartments in multi-floor buildings go for no less than N15million.

The area’s proximity to Victoria Island, Ikoyi and Lagos Island is another factor. The serene atmosphere devoid of the hustle and bustle associated with the metropolis, is probably another factor considered by those patronising the estates.

Starting from Lekki Phase II to Ibeju-Lekki, Ajah junction, Badore, Okun-Ajah, Abijo, down to Eleko, are over a score of upper-class estates with state-of-the-art infrastructure, well-paved roads and everything that makes living comfortable.

Among the estates, are Eleganza Gardens owned by the business mogul, Chief Razak Okoya; Royal Garden Estate, facilitated by Trojan Estates Limited; Cooperative Villa, managed by Worthy Realtors and Homes Services; Crown Estate; Fara Park; Amen Estate by Redbricks Homes Limited; Lekki Gardens developed by GTRich Realty Limited; Cowrie Creek by Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).

Others are Seagate Estate overseen by Harris Contractors; Femi Okunnu developed by Continental Reach Property Global Limited; Safe Court Apartment built by PRIMEWATERVIEW Limited; Fountain Springville developed by HFP; Victoria Garden built by HFP; Rich Park owned by Chevron Co-operative staff and Lakowe Lakes built by ARM in partnership with a South African group, to mention a few.

To Media and Communication Head of Lekki Gardens, Azuka Ugboh Ezenwa and Babarinde’s assessment of the areas are apt. Lekki and Ajah, he said, is a serious business. “Everyone wants to be part of paradise that gives him pure breath of divine inspiration,” he said.

Houses and apartments are not the only ones affected by the touch of opulence in these areas. Landed properties’ prices are reaching the roof tops. A glance at most offers by estate agents and land speculators showed that the least price for a plot of land is around N50million or more, depending on the location. “How can one live in this kind of area without ‘robbing’ a bank,” Ezenwa asked a friend he was narrating his experience to?

Ugboh, who perhaps envisaged this kind of question from anyone visiting his firm’s site said: “You don’t need to rob a bank to own a home in my company’s schemes. We have housing schemes that will give you value for your money. All we need is your commitment and seriousness. In fact, most of our schemes are over-subscribed,” he said.

But as over-subscribed as they may seem, they are not for the low income earners or the poor. The realisation that the place is for the novae riche is taking a serious and dangerous toll on residents who are supposedly living under tight security provided by these different estates.

Low income earners, consisting of gardeners, drivers and other people with menial jobs, have resorted to erecting all manner of illegal shanties to serve as accommodation. That explains the rowdiness that usually characterise areas such as Ilaje and Ajah bus-stops, where petty traders, commercial motorcycle (Okada) operators and private cab (Kabu-kabu) drivers abound.

The presence of these elements and erection of makeshift structures to serve as accommodation for them have encouraged the presence of people of questionable character in the two communities, especially each time clashes occur between Omo-Onile and some residents.

Ugboh, however, flipping through a pack of publications by GTRich Reality Limited, builders of Lekki Gardens, said houses built by his firm stand out among their peers and their construction standards are unparalleled.

“We build in phases and people are already subscribing for the fourth phase of our houses. Phase I of our housing projects is fully habitable. This means that people are already living in those houses. We have also delivered Phase II as the last few houses were completed recently and are fully bought. While the Phase III is already sold out, I mean completely sold out. What we have left selling is the Horizon type of units, which is the second part of it as the first part is fully sold out,” Ugboh said.

Each mini-flat, he said, has a compact living area with adjoining kitchenette and en-suite bedroom. The studio apartments are open-plan en-suite bedroom with kitchenettes. The metro terrace sold for N16million.

The firm, like its competitors, build houses to sell apartments to prospective owners.

“For those who wish to let their apartment out, each mini-flat apartment attracts a yearly rent of N400,000, while the studio type goes for N300,000. This means about N1.5million could be earned by the owners per annum and with potentials for rent appreciation. The advantage here is that if one had to build a house that would fetch him this amount yearly, he must have spent between N38million to N45million to build such a house in that environment. This, however, does not include the price paid to secure the land. But we took care of those hurdles and people paid only N16million then,” he said.

He continued: “The success witnessed by the response to the first Phase made people to subscribe to the 50-hectare second phase opposite Abraham Adesanya Estate, along Lekki/Ajah-Epe road. This estate, like I said earlier, is completely bought and delivered. And we are already thinking of the third phase, which again has been sold out. The beauty of this plan is that second and third phases of the project are not far from each other unlike our first phase, which is after the LBS. Phase III, a fourteen-hectare estate behind LBS, has three-bedroom terrace duplex, metro terrace four-bedroom terrace and four-bedroom semi-detached with boys’ quarters. Their prices ranged from N14.5million to N24.5million. And payment plan ranged from outright buy to initial payments of certain percentage to complete full payment by instalments in three to 24 months, depending on the payment plan chosen.”

Abraham Adesanya Estate, which people thought could have appeared a bit friendly, sadly in January, this year, went for N14.5million per three-bedroom bungalow. “The only one that I think can offer the low income earners a respite in that area, is perhaps, the First World Communities’ estate at Abijo, which is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement between the firm and the Lagos State government and it is still in progress,” said a Ministry of Housing official who preferred to be anonymous.

After living so long in rented apartments, their dream is to become house owners. In a bid to actualise their dreams, many have fallen victims to predatory developers. They part with money without getting their dream homes, SEYI ODEWALE reports.

They take up advert spaces in the dailies, national and local. The wordings of their adverts are appealing to prospective landlords and tenants. “Pay a certain deposit, balance years later and be a landlord or a home owner,” is usually their catch phrase.

The offers are ridiculous; choice areas are often not left out of the promos. From the outskirts of Lagos to areas exclusively reserved for the noveau riche in Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Ajah and Lekki, are housing schemes operated by private real estate firms. A critical look at most of them shows that they are out to exploit the gap created by the government in not providing adequate housing.

For instance, a Lagos firm in 1999, flooded the newspapers with advertisements for prospective house owners to make 25 per cent deposits for its housing scheme to be built at Isheri-Olofin, Idimu, a Lagos suburb. Fourteen years after, subscribers are yet to see the houses they paid for.

“This is a classical case of fraud and it is made possible because various levels of government have not lived up to what the populace expected of them. Look at the story carried by your paper on Sunday, August 4, where a certain firm promised to build houses for those who subscribed and, 14 years after, they are yet to deliver on their promise. What do you make out of this? Is this not outright fraud?” Bolatito Adesanmi, a Lagos-based estate manager asked.

Quoting copiously from the story, an angry Adesanmi said: “The firm, ‘published in one of the dailies that three types of houses were available: a two-bedroom in a row of four housing units; a three-bedroom in a twin bungalow and a three-bedroom detached house’. But, unfortunately, the firm, as I read in the story, defaulted and has failed to either deliver the about 170 units promised its subscribers who had fulfilled their own side of the bargain or abide by the details of the agreement to hand over the title deeds of the properties. And, despite interventions at different levels, nothing seemed to have worked. This is not a good sign as it portends a state of hopelessness for the people and others who are trying to get houses of their own.”

The likes of the firm, he said, were the ones giving real estate operators credibility problems, as prospective land or house owners are wary of whom they deal with. “Yes, everyone wishes to have shelter as one of the principal needs of life, but when such situation becomes an avenue for exploitation, it is then assuming a dangerous dimension,” he said.

At the Real Estate Riches managed by Kelly Nwogu at Idimu, Lagos, hand bills being distributed by the firm stated people could own land and house. They included owning a property in Ajah with less than N8 million as against several millions of naira people are paying to get a place in that area. And with the payment of a certain percentage, the house would be constructed by the firm and when the final instalments are paid, the client assumes the ownership of the building.

Curious, our reporter presented himself as a client. He first called one of the numbers on the hand bill to speak with the man behind the scheme. He was asked to come to the firm’s office on Idimu Road. He was also given the impression of trying to meet a busy man who does not often stay in the office because of other engagements.

On the appointed date, the reporter requested to speak with the facilitator, but he was told that the man was not in the front desk officer could not say when he would be back. She, however, requested to know the reporter’s mission.

When she was told, she took time to explain how the scheme operates. “You will have to register with us to show that you are interested. This means you will pay N15,000, after which you will deposit a specified percentage of the amount the house is going for,” she explained.

When asked if the client could be taken to the site to see the location, she said: “Of course, you can be taken there to see the location and that is the purpose the N15,000 is meant to serve. It is for transportation to site for you to see the place and if you are interested, you can now pay the initial deposit and other payments required.”

But if a client chose to go in his car, would he still pay the fare, she was asked? Her countenance, indicated that, that was not a favourable option. Subsequent calls made to her boss were neither picked nor answered.

“Instances of these abound in areas that are just developing,” said Daniel Okechukwu, a young man from Delta State, who claimed to have fallen victim of such practice. “There was a similar scheme close to Mowe, Ogun State. It was introduced to me by a friend and at the end of it, I came out bruised; my money almost got trapped. Although I got some of it, other expenses I could not account for could not be recovered,” Okechukwu said.

Okechukwu, who resides in Ikorodu, on the outskirt of Lagos, said he had to go to Omo-Onile to get a place to build his house. “I felt assured approaching the Omo-Onile and they gave me what I needed. They, at times, could be nasty, but would not promise what they could not deliver. This is because they also live within the community and their relatives are known. But these so-called private developers, not many people know them or their relatives in case they default. Worse thing, they are also well-connected. So, when you have issues with them, who then would you report them to?” he asked.

Officials of Lagos State Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning, acknowledged this development, saying some estates are springing up in various parts of the state without government’s approval. This, they said, is giving the state a headache.

“It is not as if those who fall victims of such practice are gullible or stupid, it is just that they were driven by their various experiences from either their landlords or their desires to have a house in the state,” a ministry official who pleaded anonymity said.

He continued: “Go to places like Ajah, cases like this are many, but that does not mean there are no credible ones. We know those whose housing schemes are real and are delivering on their promises. The point, however, must be made. People should know when to discern fraudulent claims from the real ones. Granted, about N5million can get you a moderate bungalow on the outskirt of Lagos, but don’t forget the cost of land has not been added.

So, if someone comes and says less than N10million can get you a three-bedroom bungalow in Ajah with land inclusive, then you should know that he is out to fleece you.”