With up to 17 million housing deficit in Nigeria, the Executive Chairman of Edo Development and Property Agency, Isoken Omo has joined a couple of other housing sector stakeholders to call for adoption of new strategies in reducing the country’s alarming housing deficit.
While speaking to Housing Development Program, Omo said that the 17 million housing deficit is not insurmountable.
‘’There are ways to handle it by engaging the private sector and looking at other ways of delivering houses to people that are realistic, affordable and sustainable. The kind of materials we use for building should also be sustainable and innovative. We should look at how we can unlock finance for development so that housing provision can remain sustainable,’’ she said.
While she believes that the private sector needs to lead in this approach, she also thinks that it is the government’s responsibility to provide the enabling environment and allow the private sector to play in the market.
‘’So if things like access to land, titling, and infrastructure are dealt with and made available by government, then private sector will come with its funds and provide the houses in a way that meets the needs of the people. There is no need providing houses that people cannot afford. It is necessary to provide what meets your peculiar housing environment, and housing environment changes from location to location and from people to people depending on their economic base.’’
Bearing this in mind, she said it is necessary for all sector stakeholders to start making housing fit for the people that require them.
‘’What you might need in the north might not necessarily be what you might need in the south. So we need to be adaptable with our housing provision. We also need to make sure that our mortgage is robust because it is not at the moment. The options for people to purchase houses are very slim because the commercial rates are very high and most people cannot afford it.’’
