The necessity for housing goes beyond the basic human need of shelter, it is part and parcel of the fundamental human rights as enshrined in many international treaties including the United Nations Human Rights.
In an ideal situation, everyone not minding their social status, level of income, or any form of incapacitation, should live in a decent house,
either owned or rented.
In Nigeria, however, access to affordable housing has largely stayed a pipe dream for the vast majority, particularly the middle and lower classes which make up about 80% of the populace.
The matter of housing deficit has gotten worse over time, with successive governments grappling with it. According to a publication by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s housing deficit was at 7 million in 1991 and rose to 12 million in 2007, 14 million in 2010, 20 million units in 2019, and according to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria it is currently at 28 million units as at 2023, this means that 28 million people or more are homeless.
The CBN has estimated an amount of ₦21 trillion will be needed to finance this deficit, and with a growing population of 200 million Nigerians, the current deficit is extremely high.
Flooding has emerged as a recurrent and prevalent disaster in Nigeria. The 2012 flood disaster brought severe damage and losses, but the multidimensional scale of the 2022 floods proved to be more devastating according to the National Bureau of Statistics, National Emergency Management Agency, and United Nations Development Program.
The sad news is things are starting to look the same in 2024.
Despite the huge housing deficit of over 20 million units in Nigeria, the latest flooding in many states has further depleted the nation’s housing stock, thereby widening the accommodation gap among Nigerians.
The National Emergency Management Agency has said that 27 states have been impacted by floods, with a total of 227,494 persons affected and 32,837 houses damaged. NEMA disclosed this, adding that 16,488 hectares of farmland with crops were also damaged.
To this damaged houses figures, the nation’s housing deficit of over 28 million units, according to the estimates by the United Nations (UN), has further been widened, thereby aggravating the issue of homelessness among Nigerians.
In Jigawa State, no fewer than 28 people have been confirmed dead and over 6,000 households have been displaced due to severe flooding according to the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), being a setback on the recent historic milestone achieved under the leadership of the Governor Malam Umar Namadi with the launch of one thousand five hundred housing units—the largest number in the state’s 32-year history.
Also, On August 16, a devastating flood killed 11 people and over 500 houses were affected in Gummi town, the headquarters of Gummi LGA of Zamfara state.
Likewise, residents of Natsinta village, located in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State, were forced to evacuate their homes after a three-day torrential downpour destroyed over 250 houses, leaving many homeless, and creating more housing problems.
However, states like Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Taraba, Bauchi, Yobe, Sokoto, and Kebbi have also been affected following heavy rainfall in the region.
Consequently, the Flood menace has ravaged several towns in Nigeria for several decades leaving in its wake the loss of thousands of lives and tens of billions of naira worth of properties damaged which calls for holistic urgent action on our part as individuals and that of the government.
The importance of sensitizing government at all levels on the reality of climate change and possible risk reduction strategies is crucial in preventing flood menace in Nigeria. The need for an effective community-based early warning system for flood prevention and control in Nigeria cannot be over-emphasized.
Government at all levels needs to shift from being reactive to being proactive in responding to flood menace. There is also the need
for government at all levels and its agencies to fund and map out contingency plans and emergency preparedness plans to prevent flood outbreak crisis in Nigeria.
