By Tony Udemba

Ukachukwu Okoronkwo is an Abuja-based real estate developer and Managing Director/CEO of Ojim Royal Investment & Property Ltd. An experienced developer, Okoronkwo described the Public Private Partnership policy of government as a panacea that can boost development of cheap and affordable housing units across Nigeria.

In this interview with Daily Sun, the advocate of mass housing as a way of defraying housing deficits harped on the need for the government to stimulate local production of building materials. He said it is the way to improve the capacity of building institutions to enable them carry out researches on the development of local contents and curb the increasing costs of building materials in the sector.  He spoke on emerging developments in the sector, as well as the Land Use Act, Public Private Partnership (PPP) and other topical issues in the housing industry in Nigeria.   

Excerpts:

Developments in the housing sector

There has been a lot of developments in the housing industry mainly due to the PPP policy being promoted by both federal and state governments. This has created a synergy between government and private organisations in the development of mass housing schemes to the benefit of many Nigerians. This, perhaps, has continued to boost activities in the housing sector, despite the challenges of inadequate funding, high costs of building materials and problems associated with access to land for housing projects.  But not withstanding these challenges, I would say that collaborations between the government and private organisations, which our company is also a beneficiary, have in no small measures, opened up opportunities in the system and rekindled hope in the sector. Definitely, the industry has recorded positive development in the delivery of modern and affordable housing units to Nigerians.

When you take a close look at emerging trends in the sector, you will agree with me that there is a great renaissance in the housing sector and this, no doubt, has thrown up  enormous mutually benefiting opportunities for the stakeholders and the Nigerian citizens. Succinctly, recent developments in Nigeria’s housing sector are quite great and far-reaching, with lots of opportunities for everyone. I am of firm belief that if we continue to build on what we already have today, within a short reasonable time, the nation would be achieving surplus quality and affordable housing units in every nook  and cranny of the country.  

Calls for abrogation of Land Use Act 

It is clear that different people may have mixed opinions about it in the sector; we are quite optimistic on the way forward. But the reality is that the abrogation of the Land Use Act alone may not fully address all the bottlenecks and various challenges in the industry. Though we strongly support the call for the speedy removal of the act from the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we are of the belief that it is pertinent to put in place dynamic and more inclusive laws for the industry. Generally speaking, the Land Use Act, which has been in existence for the past 39 years without any form of amendment, has continued to be a great source of concern to most Nigerians. Therefore, to meet up with present realities due to the emerging challenges in the sector, it becomes imperative for the governments, both at the federal and state levels, to take a dispassionate review of the act.  

Again, not minding the way you perceive it, the present Land Use Act is seen by many Nigerians as a clog in the wheel of progress in the nation’s quest for rapid development in the housing industry. There is need to have a rethink on how the act should be subjected to regular reviews to provide easy access to the acquisition of land in the country. Unfortunately, the federal legislators are yet to see the need to expunge the act from the constitution, hence they voted against the legislative bill that suggested so. They probably saw it as lending support to deny the Federal Government the exclusive right over control of land and granting the right to agitators of resource control.

Factors against affordable housing in Nigeria

Further to what I have said so far, I would say that exorbitant cost of building materials greatly deter every effort to provide cheap and affordable houses for the citizenry. Also, the system has been bedevilled with fake materials and corrupt practices. The get-rich-quick syndrome is endemic. The lack of adequate funding for ‘building research institutions’ has not also allowed ‘creativity and disruptions’. Above all, there must be change in our national psyche – attitudes and behaviours in support of government policies.  

There is a saying that behind every life challenge lies great gain. Life without challenge ends up in emptiness. Challenges are therefore normal life experiences and lessons from there, if tapped, stand to be of greater development opportunities, which make living better. Actually, there are enormous challenges in the industry that have hampered the realisation of robust development and affordable cheap housing for the country, some of which include lack of functional vocational training centres and technical colleges in the country. The curriculum of technical and engineering courses in the nation’s universities and polytechnics are faulty, with no practical aspects and mentorship emphasised. The question is, how many graduates of our universities can stand tall to beat their chests and say they are well equipped practically and professionally to operate independently with less supervision in the industry. Other aspects of these challenges are also traceable to lack of commitment to duties on the side of government officials. There are observed compromises and bottlenecks that have affected the growth and development of the industry. In the face of all these challenges, there is need for collective efforts by both the government, private organisations and other stakeholders to move the sector forward. 

Mitigating rising costs of building materials

Related News

The trend all over the world is the acceptance of the practice of PPP business model as a means of fast-tracking socio-economic and infrastructural developments. It is a fact that the essence of good governance is to provide security, peace and to better the lives of the citizenry but the government cannot do this alone. People must give back to the society in support of the government to achieve collective goal and ensure a better society. It is therefore a deliberate means to complement and collaborate with government to provide continuous housing development across the country, at cheap and affordable costs to Nigerian citizens to meet with housing needs of astronomical growth in the population desirous of decent and affordable accommodation, and better environment. Additionally, there is need for the government to review its policies on building materials, especially as it concerns local production. The nation is blessed with huge deposits of solid minerals used in the production of building materials. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to come up with policies that will galvanise and improve capacity in local production of building and construction materials such as iron rods, pipes, cement, among others.

Again, the government can also offer import duty waivers for the importation of machineries and related foreign in-puts for the setting up of local production of these materials. Also, government can offer duty waivers to importers of such building materials, which we don’t have capacity to produce locally.     

Stimulate adequate funding for housing sector

There is need to relax the bottlenecks presently stifling developmental efforts in the industry, especially the process of creating and conducting conducive business relationship between the government and the private sector, without which it will be difficult to have injection of private sector funding into the sector. It is advised, therefore, to kick-start the process of legislative review of all relevant laws. The government should put in place better investment incentives that will attract both local and foreign investments in the housing industry.

Apparently, Executive Orders might not guarantee robust investments if they are not backed by appropriate legislation that are in tune with international best practices. There is therefore need to institutionalise strong structures and compliance checks as a measure to build confidence for investors to fully participate in developing the sector.

Views on PPP policy

Truly speaking, I do see PPP as a clear model to boost rapid development of affordable housing units in the country.  Strong efforts should be made to develop local contents needed to produce cheap and affordable building and construction materials for the housing industry. All professional institutions and practitioners must wake up from their slumber to ensure success in this area. The government and private sector should continue to brain-storm and collaborate to provide corrective measures in order to ensure dynamism in the housing sector. Finally, the building research institutions have greater role to play in developing cheap and alternative housing but the government must strengthen their regulatory oversights and empower the research institutions to meet their research needs, capacity building needs and above all, take seriously the funding needs. I wish to call on the National Assembly to do the needful to save the housing sector from total collapse, especially to curb unfortunate incidents of   buildings collapse and deaths of innocent and poor fellow citizens.

Development of housing schemes for the police

It is a heart-breaking challenge when you look at the level of inadequacy of housing for Nigerian workers. What the Nigerian workforce desires is to have a roof over their heads. Over the years, various efforts and much budgetary provisions made by the government had not been enough to meet the housing needs of its workforce. This predicament is not only a problem peculiar to the Nigeria Police but also the military, paramilitary and the entire public service. I strongly believe that the provision of adequate accommodation is desirable and very important in the survival of every creature and indeed the Nigeria Police. If the ants and the birds have the need to make nests for their habitation, it is therefore not out of place to provide decent housing scheme for the Nigeria Police.

The growing number of personnel in the police service has actually outgrown the few police barracks the government had provided. Therefore, the public-private sector partnership housing scheme for the police will serve as an alternative source of providing cheap and affordable accommodation, wherein the owner-occupiers can retire to with their families at the end of their service years. This, I believe, will make the officers have a sense of being cared for, as  well as stimulate  them to  put in their best in serving the nation. It is an undisputed fact that most commercialised accommodations available for rentals are not affordable, especially by the lower cadre officers of the police and the civil servants. 

Ojim Royal Investment & Property Ltd and Puha Property Development Company Ltd are excited and privileged to be part of the new dawn in the development of affordable and decent housing schemes for the police, and fully committed to put in our best to make this a reality. Like we are already doing with the Nigeria Police, we are also ready to partner other government agencies and state governments in the construction and delivery of decent and affordable for their workforce.

Advice on curbing incessant collapse of buildings 

The prevalence of buildings collapse across Nigeria has, no doubt, become an eyesore and a huge setback to the housing sector, and must be jointly tackled by the government and all stakeholders in the sector. Most importantly, this unfortunate scenario needs to be frontally addressed with stringent deterrent measures and sanctions against professionals who breach and compromise professional building and construction code. There is also need to have in place functional oversight to ensure due diligence and compliance. The best way forward, however, is to review the extant laws. Professional institutions in the sector must ensure that practicing professionals abide by the code of professional ethics, and are expected to enforce compliance to all processes in order to ensure that standards of international best practices are adhered to and not compromised or breached. There is also the need to have stronger institutional structures and functional policy that discourage the use of substandard materials in the sector.