Frankly speaking, Nigeria’s housing problem is derived from a historical lack of focus on housing development. Over the years, the country has not been able to develop a viable and sustained housing finance system either because of lack of expertise, up-to-date and knowledgeable industry leaders especially in the policymaking arms, lack of funding for relevant institutional agencies/departments, political and selfish gains. Twice in the housing development history of Nigeria has the Ministry of Housing been created and scrapped. Government has oscillated between direct construction of houses and direct lending to the individuals. In all the scenarios, what is evident is that we have not hired professional policymakers and implementers who have deep interest in housing and in providing houses to over 14 million households in demand of housing. We have always taken our housing ministry as one of the other numerous government functions that should be politicized or zoned or used to satisfy political thirst and loyalty. Thus, what we have always come up with is a situation where the government at the centre has not prioritized the housing ministry. Again, the importance of housing to our overall economy cannot be overemphasized.
These events altogether have created neglect for the housing needs of the citizenry which, when combined with a series of economic, financial, weak macroeconomic environment and poor title registration system; makes it extremely difficult for the housing sector to blossom in the country. It is very important to mention here that the present administration is doing everything humanly possible to fit square pegs in square holes. In view of this, I will suggest further that housing and housing finance should be made a top national priority with a clear and professional leadership with unified direction of all government agencies related to the provision of housing for Nigerians.
Housing should be treated with a holistic approach that encompasses all elements and processes required in housing production. This will mean that housing should be placed in cadres of Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, etc where these institutions are run by experts in their field. The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development must be an individual with passion and interest in the housing sector. He/she must be a professional who is interested in making significant positive strides in the sector. Furthermore, he/she must be an individual who has undergone requisite capacity building and acquired relevant knowledge concerning this industry not just locally, but also globally. That is the kind of person we need in the housing industry, and it should not matter from which geopolitical zones the leadership emanates from. The first criteria should be the deliverables as it concerns the sector.
For specificity, the most qualified housing minister, irrespective of which geopolitical zones he/she is from, should be a professional from a related discipline with a high ethical personality to (a) pursue the strengthening of institutional framework and effective coordination of the sector; (b) vigorously undertake land reforms (with strong will), urban development, property rights and infrastructural investment that affects housing finance; (c) should possess requisite knowledge to increase the efficiency and quality of housing subsidy programmes that are effectively harmonized with other factors of housing production; (d) roll out policies to expand and diversify market-rate housing credit; (e) push for adequate laws, titling systems and strong judicial process that allows household to establish ownership of property. This will enhance enforceability and will make mortgage business attractive to the lender; (f) promulgate policies that will make for competitive and efficient primary mortgage markets, backed up with developed risk-sharing mechanisms like mortgage insurance, liquidity facilities, etc. This will definitely expand the supply of credit to low and moderate income households; (g) immediately provide an infrastructure for assessing collateral risk and credit risk; (h) focus on the development of mortgage capital markets as well as create sustained ability to access long-term funding through issuance of mortgage securities that enhance supply of funds.
The above is not a job for a professional politician who has no idea in this field or any passion to provide houses to millions of Nigerians who pay over 40-50 percent of their earnings for rent (or the lower-end Nigerians who do not even have sustainable income), but a job for a professional housing/housing finance expert who has zeal to excel in this uncontestable blue ocean market space that will boost our country’s GDP.
Whether that individual is from the North, South, East or West or from the remotest part of Nigeria that is not zoned for any government appointments does not matter. What matters is to have an expert to man the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, and the provision of housing to our citizenry. It is no longer news that access to housing strongly supports economic growth and poverty reduction. This is basically because; amongst other things, housing construction constitutes an engine for both employment and industrial growth.
If we limit our focus to deliverables instead of geopolitical zones, I am certain that we will find some revolutionists who can lead the sector in promulgating policies that will bring a turnaround in our housing/housing finance sector. This will ultimately fix our housing problems.
PS: The original version of this article was first written in 2005. An updated version was published in 2011. This latest piece was written in July 2015.
Roland Igbinoba
