Founder of Housing TV Africa and CEO FESADEB Communications, Barrister Festus Adebayo has highlighted the crucial role of the housing sector in economic development.
Adebayo who disclosed this recently in Abuja when he played host to children from the show “Our World” on AIT, underscored the necessity of significant investment in housing development, emphasizing that individuals shouldn’t have to wait until old age to own a house.
Drawing parallels with Canada’s success, the convener of Africa International Housing Show (AIHS), noted that the Nigerian housing sector is a great area for good return on investment.
“In advanced countries like Canada, America…these countries place more priority on the development of that sector (housing sector) and on that note, that sector is contributing very much to the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Nigeria…the reverse is the case, the real estate sector is contributing less than 10% to the GDP.”
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The housing mogul continued further, decrying the lack of government’s investment in housing.
“Sincerely, I must tell you, Government has not shown high level of political interest in providing affordable housing for Nigerian workers. What you see are people working for 25, 26 years and they can’t even afford a house of five million. The other time I was on the television station, owned by the Federal government and I was asking them ‘who among them can afford to buy a house of ten million’. So the government has not done so much.”
Expressing optimism in the Renewed Hope Agenda of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Adebayo said
“But the present administration has promised us in their manifesto that they will create a credit facility system. They are hoping that will help the mortgage system to work in Nigeria. And then with the new minister that has been brought in, who is a member of the industry, he has started very well, we can see what he’s doing, so I think Nigeria will do better in 2024.
“Let me also use this opportunity to call on all state governors to do more in the area of signing C of O to help more Nigerians own a home.”
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Speaking further, “The housing sector, I must tell you is a great sector. It is one beautiful sector that when you invest, you don’t lose your money. When you invest in other areas, you may not be able to get you will get when you go into real estate. Some of the biggest billionaires in the world, started from real estate sector.
“When you have the real estate sector working, you see employment being created. So real estate sector is good for job creation, when you go to a site, you say people with formal education working, and you also see people with informal education working – the brick layer, the artisan, the carpenter and infact even the people riding okada, even people selling food. And so on that note, housing industry is key. It is important to boost economic development. It helps to create jobs.”
