Due to the downturn in the economy, experts have advocated the use of alternative building materials to reduce cost of providing affordable housing for Nigerians.

He stated that the challenge of high inflation and interest rates require thinking out of the box to deliver innovative solutions.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, the Executive Director, Housing Development Advocacy Network, Festus Adebayo, noted that the upward trend in the prices of cement has affected both rental and sale prices of houses.

He said, “The stakeholders and practitioners in the housing industry must think out of the box on how we can have alternatives to cement.

“There is no better opportunity than now for the Nigerian Building and Road research institute to profer other alternative we can use to replace cement.”

He added that government must lead by example in 2023 by building sample houses with locally sourced building materials that require less use of cement.

Speaking further, The President and Chairman of the Council of Real Estate Developer Association of Nigeria, Aliyu Wamakko, called for collaboration among stakeholders, adding that it will industralise the nation’s building sector.

“What we should be working now as a country should be a made in Nigeria house and not a house furnished with imported materials, discussions are ongoing with NBRRI, raw materials research and other stakeholders so we can achieve this and I believe it is possible.

“By making initiative to produce a made in Nigerian house and not a house with 30 percent input of foreign materials but a house that is fully made in Nigeria.

“Constructing these types of houses will also industralise the nation’s sector of building materials and solve problem of inflation.”

When asked to give details on how this idea could be achieved, Wamakko said, “We produce cement, woods and mould blocks in Nigeria. We also have companies that produce table wares, toilet wares and Zinc. Then tell me if we can produce all of these things without foreign input. Why can’t we build a made in Nigeria house?

“All we need to do is embolish those who produce all these materials. If we put our minds together on this, we will solve a whole lot of issues.”

In a related development, high inflation cost of building materials and interest rates will add to the number of homeless persons in the country, industry experts have predicted.

However, only a change in attitude of practitioners and that of government policies can effect the changes needed in the housing sector.