Low cost housing delivery panacea to Housing deficit

Provision of low cost housing across Nigeria has been identified as a solution to the mind boggling huge deficit in housing in the country.
The housing deficit put at 20 million units is caused largely by low supply and not demand and the gap can only be bridged if government at various levels can adequately and effectively engage private developers in the provision of low cost housing for low income earning Nigerians.
Stakeholders had at different forum called on the Federal Government to place emphasis on the building of low cost houses for Nigerians and make them to buy through rent- to- own- basis.
The method is said to be the simplest method of making housing accessible to Nigerians. It is simple- once they are working the money can be deducted from their monthly pay through mortgage arrangement and at the completion of payment for the houses; they become the owners of the houses.
This is what happens in other countries to address their housing challenges.
To address the problem of housing deficit squarely, we must genuinely identify the people that are worst hit by this problem of housing. They are the low income earners. They are the ones living in the slum. The people at the high echelon are the ones having empty unoccupied houses.
So therefore, to find a lasting solution to that problem, more supply should be for those in the lowest echelon- that’s the low income earners.
Houses within the range of 3 million, 3.5 million, 2.5, that’s the supply we need for now. Government should engage the private sector to provide the desirable houses as government cannot be entrusted to do it because of the hanky panky and the corrupt practices bedeviling the civil service.
In order to achieve this, government can provide incentives for the private sector to drive it. These Incentives can include tax abatements, grants, infrastructure assistance, no or low-interest financing, free land, tax credits and other financial resources.
If the federal government rolls it out, it can say if you do housing as a CSR, this is what you will benefit from the government, with this, major construction companies will go into housing head-on just to benefit from these incentives.
Besides, if an incentive is provided for providing for the lowest echelon, a good number of estate developers will buy into it.
Investigations reveal that many real estate developers are building for the highest echelon because they are looking for profit? These developers take this decision based on the fact that they are spending money in constructing access road, and infrastructure. They spend more to buy the land, pay compensation for the land the government allocated to them. That’s what leads to building for the high echelon. That’s what leads to luxurious homes.
But to solve the problem, it is not by providing for the high echelon, the solution is providing for those in the lowest echelon. If the government can do that, the multiplier effect will boost the economy, create jobs, and even reduce criminality.
The economy will be better for it because people are now gainfully employed. Either as a carpenter, or as a bricklayer, that’s for the unskilled and for the skilled labour, the professionals like engineers, architects etcetera, some of whom are even losing job now will be engaged in the booming construction sector. There will be job when there is transaction. Once there is no transaction, there will be no job. So government should do more.
Why government should not do the direct construction is basically because of the experience we have had in the area of building sub-standard, in the area of awarding the contract, turning it to be a contract awarding deal which at the end of the day, the lowest echelon which they are building the houses for will be the one at loss.
But the private sector developer that is provided with land, that is provided with secondary and primary infrastructure, and with regulation will deliver quality houses. This is the best way to go.