Dr. Bamidele Onalaja is the new Chairman of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Lagos Chapter. He’s also the MD/CEO of a reputable Pan-African Property Company, RevolutionPlus Property Development Company. Few months back, he was elected new Chairman, Lagos REDAN, and since then he has been attending different forum and meetings with Lagos State Government. He has been championing what he believes should be best for housing sector to Lagos State Government.
He is one of the sponsors of the leading reality show Big Brother Naija, for which he has been criticised for advertising on the programme. Dr. Bamidele said: I have come across many people who have asked me why we sponsor the BBN Show. Well, “the only reason why we sponsor and are involved in the Big Brother Naija Show is that if you understand brand visibility and the amount of both youth and adults following the programme all over the world, then you will understand it’s a good market place unless you don’t have the fund to sponsor.
A few days ago, he also spoke with City People’s ISAAC ABIMBADE about his new role as the Chairman of REDAN.
Let me congratulate you on your new post as the Chairman of REDAN, Lagos state chapter.
Yes, thank you very much. I am the Chairman of the Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter. The focus of REDAN is to gather all the real estate developers in Lagos to have a common voice and work closely with people and also with the government so that everybody can have a home.
What are your plans as the Chairman of this association sir?
I did roll out my plans during my manifesto, unfortunately, you weren’t there.
One of my plans is to make housing affordable for everybody. We want to have a uniform voice as Developers. We want to be able to access building materials and get them cheaper. We are also working with the Lagos State Government to make sure our documentation is done faster. We are working closely with the government so that there will be no problem between any developer and government. That’s the focus of REDAN. We are working on removing the quacks amongst us; developers that will collect money from their subscribers and run away. These set of people are spoiling our names, and we need to remove them. So those are the focus of REDAN.
What is the synergy between the Lagos State government and Lagos REDAN aside what you have mentioned earlier, sir?
I can only speak for Lagos REDAN. A few weeks back, we had a meeting with the Special Adviser on Housing Mrs Toke Benson Awoyinka. It was a round table discussion with all the major developers in Lagos. During the meeting, Mrs. Toke Benson disclosed that the Lagos state government is ready to work with us. Lagos REDAN is planning with Lagos Government for a particular portion of land to develop. It’s going to be a PPP. They (government) are going to give land to some of our members who have the capacity to deliver the project.
Also at the federal, we are planning 100 units of houses in each local government of Nigeria. For example, Lagos State has about 20 local governments, we are going to build 100 units of houses in each of these 20 local governments. So if you multiply 100×20, that will give you 2,000 housing units. And that’s what we are doing at the federal.
REDAN can’t do much without the government.
How did you emerge as the Chairman this association sir?
Well, it’s by popular vote. People wanted a voice; somebody that can speak on behalf of the association that the government can work with, that government can listen to and the people will listen to. It was through election and we won.
There are a lot of people in that association who have been there for 10 to 20 years, why did they choose you out of all these people sir?
Yes, you are right. We have members who have been there before I even found my real estate company, but what the REDAN is looking for right now is new leadership. Vibrant, young person that is ready to serve. The job we do is a very tedious job. You can vote somebody as Chairman and he won’t have your time. They chose me because they believe in my manifesto and what I can bring onboard. And I’m ready to work with every member of REDAN. We have so many real estate players in Lagos who are not members of REDAN because they didn’t believe in the association, they chose me so that I can talk to them to lead Lagos REDAN.
