It was projected that over 28 million Nigerians living without decent and affordable houses reflect the dire state of the country’s real estate sector.
As the new administration under Bola Ahmed Tinubu settles in to manage the affairs of Nigeria, operators in the real estate sector of the country’s economy have come up with ideas on what they expect Tinubu’s government to do in the sector which has boomed in the last eight years. Top of the operators’ agenda for the Tinubu government is a review of the old Land Use Act; a mortgage system overhaul to create long-term affordable mortgages, and increased investment in infrastructure. Others are the review of landlord-tenant law and research into local building materials.
The past eight years of former President Muhammadu Buhari left the sector, especially in the area of housing, with little or no dent which is why statistics on the housing situation in the country remains the same and worrisome.
Nigeria is a large country of 223 million people according to United Nations 2022 estimates. This population is spread over a land area of approximately 923,000 square kilometers. Less than 10 percent of this land mass has a formal title, leaving the rest as dead capital that is neither tradable nor bankable.
ALHAJI
BASHIR JIMOH
City People had a chat with Alhaji Basir Jimoh, one of the real estate guru in Lagos and he shares with us what he feels about the Tinubu government and what the government can do to fix the sector.
“First, I will like to congratulate every Nigerian. Congratulations to all Lagosians. There’s no how you can remove the tenure of Asiwaju; his activities, and his achievement when he was governor of Lagos State. During that period, Lagos State witnessed tremendous developments in each and every facet of life. Talk of security, finance, and real estate were properly conducted and processes of identifications and registrations of land became much more easier. It was less cumbersome than what it used to be. Electricity was tackled head on and these and many others formed Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s collective achievement in Lagos State.
In Nigeria, we are not looking forward to anything less. The president is a true and smart politician. He’s the kind of man that gets things done. I’m looking forward to the future and what it will bring to us as a nation.
The very five key things Tinubu can quickly do in the housing sector are 1, the finance aspect of real estate. The housing provision has a strong connotation with financial availability and cost. And with the instruction he gave during the inauguration and he also said that the Interest rate should go down.
Secondly, the issue of approval of real estate registration and development council. That will bring formality into the real estate sector and it will make the sector much better. It is going to ensure there will be a balance between real estate developers and their customers.
The third thing is the issue of Security. Once security is provided in Nigeria it has a way of enhancing comfort.
The exchange rate is also important in the real estate sector. If there’s exchange rate stability, we could plan something. And that would help us deliver projects as at when due”.
PASTOR OLA JAGUN
Again, another popular real estate expert Ola Jagun, explains key areas the federal government led by Tinubu needs to pay more attention to in the real estate sector.
He spoke on Mortgage. “The government should grant access to mortgages for those who want to climb the property ladder because people are struggling. It would be fine if government can create this mortgage into a single digit. It will be the best. Many people will not be involved in corruption if they can have a roof over their heads because after working for 30-35 years and they have nowhere to go, so if they have the opportunity to steal they will steal.
Another point is to create research into the local use of housing materials. The dependence on foreign materials is depleting our foreign exchange and also making it impossible for us to deepen into our environments. If there are alternatives we can use locally that can bring down the cost of housing, that will be good for us, as a nation.
Another one is access to finance for developers. The more they have access to funds to reduce the housing gap or deficit, that will be better for us. I’m talking about genuine developers. Another point is to create infrastructure. If government creates site and service and let people have access to where they want to develop, many people will go there to invest and develop. Because many developers will still have to create everything where they are developing themselves when they are building and that alone makes housing development harder and more costly. The government can provide the necessary infrastructure and when this is created the government will make back their money.
