Bode Adediji is the 19th president of Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors & Valuers and the managing partner of Bode Adediji Partnership. In this interview with IFEOMA OKEKE, he expressed reservations over the huge housing deficit in Nigeria. Excerpts:
Looking at the challenges in real estate in Nigeria- home deficit, mortgage institution, availability of land as means of property allocation, etc, what in your opinion is the way forward?
It is now a common knowledge that Nigerians have been suffering from severe housing crisis for several decade, and the more effort we think as a nation we have made the less the impact we see on ground. Over the years, a number of policies and programmes have been rolled out and to what extent all these policies and programmes have really impacted on the landscape of efficiency is another thing.
However, considering the general scarcity of houses in Nigeria, these can be linked to the factors that are responsible for the abysmal housing situation in Nigeria. The fundamental one we have pointed out from time to time is that Nigeria as a country has always been guilty of policy somersault from one regime to the other. If there is any sector of the economy where this has gotten much passion is the real sector.
One regime does not want to follow what its predecessor in office has initiated. Secondly, all informed stakeholders in the housing sector know that until we take the bull by the horns and we challenge certain things no amount of policy role out can actually help us.
What are the basic issues, the Land Use Act must be overhaul. The document has all the good intention in the world, but when it comes to implementation, government agencies see these documents as a means of making money. Why would a man or a woman struggle to get Certificate of Occupancy?
Until we challenge that and resolved it, we won’t move further. Nigerian economy, up till today, has been characterised by cash-and-carry mentality; a country as small in comparative term as Tanzania and Ghana have more credible mortgage regime than Nigeria. In fact, South Africa is an epitome of viable and viral mortgage institution, why would a young man and woman working and earning income fear to go into home ownership when if he can save 10 percent of his/her income for a number of years can own a building of his own. Until government takes it as a matter of national priority, we will just be talking about mortgage system without achieving anything.
It would be recalled that when the national housing form was rolled out, which is supposed to be an auxiliary to the mortgage institution, the entire programme was converted to something else by putting the funds in the conventional banking and instructing that this is meant for mortgage, which is not used for the purpose and instead lent out to Alaba Market operators that would pay back in 30 days.
The health of a society or the nation from the general condition of living is access to basic shelter, all other efforts in the area of security, fight against corruption, empowerment come to nothing.
Recently, a new Dangote Cement plant was commissioned outside the country. In your profession, cement is a key product, how will this impact on housing in Nigeria?
With Nigeria having 17 million housing deficit, and until we look at the issues of price and affordability we cannot get anything right. The two major factors that affect cost of housing delivery are the land acquisition, which can be tackled through the land users, and of course, the cost of construction in Nigeria, which is the most exorbitant in any part of Africa.
A bungalow that will cost about N5, 000 per square meter to build in Ghana will cost about N15, 000 per square meter to build in Nigeria. The reality is that if basic housing unit cost goes beyond the reach of the poor, then the rich too is at risk.
The role of cement is that the more we see on the supply side, the drop in the price. We have noticed the competition between giant cement players like Dangote Group and Larfarge, all of these will translate to reduction in the price of the product and also lead to high quality of the cement.
The awareness of the people that they can have access at the nearest location to the point of consumption, this is key and so I doffed my hat for the president of Dangote Cement, Aliko Dangote for his visionary leadership in this sector of production of cement, which we must all acknowledge is unprecedented in Africa that we see a national of a single country spreading his tentacles.
Power and logistics problems of moving the cement from the factory to the final customer have been an issue. What can be done to crash the price of cement in Nigeria?
We must look at all these issues from short-term to middle term and long-term scenario. I have participated in construction activities when price of cement in Nigeria was one of the highest in the world. But as time goes on and we have more capacity in terms of production, everything will follow the economic law of demand and supply.
With increase in supply and demand remain at what it is today; this will lead to a fall in price. As far as the issue of power is concerned, which has been a major setback for all manufacturing companies in the country; the present government of President Muhammadu Buhari is building on efforts of past government and tasking stakeholders to double efforts in ensuring improvement in power supply.
What can you say regarding the crisis in the Senate, particularly the Senate president facing trial at the Code of Conduct of Tribunal?
Right from my tenure as president, we found out that the fundamental law and implementation of Code of Conduct Bureau was defective in certain regards. In the past, a young man coming in as governor can just present a paper authenticated by anybody. It is when the case of the present Senate president, Bukola Saraki came up that people now see the battle the professional body has been fighting for over 10 years now.
If declaration of any asset must carry value, title and ownership, it must come from professional association or authenticated by professionals. Otherwise, when you leave these sensitive matters to the whims and caprices of those that are seeking public office, what you have in most cases is garbage in, garbage out. But I believe that what is happening now is for the good of the entire country.
IFEOMA OKEKE
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