#EndSARS protest deepens Lagos’ housing deficit as state reports 49 buildings destroyed

Speculations as to the depth and breadth of #EndSARS protest impact in Lagos were laid to rest Tuesday when the state government released a pictorial report, revealing the nature and number of public and private buildings that were either destroyed or vandalised by hoodlums during the protest.

The report shows that buildings were the greatest casualties of destruction as almost 50 buildings comprising 12 private and 11 public buildings, two public property and 14 police stations were burnt by the hoodlums, thereby deepening the state’s housing deficit burden.

Some of these buildings, residential or commercial, were more than one floor, meaning that they had several occupants, including families, single tenants, businesses, corporate tenants, etc—all rendered ‘homeless’ now one way or another.

The report also says that vandalisation of buildings, vehicles and shops were reported in 36 out of the state’s 57 local government areas (LGAs) and local council development authorities (LCDAs), meaning that almost all parts of the state were affected by the activities of the hoodlums.

Read Also: Organised businesses lose N5trn to #EndSARS protest, looting- NECA

Housing is a major social problem in Lagos and the latest comprehensive report on ‘The State of the Lagos Housing Market’ compiled by Pison Housing Company estimates the state’s housing deficit at 3 million units, requiring the state to build about 157,000 housing units yearly for the next 20 years to close the gap.

The report notes that the housing deficit in the state is both quantitative and qualitative, which means that besides the number of houses in the state not being enough relative to surging demand, many of the existing stock are either defective or below acceptable, liveable standards.

“The state has one of the most active rental market and this is a reflection of the deficit,” notes Roland Igbinoba, president, Pison Housing Company, estimating the size of the state’s 20 million population that are renters at 50 percent who spend a significant portion of their income on housing rent.

Taiwo Ogunbodede, former chairman, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), South West zone, adds that closing the housing demand-supply gap in Lagos will take a long time, saying that upon all the efforts by public and private sector operators in the state, total annual output is not more than 50,000 housing units.

It follows, therefore, that for the state to have lost the reported number to the EndSARS protest, the inadequate stock has been depleted and more people have been thrown back to the already crowded property market, including estate residents and corporate tenants in commercial buildings.

The wider implication of what has happened to buildings in Lagos is that risk premium on real estate generally will have to be reviewed upwards, going forward. Recovering from the vandalisation may not be entirely difficult for some real estate players who had their properties and investment insured but for those without any form of insurance, it will be a nightmare turned reality, according to a report by Northcourt Real Estate.

While claims are expected to be very high as the damages are expected to run into billions, analysts say some insurance companies may have a hard time paying claims. They reckon that massive destruction which largely affected retail malls will be an eye-opener for investors and property developers in terms of assessing possible risks in a chosen location for real estate development.

Overall, the massive destruction and vandalisation of public and private assets in Lagos is a hit below the belt for the state government. The State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has estimated the cost of rebuilding the state at N1 trillion. Already, the state has set up an eight-man committee for this purpose along with a trust fund aimed to aid and facilitate the rebuilding process.

Analysts argue, however, that if the state government is to undertake the rebuilding of the destroyed assets all by itself, it will gulp the whole of its N1.155 trillion budget for 2021 which the governor presented to the state’s House of Assembly on Tuesday, November 10, 2020.