Chibuikem Onyekachi, managing director Powell Homes and Shelters Limited, in this interview with REGIS ANUKWUOJI in Enugu spoke on the need to bridge the housing deficit in the country and how to achieve it at the state and federal levels. Excerpts:
We have many real estate developers in this country but today one of the major challenges most Nigerians are having is shelter; so, what do you think can resolve this challenge?
I think generally speaking, we all know that when it comes to basic human needs housing is one of them; you can’t talk of a complete human being without talking of food, clothing and shelter before you have transportation. Now, shelter is paramount for every human because at the end of the day’s work we must all retire somewhere, to lay our heads, and because it is such a delicate human need, because you already know that the size of the earth is fixed and it doesn’t increase, it is reducing, and that is very critical factor to consider, as the reason why real estate would always appreciate or go up in price, usually in real estate when you buy a piece of land the amount you buy that land for is the lowest it can actually go for after that period, because going after that is an upward climb from there.
I think one critical way the cost of housing can be brought down in this country is through the creation and availability of credit facilities to people. When you go to developed countries like the United States or United Kingdom, you discover that someone can be on a salary of $1000 every month and the person is still able to afford a house with an initial down payment with the rest of the amount for that house is spread for that person over a lot period of time. I am not saying that that is not applicable here in respect to our country Nigeria, but then the process, the bottleneck surrounding this loan facilities is not something that makes it easy to access, otherwise a lot of us should not be paying rents because the amount we pay as rent yearly and monthly can go into payment for buildings as mortgage if mortgage facilities are provided for people of all class in Nigeria. The National Housing Fund is already doing something of that nature but I think government needs to do more in that respect so that this basic human need of shelter can be adequately catered for, because in every economy it is demand and supply that determines the price. Now that there is so much demand and we needed supply the price will definitely be high, people who are able to gather their means and develop such properties will eventually sell at high price. In a situation where there is adequate facility in respect to people who want to own houses on their own, of course, the supply would be more and that will drive the price downwards. Even for we developers, when you have a piece of land that has a clear title and you go to access some of these facilities, it is not so easy to come by, when you have got a piece of land you will now pay all the necessary fees to perfect title, you start going for facility to enable you develop that land, you discover that it is not something that is so easy to come by. So, that is it, but if government is able to provide adequate facility and make it available to all and sundry then, we would not have any problem with housing as an issue in this country give people houses tell them the price, give them twenty-five years, thirty years, to pay off and everybody is fine. That is how developed countries are able to provide for houses for their citizens and then spread the payment over a period of time.
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Is real estate as a body planning to send a bill to the National Assembly to ensure that the National Housing Fund sit-up with what supposed to be their functions in providing house to citizens as it is done in developed countries?
The Real estate developers of Nigeria, under the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria of which I am the publicity and organising secretary for Enugu State chapter, has from time to time engaged in dialogue with the necessary authorities, government, talking with the executive and the legislators to see the possibility of passing a bill that would ensure the smooth running of the process and take care of all the bureaucratic bottlenecks hindering people from assessing those funds easily, developers and subscribers alike.
Having worked for some years and with your experience in the field, is there any place for technology in reducing the cost of building (that is, a way of advising citizens to use this instead of that to push down the cost of building in Nigeria?
You know the world that we live in is the one that creates a lot of alternatives for us. Human beings before now in this part of our country use Mud and wood in building their houses, but eventually we saw that was not sustainable, we migrated to using cement and using Aluminum for windows and sometimes, wood for doors, etc. Now, one very over-looked area can be harnessed to bring down the cost of housing. Recycling of waste can be harnessed in such a way that the ton of waste we do away with in Nigeria for instance can go a long way if being recycled and used to pave roads, used to build houses and houses that are sustainable. So, I think that is one critical area that is being over-looked but can be harnessed to a very large extent.
We also have bricks of course, the raw material for making bricks is usually mud; we have that in a large quantity and you find out that houses that are building by bricks are very much durable. If you want to build houses with bricks you might or might not need cement using brick and you build that house and it will stand and stand the test of time and it is usually fire-proof and, in most cases, even bullet-proof, that is to show you the strength that brick has as a quality. Now, if we can look inwards and then find a way to harness the use of bricks in building, it will go a long way in driving down the cost of buildings in Nigeria, in Enugu State in particular.
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In Enugu State, what do you do outside what you have mentioned at the national level; what do you think should be done to drive down the cost of accommodation?
When it comes for the cost of building in Enugu State, we of course try to advocate for a fair price, without necessarily having to sacrifice quality, and when I say we advocate for a fair price, we decided to do away with all the additional fees people would have to pay when they are into letting property. We started on that note to ensure that we crash down the price, the cost of getting property for rent from us- we don’t charge agent fee that is on the high side. Sometimes, it makes the cost of houses go over the roof. Then on the aspects of building we try to look for the best alternative that is affordable for building; we try to streamline our designs; our buildings are designed in such a way that is economically-friendly that you don’t have to pay so much to get the building executed without having to sacrifice quality. There is a way a house will be designed you will spend less on electricity when the rooms are cross-ventilated. For instance, the overall cost of running that house is brought down, when you consider lighting, use of natural lighting, you don’t have to make designs in such a way that you have windows covering any distance longer than six metres, because that is the farthest natural light can travel within an enclosed space; we try to consider all these factors. Sustainability is one of the key factors we consider in all our building designs and it helps to drive down the cost not just the cost of acquiring the property, cost of acquiring and eventually running that property as yours.
How do you manage the challenge of land issue within communities that own the land you acquire?
Well, for us as a brand as a company what we do is that we try to be clear of whatever move we are making, that is the first step, because it doesn’t matter how much you pay for a land because if you pay to a wrong person, you are definitely going to lose the land. One of the first things we do before coming into any property is that we must ensure that the people you are dealing with are the appointed power of attorney of the community.
