Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria’s minister of works and housing has described the country’s touted 17 million housing deficit as baseless and having no verifiable data.
Fashola, in a statement by Hakeem Bello, his special adviser on communication, said it was important that such national statistics rely on data rather than on assumption, adding that it will aid effective planning and decision-making by those with the requisite skills and capacity to provide measurable results.
According to the minister, there has been a fixation and a binge on a supposed 17 million housing deficit, with no verifiable basis.
He said: “In my tenure of office as Lagos State governor, between 2012-2015 we delivered 200 units of houses to members of the public every month, over a three-year period.
“At the same time other governors launched and successfully executed housing projects across most of our 36 states, and so did members of the private sector.
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“Regrettably, it seemed that nobody was ready to take account of the delivery of even one unit of housing.
“The point I am making here, which needs to be repeated, is that by logical and accountable use of data, if there was a need of 17 million and one unit was provided, one would expect that the need would be reduced by one.
“Unfortunately, that was not the case. In a seeming desperation to race to the bottom, binge on the deficit and perhaps unleash a nuclear war on housing; the deficit grew to 19 million, later to 22 million and just a few days ago to 28 million according to announcers who cannot point to a source.”
He noted the impact of rapid urbanisation, as people increasingly move towards cities, adding that more people have moved to the cities in the last 50 years than at any time before in human existence.
He, however, submitted that the housing deficit in Nigeria and most parts of the continent and the world is more pronounced in urban centres than in rural areas.
“While awaiting reliable census data, my approach has been to concentrate on housing supply and construction activities in the urban centres of our states, even as I am mindful of the existence of empty houses in the same urban centres.
“I know that many of those struggling for accommodation in the cities have left one form of shelter unused or underutilised in our rural areas. I also know that housing provision must look seriously at the rental side, while trying to increase ownership.
“I know that a lot more needs to be done to free up any obstacles that prevent people from renting or acquiring many empty houses that we see in our urban centres,” Fashola said.
