Post-Covid-19: Stakeholders see hope for economy in mass production, commoditization  of housing

That national and global economies will struggle after the COVID-19 pandemic is as sure as the weather, but stakeholders in the housing construction sector say there is hope and not much to worry about  Nigerian economy  if the country  mass-produces and commoditises housing.

The stakeholders premise their argument on the capacity of housing construction to create jobs in large numbers and, in the process, generate wealth. They believe strongly that the sector can pull Nigeria out of the downturn that is expected in the economy in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis.

Besides Agriculture, housing construction sector has the greatest potential to create employment which is why the stakeholders, who spoke at an online conference facilitated by Fesadeb Communications Ltd,  underscored the need to reconstruct obsolete housing policies in the country to reflect new realities.

 “Besides agriculture, there is no other economic sector can create jobs as fast as housing construction sector; we estimate that for every unit of housing that is produced, a minimum of four to six jobs are created,” explained Femi Adewole, CEO, Family Homes Funds Limited (FHF).

Adewole  argued that “if we have a project that will deliver 300,000 homes in Nigeria and it is spread across all the 36 states, that will, over a five-year period, bring 10 million people into employment. This is possible and it is time for thinking in that direction.”

COVID-19 has helped to emphasize the need for more houses to be built, not only to create jobs but also to shelter the people. Timothy Nubi, a Professor of Housing at the University of Lagos, says most of the solutions to housing in the past were focused on the working class who are in the minority.

“But with the present lockdown experience, a vast majority of people living in slums in Lagos and other places could not be locked down as they do not have access to decent housing, making post-COVID-19 housing a tougher challenge,” he said.

Hakeem Ogunniran, CEO, Eximia Realty, is of the view that housing should be commoditized and a legal framework  created to facilitate buying and selling of houses at ease. “The industry must, of necessity, move away from the era of building houses to the era of manufacturing them,” he said.

The housing sector has huge investment opportunities that need private capital to tap into and impact the economy positively. The shortage of housing in Africa is projected at 56million units which, if quantified in generic terms, will need at least $3 trillion to resolve.

In Nigeria, the shortage is estimated at 20 million units that require a conservative estimate of $56 billion to resolve.

Andrew Chimphonda, chief executive officer of Shelter Afrique, noted that Africa has not been able to meet the expectations of the United Nations in terms of access to decent housing by African people even before COVID-19.

He added that the rate at which affordable houses are being provided is lower than the rate of urbanization, stressing the need for a commensurate provision of housing, else there would be further development of slums even after the pandemic.

For housing to truly catalyse  economic growth post-Covid-19, the stakeholders canvassed the setting up of coordinating body to carry it through. Charles Iyangete, former managing director of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), offered useful insights.

Iyangete said there was need for a National Housing Commission that could bring all players in the housing sector together with the aim of defining roles and scope of operation in housing delivery.

“We need radical, bold steps to deal with the new world of COVID-19. We are at war and a post-war solution is what is required. Funding is critical to fighting that battle.So,  I propose a Housing Commission to play a coordinating role and evolve policies for housing,” he said.