Disturbed by the alarming human population growth in West Africa, but which does not correspond with the housing needs of the people, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for a deliberate mass housing policy which would speedily bridge the housing deficit across the sub-region.
Obasanjo made the call at the commissioning of houses built on land spanning across 501 Hectares and grouped into five clusters, with all being developed simultaneously, in Abuja.
The over 3000 already built and occupied range of innovative housing units, is owned and managed by River Park Estate, Abuja.
The Nigerian former president at the event lamented that except urgent steps were deliberately taken to stem the widening gap of housing deficit across West Africa, the sub region risked parading a large army of the homeless in the next five years.
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Obasanjo, who reeled out figures to support his facts, urged investors in the housing sector to take advantage of the housing deficit confronting West Africans, especially Nigeria, with its high population in the sub region, to make good investment opportunities.
Earlier, the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, Edward Singhatey had applauded the River Park management for the initiative of providing affordable mass housing units in Nigeria for ECOWAS residents.
Singhatey who disclosed that “over 89 citizens from the West African sub region, who are non-Nigerians, had taken delivery of their various housing units,” equally harped on “the need for policy makers across the sub region to put in place favourable policies that will aid mass housing development within the sub-region.”
Chairman of River Park Estate, Paul Odili, noted that, “River Park Estate is an exclusive community carefully designed for upper-middle class income earners who desire unique luxury in a serene environment with easy accessibility to major areas in the city.”
An elated Odili, stated that “the reality, which is today River Park Estate started through one of the first approvals received by the then minister of FCT, Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.”
Continuing, Odili noted that this singular approval “was to signal and herald the introduction of Public Private Partnership (PPP) into the real estate sector between the Federal Capital Territory Authority and private developers.”
The River Park Estate chairman who lauded former President Obasanjo for encouraging the partnership, disclosed that, “Former President Obasanjo foresaw the potential for challenges or cultural clashes between public and private elements of the partnership and decided to inaugurate Prof. Akin Mabogunje as chairman of a Presidential Committee to oversee the implementation of the ‘Houses for Africa Mass Housing Project Committee, under the auspices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”
While listing what he said were major benefits of involving private developers in the development of mass housing projects to a cosmopolitan city like Abuja, Odili stressed, “Apart from the speed of housing delivery, often times, the private sector contribution, forms the secondary infrastructure that would have normally been the responsibility of the FCT – thereby, easing budgetary pressures on the public sector to deliver them…”
Also speaking, Adrian Ogun, Vice Chairman, The River Park Estate Project, stated that “four other FCT Ministers, after El-Rufai have subsequently endorsed and signed addendum to the Development Lease Agreement for the project,” even as he added that, “the ground-breaking ceremony for the project held in 2008 and was hosted by the then Minister of FCT, Aliyu Modibbo Umar.”
Ogun who reminisced on how the River Park Estate project almost got stalled due to paucity of funds, appreciated the present chairman, Odili for coming to their rescue and his sense of “entrepreneurship and investment.”
He disclosed that “FCT planning approval for ‘Cluster One’ of River Park was granted in 2012 (and Clusters 2-5 in 2014), building approval from FCT Development Control for Cluster One was granted in 2013 (and clusters 2-5 in 2014/15).
“Today, River Park boasts over 3000 structures, including a magnificient divisional police station, shopping mall, petrol station, hotel complex, operational nursery/primary school, International Conference Centre and a golf course,” Ogun submitted.
He lamented the poor resolve of unscrupulous individuals and organisations to appropriate FCT authority town planning and city development charts, a menace which Ogun said blocked a major government access road into the estate.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
