The Federal Government has been recommended to prioritize and spend more in housing initiatives in order to give Nigerians access to more affordable homes due to the impending population boom.
Nigeria had 216 million people in 2022, or 2.7% of the world’s population, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Recall that the United Nations Population Fund estimated that by 2050, Nigeria’s population might reach 400 million after growing by 3.2% yearly.
In order to prevent a housing crisis in the nation, Kunle Awobodu, the immediate past President of the Nigeria Institute of Building, stated that the government must take the initiative to provide affordable housing.
He also said an improvement in research to source building materials locally and enactment of policies to reduce the cost of cement and other materials would go a long way towards enhancing a low-cost housing scheme.
He said, “Houses are not affordable because purchasing power is low and this creates some deep conflict because with the rising price of building materials, labour and the inconsistency in the pricing due to inflation, it also becomes very difficult for the government to implement a housing scheme.
“Unfortunately, the population is rising astronomically, and providing adequate accommodation to take the rising number of occupants has become a difficult role to hold.
“We have to go back to a drawing table and strategise, we have been talking for a long time. Until we can source building materials internally without resulting in importation, then we would be in a position to provide affordable housing at a low-cost rate.
“We need to do a lot of research, but the question is this; if we intensify our effort in the research sector and we come out with building materials that can be sourced and manufactured locally, we are not going to have the same experience we are currently having with cement.
