Nigeria’s desperate battle to easing the process of accessing decent housing might come to naught. This is because dwelling places are daily lost by conflicts, floods, fire and building collapse. Then, there are hardly long term loans for housing
By Mimidoo Patrick
Recently, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) disclosed that over 90 million Nigerians cannot afford to live in decent accommodation due to lack of long term loan in the country.
The Branch Manager, FMBN Enugu, Mr. Emeka Aroh, who disclosed this at a one-day seminar organised by a private company, Light Hill Housing Cooperative, for multipurpose cooperative societies in the South East said most Nigerian citizens lack affordable housing.
According to the bank, Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution Sect 16 (1) stipulates that Nigerians should be provided with affordable housing but Nigerians at the moment live in squalor.
He said that for Nigerians to have adequate and affordable housing, there should be long term mortgage loans.
“Long term mortgage loans have to be provided to Nigerians to be able to have affordable housing,” he said.
To make affordable housing possible, Aroh encouraged Nigerians to form cooperative groups so that they will be in a better position to access National Housing Fund (NHF) to be able to build their own houses.
Fire
Aside from the challenges of accessing loan, one would say the year 2019 has been a challenging one with many incidents of fire outbreak in markets and homes across the country.
Barely few days to the end of the year, several cases of fire outbreak across the federation were reported.
For instance, recently, fire destroyed 15 shops and damaged other property at the Owode-Oniri Market in Lagos State.
Building failure
It is not just fire, building failure is another trouble. The nation was shocked by reports of double building collapse incidents in Lagos where lives and property were lost.
This
was followed by another incident two weeks later in Jos, Plateau state,
precisely on October 27, where scores of persons narrowly escaped death
from a two-storey building collapse at Butcher Lane, Dilimi, Jos North Local
Government Area.
Although incidents of collapsed buildings may not be peculiar to Nigeria, the frequency
of the tragedy has become quite embarrassing and unacceptable.
Nigeria’s foremost commercial capital, Lagos, with its large population, has the highest ratio of building collapse cases compared to other states in the federation. To stem the tide, experts have advocated the Nigerian Building Code implementation to overhaul the construction industry.
Between February and May, 2019, no fewer than 29 persons were reportedly killed and 76 sustained injuries from 13 building collapse incidents across the country. Experts say tons of structural failures occur yearly that are hardly reported or attract public notice because there is yet no up-to-date official statistics on building collapse.
Floods
Floods are also contributing to the problem of shortage of decent accommodation. This year’s rains came with floods in many states of Nigeria. The rains submerged many towns and villages, displacing people, destroying farms and structures. It is feared that same calamity might befall Nigerians next year if necessary measures are not taken.
Abuja experienced its second rain of the year on March 1st 2019, with residents raising alarm over the damages caused by flooding. The downpour which started around 3:00am affected many residents of the Federal Housing Estate, Lugbe, Abuja.
Many complained that the flood was caused by poor maintenance of waterways. Disposal of refuse in waterways has always caused blockage of the drainage resulting in flooding. Those affected called for proper waste disposal system before the rainy season would fully set in. Still it was a tale of woes when the rainy got to its peak.
Heavy rain wreaked havoc in Lagos and Ogun states on Monday 20 May 2019. The downpour which lasted for about two hours destroyed buildings and other properties. It was gathered that two buildings partially collapsed in Abule Egba and Ladipo areas of Lagos while roofs were blown off in Ayede area of Ogun state.
The Lagos state government in a statement jointly signed by the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Fola Adeyemi stated that the rain was as a result of climate change.
It would also be recalled that a heavy rainfall caused havoc in Yola, Adamawa state capital on May 16 2019. This was the first major rain in the state capital and it led to flooding which displaced thousands of residents from their homes and destroyed properties. The rain lasted for nearly an hour. An angry resident blamed the government for not clearing the gutters and water channels that were blocked.
Conflicts
Similarly, many conflicts are eroding away accommodation in Nigeria. There is hardly a region in the country without its share of this national problem. The north-east which has been centre of insurgency and mass atrocities under the dreaded Boko Haram has many of its communities deserted.
Demolition
We lose of dwelling places through breaking of houses as well. Many times, government officials would roll out the heavy equipment and pull down structures. They cite contravention of building plan. Lagos and Abuja are notorious for this.
Those bothered by the huge loss of dwelling places by conflicts, floods, fire and building failure say the journey to decent accommodation remains a very long one.
