Kingsley U.N Chikwendu
At the Media Launch of the National Social Housing Programme [NSHP] Model House and Information Portal in Abuja, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Police Force Property Development and Construction Company [NPFPDCC], Kemi Olomola-Sijuwade, mni, on Wednesday 16th December, 2020 said that it is the collective drive of the Nigerian police to see that affordable housing is developed and provided to the men and officers of the Police Force as well as the general public.
While acknowledging shelter as one of the basic needs of man, ‘ranking closely to air, food, water and clothing’, she also intimated that it is the daily work of the police to sustain this drive continuously.
“I am pleased because this occasion excellently aligns with the vision and mission of the Nigeria Police Force Property Development and Construction Company Limited, which I have the privilege of leading, she began.
“I believe it is safe to assume that we are all familiar with Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, which affirms shelter as one of man’s most basic needs, ranking closely to air, food, water and clothing. This means that housing is very important, perhaps, more than we give it credit for.
Knowing that the country presently has a huge housing deficit gap that needs to be bridged, Olomola-Sijuwade expressed hope that the NPFPDCC will aim towards building a minimum of 700,000 to a million housing units annually that will probably go on for a decade.
She said the housing situation in the country demands emergency attention by all stakeholders in the housing industry and added that this is why he is pleased with the Family Homes Funds [FHF] who are to implement the Federal government led construction of 300,000 housing units across the country.
“Nigeria has an estimated housing deficit between 16million to 22million, and to bridge it, we would need to build a minimum of 700,000 to 1million housing units every year for probably a decade. Whereas, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria presently builds an average of only 100,000 housing units per year and only a few working-class Nigerians can afford to buy one.
“With Nigeria’s population presently over 200million and estimated to hit 263million by 2038, the housing deficit problem in the country demands emergency attention and response by all relevant stakeholders in the industry, which this is why I am particularly very pleased by this occasion of launching the National Social Housing Programme, being implemented by the Family Homes Funds and targeting to construct 300,000 housing units across the country.
“With initiatives and commitments like this, we can all begin to see a ray of hope rising in the horizon towards addressing this unwelcome menace in our country. And the Nigeria Police Force Property Development and Construction Company Limited cannot be happier for the opportunity of being a major developer-partner in this laudable project initiative.
“Furthermore, let me point to the fact that the housing deficit in Nigeria is as much a supply problem as it is a demand problem. I am not in any way inferring that Nigerians do not wish to own homes or live in healthy and comfortable environments but, that most housing is not affordable to the majority of Nigerians”.
