‘Buhari should redo Shagari housing scheme’ In the countdown to this year’s general elections, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) announced that when voted into power, it will deliver 4 million housing units to Nigerians. It is now three months si
Arc. Bashir Haiba is not only an advocate of housing for the low income earners, he has been in the construction sector for decades.
First, he wants the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to look back at what the NPN government headed by Alhaji Shehu Shagari did to get numerous housing units across Nigeria. The strength of Shagari Low Cost Housing scheme in the 70’s/80’s was its fair spread across the country, though it faced challenges of location and political opposition.
Another attractive part of the scheme according to Haiba is it created jobs virtually in every local government area in the country.
He suggested, “Part of this Federal Government programme should be like Shagari low cost housing scheme. But it should be done with the today’s reality. We should use establishment, technology, structural system that is appropriate now --those that utilize local building materials, local technology. Above all, our colleagues in the Federal Ministry Housing and Urban Development have started artisan training scheme. It should be done all over the country. Low level, middle manpower: bricklayers, masons, carpenters, tillers, electricians, plumbers, furniture makers, PoP makers should be trained through institutions. Each state should have at least two artisan schools.”
According to him, government should adopt multi-dimension approach toward provision of housing saying, “The National Assembly used to have constituency project. Let constituency project be housing. Let people voted into power be assessed based on the number of houses they build. The media should ask governors the number of houses they build. There should be National Mass Housing Scheme similar to what Shagari did.”
He said the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development should be mobilized to work on the federal lands and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) which has branches in all the geographical zones of the country be given marching orders.
Another area government should consider according to the architect is the research institutes that have come up with many technologies. They should be ordered to use their technologies to give housing units. “There are many institutions - universities, hospitals that have schemes. Get all the stakeholders. Let them make impact from now to the end of the year,” he stated.
Recalling what happened when government promoted agriculture in the 70’s and 80’s, he noted, “It took a multi-dimensional approach -- at the federal, state and local government levels work was going on. Then the financial houses, all the River Basin Development Authorities, all Agricultural Development Authorities came in one way or the other to give support to agriculture.
“If all hands are on deck, a lot of housing units can be built. First, it should be a budgetary issue. Every year, every local government should produce X-number of housing units. These housing units can be improved room-and-palour kind of accommodation. Let it be part of what APC government will do -- at the local government level is to produce at least 100 housing units every year. These units should be room and palour accommodation because that’s the highest demand at local level,” he said.
“For any major contract, the state government should ask the contractor to show how many youths will be employed towards providing new houses. The more youths the company employs, the more housing units built, the more patronage such company enjoys state government patronage in terms of more contracts award and even tax relief. Through this, a state should be able to get between 200 and 500 units per annum.
“Fresh graduate housing scheme should be state policy. The moment one is employed, the employee keys in, either with the state housing corporation or the developer. Each month, a percentage of the fresh employee’s salary be deducted and channeled to housing. Land be given for mass housing to developers who are doing the right thing,” said the architect.
Haiba suggested that states should leverage on Information and Community Technology (ICT) by modernizing their registry foreclosure, documentation and approval. He says this helps titling and generates revenue.
He wants the Federal Government to formulate policy on unclaimed dividends. “Government should enact necessary laws such that those funds can be brought to support long term loans for housing to developers and manufacturers of building materials. This should be done with intention to lower interest rate to as low as six percent,” he sated.
He insisted, “Loans that involve bringing pre-fabricated cartoon houses from abroad for assembly are not healthy. They should utilize indigenous building materials.”
According to him, urban renewal is another way. Land could be retrieved and developed in high rise to get more houses. “Corruption windows should be reviewed. Get genuine developers, not autocad developers who sell houses on beautiful autocad. They collect land, subdivide the land without putting anything on it,” he observed.
Haiba who retired two months ago as Managing Director of Abuja Property Development Company (APDC) called on government to start now because Nigerians are not patient people and “Very soon, the honeymoon will be over”.
APDC is a property development company providing construction, real estate development, consultancy and facility management services.
Haiba started APDC without a take-off grant from government. But he drove the company into a viable estate firm for the FCT administration leaving it with 210 housing units as at June this year when he retired.
While speaking in Abuja in February, 2015, the Director of Research and Strategy, Buhari Support Organizations (BSO), Prof Olivet Jagusah enumerated the possibilities and opportunities for change in a new Nigeria under Buhari.
If in three months, there is no apparent journey to 1 million housing units delivery per annum, it is feared this government may clock a year without fulfilling its housing promise.
Every year, every local government should produce
X-number of housing units. These housing units can be improved room-andpalour kind of accommodation