How Nigeria Can Develop Better Housing Policy Framework

Nigeria has about 14 million housing deficits, with the low-income earners constituting the major part. In the light of this development, Dr. Paschal Onyemaechi, an author and financial economist, with research interest is public-private partnership, low-

The publication is part of the findings of my recently concluded doctoral research. The essence of a doctoral research is to contribute to knowledge and fill a gap that will better human existence. Now, if you do a PhD and decide to keep the thesis on the shelve, that is not good enough. You have to disseminate the knowledge and the contribution the study has made. This is why I decided to publish the model developed by my study. In this case, the study developed a model for the successful implementation of public-private partnership - PPP in housing and urban development for low-income groups in developing countries like Nigeria. Again, I am passionate about it because the model developed will make a significant contribution in addressing the housing deficit in Nigeria, especially for the poorer groups in the informal sector

The model is a pro-poor PPP framework built to work on a home micro-finance (HMF) scheme aimed at the low-income group, the urban poor and the poorer groups in the informal sector. The home micro-finance will assist those in the informal sector who are informally employed to formally save so that they can formally borrow to acquire a house or improve their houses in the informal environment. The new pro-poor PPP framework have expanded the partnerships to multiple partners including the third sector. This is to guarantee affordability to those at the bottom of the income ladder. This is very critical for any meaningful solution to the housing challenge faced by the low-income and urban poor in Nigeria. Under the new thinking, the source of funding for this model is equity (not debt). This is the key financial solution. Of course, its not that the present practice does not produce houses, it does, but at what cost per unit and affordable to who? Another critical area the new model has addressed aside affordability, focus group and source of funding, is project hijack and profiteering by the business class. Under the model, there are no profit for rentage or property re-sale. The rest you will read up when the book is presented on the 25th of February.

How will you describe the housing situation in Nigeria?

The housing situation in Nigeria is heading for a crisis if not addressed. I say this because available records show that Nigeria has about 14 million housing deficit; this is very high. The low-income constitute large percentage of the deficit. So, majority of low-income urban dwellers live in poor housing conditions, with proliferation of slums around the major cities. This has great consequences for the quality of life, standard of living and even the economy of Nigeria.

We should not only measure economic growth, but we should measure standard of living of the people too. As you know, housing is an important component of human settlement and is ranked second as basic need of man. It is a pre-requisite for the survival of man. Affordable and adequate housing has a strong link to the