From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
A property consultant, Mr Armstrong Akintunde, has stressed the need for government to partner with real estate developers to ensure housing for all Nigerians.
He said neither real estate developers nor the government alone can provide the needed housing facilities for Nigerians, saying the two bodies need to work together in the interest of the masses.
Akintunde, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Aerofield Homes Limited, said every Nigerian deserves house, hence the need for the government at all levels to make housing policy a necessity.
He said Nigeria’s population explosion in the face of housing deficits could not be managed by the government alone.
‘There is no doubt that the housing deficit in the country is increasing on a daily basis as the human population also increases. Apparently, the people’s quest for homeownership may not be easily realisable without government’s support,’ he stated.
Akintunde added that the expansion plan of Aerofield Homes was to ensure that Nigerians benefit maximally from its unique housing projects.
He said: ‘It’s obvious that many Nigerians have suffered the paradox of economic growth without development for many years, for which many economists and real estate analysts often lament and describe as lopsided growth and development.
‘This and other reasons prompted young real estate developers to join the Nigerian project by offering helping hands to the government in their quest to bridge housing deficits and ensure that more Nigerians are house owners. This is even made more important in the face of the economic recession occasioned by the negative effects of COVID-19, among others,’ he stressed.
The estate developer who noted that the poor remuneration of many Nigerians make it difficult for them to own houses, said: ‘How easy will it be for low-income earners, earning between N20,000 and N100,000 monthly to own a house of their own?”
‘Besides, the cost of building materials is daily increasing. The only way this class of people can own houses is by cooperative arrangements, other self-help projects or by government’s supports in the form of a mortgage or some form of allocations, with the costs deducted from their salaries,’ he added.