Since the days of Lateef Jakande as Governor in 1979, Lagos has attempted to provide affordable mass housing, except during the military interregnum between 1984 and 1998.
In 1982, a two-bedroom flat at the Amuwo Odofin Housing Estate at Mile 2 and in other parts of the state, built by the Jakande administration, was sold to the public at N1,200.
That could pass off as mass housing, because at the time, a fresh graduate civil servant on Grade Level 08 Step 1 earned about N300 per month (N3,600 per year).
Catering for the well off
From the tenure of Bola Tinubu (1999 to 2007) to that of Babatunde Fashola (2007 to 2015), the sing song has risen to make housing a sine qua non for the lower social classes.
But events have shown that much of the promise is mere rhetoric.
All the housing units constructed by the administrations of Tinubu and Fashola tilted towards the upper class. Well, there seems to be no more middle class; one is either up there or down the rung of the ladder.
The cost of a unit of any house type on the Femi Okunnu Housing Estate in Lekki commissioned by Tinubu is nothing less than N15 million.
Tibunu said at the ceremony that the units were meant for the well off and but subsequent ones would be constructed for the lower ranks in society.
The Femi Otedola Estate in the same Lekki axis was also commissioned by Tinubu, with razzmatazz and media hype. It turned out to be “cheap” but far from the reach of the average Lagosian.
The unit cost of any house type on the estate is nothing less than N4.5 million.
A number of houses were commissioned in Amuwo Odofin, near Festac Town. Though Tinubu was represented at the commissioning, that did not take away the shine.
But, again, the cost of the houses was not within the reach of the average salary earner.
Lone ranger for the poor
The only one close to “mass housing” is the Odogunyan Estate in Ikorodu, which also was commissioned by Tinubu.
LagosHoms
The Home Ownership Scheme (LagosHoms) was introduced by Fashola to give succour to folks who could only purchase houses through mortgage and pay instalmentally.
But the caveat is that an applicant must possess the Lagos State Registration Card (LASSRA) and meet other requirements.
Most winners of the houses could not be described as part of the down trodden. The cost per unit (even in remote areas) starts from N2.5 million.
Stakeholders’ views
Former Nigerian Institute of Builders (NIOB) President, Chuks Omeife, said most of the so-called mass houses are actually meant for the rich because a salary earner cannot afford to pay N4.5 million for a unit unless he engages in shady deals.
Omeife frowned at LagosHoms, arguing that it was designed to fail ab initio.
Former Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) President, Segun Ajanlekoko, added that no government that wants to build mass housing would ask people to pay N5 million for a unit.
He cited developed countries where the government creates the enabling environment for developers to build houses that suit the needs of the people, categorised in order of financial status.
He appealed to the Lagos State government to review LagosHoms to conform to global standards.
Need for private sector involvement
Nigerian Institution of Surveyors (NIS) President, Bern Akhigbe, stressed that no government at any level which builds mass housing without involving the private sector can sell at affordable prices to the less privileged.
According to him, the government has no business in the provision of mass housing for the people, its role is to provide infrastructure for private developers.
Akhigbe said LagosHoms should be rejigged to incorporate private sector expertise, which would help reduce costs to benefit low-income earners.
LagosHoms executive secretary could not be reached for comment.
