Today, the country’s housing deficit is about 18 million units, and for a country with a population of nearly 200 million people, it is particularly disheartening.  It has been stated that to meet the shortfall, the country will require a minimum of an additional two million housing units per annum for 10 years.

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For Nigeria, the government estimates that the housing sector would need about $400 billion investment over the next 25-30 years to resolve this deficit. The World Bank on the other hand said bridging the deficit will cost the country about N59.5 trillion, which further tallies with the estimation of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria which puts it at about N56 trillion to be able to adequately meet the housing needs of Nigerians.

There are several barriers to achieving housing for all. They include the Land Use Act of 1975, which resides the ownership of land in the state governments, the tedious property registration process, the high cost of building materials, the unabating rural-urban migration and the associated inadequate planning development policy which focuses on urban development to the detriment of the rural areas. There is also the failure of mortgage institutions to fulfil their core mandates.

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It is our opinion that bridging the gap of housing deficit as well as providing adequate shelter for Nigerians remain a salient feature of the successes Nigeria hopes to achieve in its quest to become one of the top 20 economies in the world. Thus, creating the right environment for investment in this sector would serve as a lubricant to attaining the set target considering the sector’s potential for growth. So, if this government and the stakeholders can work together in creating the right environment for local and foreign investment in the sector, the shortfall will be a thing of the past.

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