Solution To Housing Problem With Lashone As A Front Runner

The lack of a robust mortgage financing system in Nigeria has made the rate of home ownership in the country, one of the lowest in Africa, imagine only 10% of Nigerians own a home says, Managing Director Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Gimba Ya’u Kumo at the sixth Annual Abuja Housing Show and Housing Development Awards.

He stated further that Nigeria Home Ownership rate is lower to countries such as Singapore, Indonesia, Kenya, Benin Republic, South Africa and Libya.

Housing in the world not only satisfies the basic human need for shelter, but it is a key component of economic growth and development. The supply gap for low and middle income group is huge reaching a crisis level in some cities in the country, which is heightened by the rapid urbanization of the population.

The World Bank has predicted that the housing problem in Nigeria will become acute, resulting in a housing crisis by 2020 if adequate measures are not taken. This leads me to the challenges of Home ownership in Nigeria.

One of the most basic needs of people is shelter but in Nigeria, most people find housing a major challenge.

In 1978, the Obasanjo regime passed the Land Use Act which vest the Ownership of all land in the government, so accessing the land for both Agriculture and Housing Development became a major problem. On assumption of office, the President Yar’Adua promised to review the Land use Act to make land more accessible. This pledge of Mr. President was not fully address before he died in 2010.

Another thing is the cost of building materials in Nigeria, there are some restriction on importation of some building materials; cement factories are not meeting the local demand, also steel which is needed in the building industry is hardly produced locally. In most of the cities in Nigeria, Government does not  have record of its housing stock because record keeping is very poor and so government does not know the population of its cities beyond the census figures that is released. This shows that when a government cannot tell its population, predicting housing needs for her people will be almost impossible. The government does not provide its workers necessary support to own houses in Nigeria as it is done in other economies.The high interest charged by financial houses/institution like Banks have made acquisition of houses difficult.

Few private developers like Lashone Links Limited have introduced an affordable housing scheme which is the solution for housing defect in Nigeria. This scheme is targeted at all levels in the society especially low income earners can own a house through flexible payment tenure. This housing initiative is segmented into three parts which are:

·         Pay as you build

·         Installment payment for built properties

·         The Lashone Links Housing Cooperative

Pay as you build simply means a well structured payment based line creating the opportunity for low income earners to purchase a piece of land or build their dream homes. The payment duration is stretched over a period of five to ten years therefore making every penny valuable in asset creation and reducing housing problems in Nigeria. If other developers too can take this bold step there would be lot of landlord or home owners in Nigeria.

The installment payments for built properties are in two categories. Category one is those that can’t afford to pay for at least half or more than half of the cost of the built house within Lashone Estates and they are allowed to pack in and spread the balance payment over a period of time. The second category is for those who can pay at least 20% of the total cost of the building, Lashone Links Limited will build and allow the balance to be spread for 60months (5years) and less than 6-12months the house is delivered.

Lashone Housing Cooperative is another scheme where Lashone Group of Companies encourages individual or group to own their dream homes. This initiative is centered on members buying a property with a flexible payment plan. The procedure is buying a form and contributing a token amount which is seen as a stake in the cooperative therefore creating investment or housing benefit for members. Lashone Housing Cooperative meets every last Sunday of the month by 3pm at plot 411b, Omofade Cresent, Omole Estate phase1.

Every Nigerian should work hard in making the future better for him and his family. This can only be achieved if we all identify a need in the society and work towards solving that need. Lashone Links Limited has identified housing as a major need in Nigeria and has come up with innovative ideas to bridge that gap. That is the way to guarantee a better future for our country.

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