Flingpord

  Housing deficit has been a reoccurring issue in the country, growing from bad to worse on yearly basis. It is aggravated by the ballooning population, which is growing by about 2.6 per cent annually. Successive governments’ efforts have only scratched the surface. The country’s housing deficit was recently put at 28 million, requiring about N21tn to bridge the gap.  In 1991, housing deficit stood at seven million and worsened to 12 million 2007. And by 2019 it was N20 million. The country’s housing challenges become daunting when compared with other African countries. Ghana’s housing deficit is 1.8 million; South Africa, 3.7 million; and Ethiopia, 400,000. The challenge has been traced to Nigeria’s population which is currently at 2.6 per cent per annum and currently outpacing the housing provision in the country. The Bank of Industry had noted in a report on Nigeria’s housing sector that “With a growing urban population, increasing construction costs, and declining househol...