Housing and Works Minister Babatunde Fashola says the claim that there is a housing deficit of 17 million in Nigeria is false and not supported by evidence.
Fashola said he investigated the claim and found that it was unsubstantiated because no one knew where it came from, although many Nigerians believed it.
A statement sent to Newslodge by the minister’s special adviser on communications, Hakeem Bello, said Mr. Fashola revealed this in his remarks at the African ministers’ roundtable session of the Shelter Afrique 2023 42nd AGM at the Transcorp Hilton Conference Room on Tuesday, May 9.
The minister explained that the use of data for planning and decision-making by people with the necessary skills, ability and rigor can lead to predictable, orderly and measurable results, but can be dangerous in the hands of unqualified people. .
Regarding the alleged housing deficit of 17 million, the minister said that he made an extra effort to verify that claim.
“Of course, I considered that, as Minister of Housing, my success depended on working with credible data. So I went looking for the data,” he began.
“No one knew where it came from, but everyone loved it and was ready to affirm it. In fact, I think they might have thought there was something wrong with me about finding out the truth.
“Fortunately, the source of the ‘data’ for a housing deficit of 17 million did not turn out to be eternally elusive. I eventually found out where it came from.”
Mr. Fashola added that the claim was in the preface of the 2012 National Housing Policy signed by the then minister in charge of the Ministry of Housing three years before he took office.
“I telephoned the minister, who admitted the preface but said it was prepared by assistants and that work pressure did not allow for sufficient investigation,” he said.
“It goes without saying that the Minister confirmed that the data does not have a verifiable basis. Therefore, I say to those who still choose to live by it, I wish you well on a journey into the unknown from an unknown destination.
“The point I’m making here, which bears repeating, is that through logical and responsible use of data, if there was a need for 17 million and 1 unit was provided, one would expect the need to drop by 1 (one). ”
Appeal
He called on “well-thought-out and well-thought-out people” to ignore the “unsubstantiated data” while they await the results of the 2023 National Housing and Population Census.
“And to the question of what we know, I say that when I last checked with our National Statistics Office (certainly a few years ago), there was a reliable household survey of around 35 million households in Nigeria; a home that represents a family unit.
“If we compare that nebulous number of 17 million housing deficits with the verifiable household data of 35 million households, it would suggest that almost half of the population is housing deficit,” he said.
Fashola also recalled that as Governor of Lagos StateBetween 2012 and 2015, his administration delivered 200 housing units to citizens every month for three years.
“At the same time, other governors have successfully launched and executed housing projects in most of our 36 states, as have members of the private sector,” he said.
It seemed that no one was willing to take into account the delivery of up to 1 (one) housing unit, he added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Fashola admitted that there is a housing deficit in Nigeria and offered how to address it.
“My point of view is again to use what is proven, which is that globally, more people are moving to cities in the last 50 years than at any other time in our human existence, in a trend that is now defined as rapid urbanization.
“We also know from economic principles that when there is increased demand for a service, commodity or product without a corresponding supply, there will be shortages and price increases. This is also verifiable.
“Using these verifiable principles, I assert that the housing deficit in Nigeria and most of the continent and the world is more pronounced in urban centers than in rural areas,” he said.
Fashola said that while he waited for reliable census data, his focus has been on housing supply and construction activities in the states’ urban centers, even when accounting for vacant homes in the urban centers themselves.
“I know that many of those who struggle to find housing in the cities have left a form of housing unused or underutilized in our rural areas. I also know that housing provision needs to seriously consider the rent side of things when trying to increase ownership.
“I know that much remains to be done to remove the obstacles that prevent people from renting or owning the many empty houses that we see in our urban centers,” he said.