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Min of Housing to address housing Problems

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By Mercy Kelani

Land Titling rate to increase from 10-50% over the next 10 years.

Nigeria’s housing problems will be addressed by a number of significant measures outlined by Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ahmed Dangiwa. Working with the World Bank, one of the primary projects aims to raise the land titling rate from 10% to 50% over the course of the following ten years. This program is a component of the Renewed Hope Agenda’s National Land Titling Programme (NLRDP), which aims to create a comprehensive land registration system throughout Nigeria. Dangiwa also announced the ministry’s first-ever collaboration with Shelter Afrique Development Bank to Finance the building of 5,000 Affordable Housing units.

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The ministry has also launched the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme, which consists of 6,612 housing units spread across 13 areas across the country, in an effort to address the country’s estimated 17–28 million unit housing gap. With 165,000 jobs expected to be created by these initiatives, the program is also significantly increasing work prospects. Information regarding the housing and land titling initiatives’ financial aspects is lacking. That said, it appears that a large amount of funding would be needed in order to realize the audacious objectives set forward by Ahmed Dangiwa, the Minister of Housing of Urban Development.

Building affordable housing costs between $15,000 and $30,000 per unit.

One example of a significant financial commitment is the collaboration with Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) to build 5,000 housing units as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda. In Nigeria, building affordable housing typically costs between $15,000 and $30,000 per unit, depending on location, materials, and other considerations. This implies that the entire price for 5,000 units might be in the $75–150 million range. Large-scale projects like these are typically financed by a combination of federal government appropriations, foreign loans, and Private Sector investments.

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In addition to contributions from the private sector through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), the government may look to international development institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank for extra funding. However, there are a lot of obstacles in the way of effectively managing these monies. The long-standing problem of Corruption in Nigeria has the potential to impede the success of such projects. In its 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International placed Nigeria 154th out of 180 nations, underscoring the possibility of financial misallocation. Uncertain ownership rights and the absence of an extensive land register have historically resulted in delays in housing projects and land titling, making land conflicts another significant obstacle.

Urban development initiatives must prioritize well-defined property rights.

Potential barriers can also arise from logistical concerns. For instance, regional differences in the availability of trained labor and building supplies can have a substantially impact on Construction prices and schedules in Nigeria. Furthermore, as the paper mentions, putting sophisticated digital tools and technologies into practice for land data management calls for a substantial Infrastructure and training budget. The diverse interests of stakeholders, such as people and state governments, might make project execution more difficult. For example, there might be tensions if state governments have differing land use plans or budgetary restrictions and the federal government prioritizes affordable housing.

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More so, urban slum dwellers may be reluctant to move or may have doubts about the quality of the newly constructed homes, even though they are frequently the intended recipients of urban redevelopment programs. Urban development and housing experts frequently emphasize that open communication channels and community involvement are essential for these kinds of projects to succeed. In poor nations, for instance, urban development initiatives must prioritize well-defined property rights and efficient governance, as noted economist Professor Paul Collier has noted.

Related Article: Affordable Housing for Citizens from FG 

Through such collaborations with international organizations, nations such as Rwanda have achieved noteworthy advancements in the domains of land titling and housing development. The World Bank-backed Land Tenure Regularization Program in Rwanda was able to register over 10 million land parcels in a short period of time, increasing housing Investment and enhancing land security. Nonetheless, compared to Nigeria’s huge and varied terrain, where decentralization and federal-state ties add layers of complexity, Rwanda’s smaller size and centralized governance system make it easier to implement such reforms.

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