AN ASSESSMENT OF LOW INCOME HOUSING PROGRAMME IN NIGERIA (A case study of state low income housing in Kwara State)
CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Housing is paramount human existence as it ranks among the top three needs of man. Its provision has always been of great necessity to man as a unit of the environment housing has profound influence on the health efficiency, social behaviour, satisfaction and general welfare of the community. It is a reflection of the cultural, social and economic values of society and one of the best historical evidences of the civilization of a country (Olotuah, 2000)
The provision of adequate housing in any country is very vita as housing is a stimulant of the national economy. Housing is a set of durable assets, which accounts for a high proportion of country’s wealth and on which households spend a substantial part of their income. It is for these reasons that housing has become a regular feature in economic, social and political debates often with highly charged emotional contents (Agbola 1998).
In Nigeria, like in many other developing nations of the world housing problem are multi dimension. The problem of population explosion continuous influx of people from the rural to the urban centre, and the lack of basic infrastructure required for good standard of living have compounded housing problem over the years. Access to this basic need by the poor whose constitute the large percentage of the world population has remained a mirage and it needs to be critically addressed. Ogieto (1987) has observed that the disparity between the price and quantity of housing on the one hand, and the number of household and the money available to them to pay these prices in the other, constitute the central problem of housing. The cost at which houses reach the market goes a long way to determine affordability, where the unit cost of houses is abnormally high only a few people are able to afford the houses. According to Okupe the Windapo (2000) the gap between income and shelter cost in Nigeria is very wide. This has almost eliminated the low-income earners from the housing market. A panacea to the problem is the contribution of co-operative societies and private developers to housing finance whose activities, particularly in tertiary institutions, this paper focuses in towards facilitating improved accessibility level to housing finance by low-income earners in Nigeria
1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
It is accepted worldwide that in order of priority, only food takes precedence over shelter in man’s wants or needs. One of the most important things in our lives is where we live. Though low income housing had been prepared, our dream of housing for all in the year 200 had come and gone without any meaningful improvement in both the quality and quantity of our real estate.
The problem of adequate and quantity housing remain unsolved and threaten civilization.
Government has been largely responsible for the large scale of housing project whose greater proportion ends up in hand of high income have been done in many area from real estate development that make re-arrange the low income for benefit of people.
1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES AIM
The aim of this research work is to assess the low income housing programme in Nigeria.
OBJECTIVES
1. To determine the stages and condition of housing in the study area
2. To examine the problems associated with the management of housing in Kwara state
3. To suggest the way forward in making housing available for the populace.
4 To make suggestions on improvement in the quantity and quality of the various existing low cost housing scheme.
1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study is basically designed to look into various effort undertaken by the state and Federal Government in the provision of houses for the people in form of low cost housing estate.
This study also takes a cursory look at the estate management/ development principle as practiced by the Kwara state government statutory bodies.
1.4 LIMITATION OF STUDY
Those are various constraints which limit the extent to which the research for this project right to have been carried out.
1. There was limited time during the research of this project.
2. Inadequate information:-the information collected was not enough during the research.
3. Un-cooperative attitudes:-some of the respondent felt reluctant to give answers to some of the question thrown to them while some kicked against the inspection of their compounds.
4. Inadequate funds:-This will normally set a limit to the extent to which research could go in his findings. The lack of inadequate finance is the greatest obstacle to progress in this exercise. However, much has been done to make the limited find available.
1.5 GEOGRAPICAL SETTING
Kwara states peaceful population abundant natural resources, well developed infrastructure and proactive investment- attraction policies have made it an attractive destination for investors.
Kwara state is one of the 36 states that make up the federal republic of Nigeria Africa’s most populous country. Kwara state shares a boundary to its west with the republic of Benin and has its Northern boundary, the Niger River.
The capital city of Lagos and 500km from the federal capital, Abuja major town include offa and Jebba, located on the river.
Kwara state comprises rainforest in the southern parts with wooded savannah covering the large part of the state. The soil is fertile and the state is well watered by the various tributaries of the Niger River which run through hills and valleys none of which rise to any great height.
The western section of the state is at a slightly higher attitude than the eastern. This is a summer rainfall area, with an annual rainfall range of 1000mm to 1500mm. The month of December and January coincide with the cold and dry harmattan period. Average maximum temperatures vary between 3000c and 3500c.
1.6 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF LOW INCOME HOUSING PROGRAMME IN NIGERIA.
The history of housing development in Nigeria can be divided
into four phase. The colonial era, pre-colonial era, post independence era, 1960- 1972. Then the oil boom period i.e. 1972 - 1979, the civilian regime period 1979 -1983 and military era 1984-1989.
The colonial period has been described as the era of housing reservation or the era of white ghettos.
This is an era when all the housing activities and housing policies of the government focused on the provision of quarter for the expatriate staff of the government. The Nigeria masses received no form of housing assistant from the government and only a handful of civil servant benefited indirectly or directly from any government housing scheme. No direct purposeful action was taken to involve a housing policy or programme to benefit Nigerian, a great of who were living in what will be termed substandard housing initiate.
Post independent period in the twelve years of independent, the hosing programme consisted the activity of the Lagos executive development board, the housing corporation and the Nigeria building societies and how to appraise of the performance of housing programme during this era shows that little was achieved by way of directed construction of houses.
The concern of government for the citizen is to create an avoidable space for the societies.
The main concern of the federal government in housing during the period was created to provide residential quarters for the workers.
In addition, slump clearance and resettlement of those affected take place In the federal territory of Lagos. The Federal Government allocated some money to the African staff housing scheme and the Nigeria building society.
The amount provided for those two schemes was grossly inadequate to meet the housing needs that this institution was expected to meet.
Theses scheme largely benefited the high income groups both in the private and public sector of the economy, because the condition for granting a mortgage been favour them. The same post independent era then fair regional government and the finance resource of the corporation were very small and the operation of their scheme was out of the reach of common man. The performance of Housing Corporation was more or less a token; performance in the provision of housing was given a very low priority national development allocation during this era
OIL BOOM ERA
Oil boom era contributed in the tremendous increase in a government in government revenue resulting from the oil boom as well as the attendance quickened phase of urbanization led to a change for greater in the federal government assumed a major social respondent for the provision of housing throughout the federation. The following were the main activities during those periods.
The national council consisted of all commissioners responsible for housing in the federation.
In 1971, the federal government acquired the common wealth development co-operation building society this increased the federal government share in the society to 91%
In May 1973, the federal government declared that 59,000 housing units would be build in different parts of the country 15,000 of these were proposed for Lagos 4,000 units were allocated to each of the 12 state capitals. This was the beginning of federal government of government investment in the direct provision of residential unit.
In 1973, the federal housing authority was set up to see the implementation of the federal government housing programme. Housing cooperation was set up in each of the 12 state. Housing cooperation and eastern region.
Under the 3rd national development plan 1978-1980 the government of the federation voted N 25 billion for housing development over 90% of the outlay was to be expected on the direct construction of low rental value unit, mainly for the low and medium group in part of the country. the amount N 2. 5 billion was expected to generate 202,000 housing units throughout the planned period
The units were broken down as follows 8,000 housing unit for each of the state and 50,000 for Lagos state. The federal housing authority was expected to provide the infrastructure to provide the additional 12,000 unit with each of the state government would build. However as at the end of planned period less than 50% of the target set was actually achieved.
All state was far from target set. the reason advance for the low level of achievement include initial difficulty in getting land acquired for the scheme administration capacity, slow phase of construction by contractor non-availability of fund for executing project.
The unrealistic nature of the target set end or wrong in appropriate approach to the execution and management of federal and state housing scheme.
The anti-inflationary task force which was set up to examine the inflationary tender in the economy and to identify their cause death with housing, among other things in line with the recommendation of the anti inflation task force, the rent panel was set up in 1976 to review the level as structure of rent in the country
The period between 1972 and 1979 witnessed an era in which federal government was committed to implement its housing programmes within a national work. it was the first time in Nigeria history that special housing programmes was introduced for low income worker throughout the federation. A solid foundation was also land for massive housing programmes
However, it should be noted that the government housing programmes during this period were too ambitious and actual performance was far from target set.
In 1978, the land use degree was promulgated by which all land in the states was vested in the hands of the governor of the state to hold in trust for the people. The degree set regulation for land allocation and management. However, the implementation of land use decree has remained a problematic issue and most of the objectives of which it was promulgated have been difficult to achieve.
CIVILIAN ERA
Civilian era 2nd republic at the beginning of civilian administration in the second republic both the states and federal government gave priority to housing programmes embarked upon by different states and federal government. Practically extraordinary in this sector in the housing programmes of Jakande of Lagos state and the Oyo state government under chief Bola-ige.
Under the federal housing scheme, the federal government planned to construct 2,000 housing unit per year in each of the 19states of the federation and federal capital territory. In five year, the plan of the federal government was to build a total of 2000 housing units, each of the state government also proposed to build equally substantial number of housing project were well.
Both the state and federal housing project were well under way and few state were about to attract some of the completed houses when military took over again from civilian.
When military took over the government the economy of the country was already at abysmal state. The politician becomes shameful. They were mainly concern with salvaging the already battered national economic which was bastardized by the ruling federal party to a ridiculous level. The low income housing programme of the former federal government, civilian regime was revisited. The federal military government gave directive that the army as well as police should take possession of unoccupied and unallocated building of completed houses in the remote part of the country where they were located as barrack.
The rest were to the taken over by the local government authority under whose jurisdiction the site lies.
Furthermore, the federal military government announced the complete hand off of private rental premises for government worker and instead paid housing allowance to individual official should look for their own accommodation.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Low income has been impressive advances in the past three or four decades. The most successful ones have pursued market. Friendly development strategies. The private sectors have been the engines of growth, generating sustained increase in income to allow investment in broadly base and long-term development. And the government has been focusing on macroeconomic stability, on the business environment, and on basic physical infrastructure and human resources. The result are how to sustained high growth rates, with widely share gains in living standards.
DEVELOPMENT
This is a process of carrying out constructional works that are associated with a change with the use of land or with re-establishment of an existing one.
ESTATE
A legal entity denoting the quality and quantity of rights an owner has in a real property. It is control having physical, economic, legal and managerial characters.
HOUSING NEEDS
The number of units demanded for hosing in an urban area may he considered as substantially competent to occupy separate dwelling units. Housing units therefore the adequate provision of housing for every family that required it and to meet the demand for it by the increasing population
PRIVATE PROPERTY DEVELOPER
These are persons or group of people as an organization and professional that are involved in the process of carryout constructional works are associated with a change in the use of land or land with its building or with a re-establishment of an existing use,
PROPERTY
It is the subject matter of ownership that anything belongs to a person giving the exclusive right to enjoy a thing. Examples are lands and buildings. Real property denotes interest and rights interest in ownership of the physical real estate. It is a cluster of right that could be made the subject of a real action
DEVELOPMENT THROUGHT CONTRACT
This process involves selection of site, [preparation of building plan, bill of quantity and awarding of contract of competent and tested builder/civil engineering contractors.
PRIVATE DEVELOPER
This involves a location of large arc of development land to developers are given certificate of occupancy on the land after paying the required charges. This developers there after prepared the layout plan, obtain necessary building approval from appropriate government agency and developed the same into various real properties many residential and commercial building have been developed through this process e.g. Royal valley estate, kulende Ilorin, Victoria garden city and crown estate in Lagos.
POLICY
Policy is implies statement of an ideas especially is made by the government political party business company therefore housing policy is a writing document which usually comprises specific objective strategies and programme aims at solving the housing problem or meeting with the ever increasing housing needs and demands of a country or nation
.