Leadership (Abuja)
Catherine Agbo
13 January 2009
Housing or shelter without doubt is one of the essentials of life. It is one of the biggest problems successive governments in the country have been faced with.
Although these various governments have come up with several policies towards solving the problem, it appears the issue has been handled with kid gloves as there has been no meaningful development in the sector and the masses have continued to groan under the effect of poor housing.
A large percentage of the middle class and low income earners are plagued by this problem, as most of them cannot boast of safe housing, even as these houses are not owned by them
From all indications, the housing policy as entrenched in the seven point development agenda of the president, which is geared towards evolving sustainable development in the housing sub sector to ensure that there is decent and safe housing for all Nigerians is still a mirage.
This is because, the developmental efforts of the government towards providing housing, especially for its working class have been thwarted by some people who are allegedly involved in some shady deals within the sector.
The federal government, in its bid to make sure housing is available to all its citizenry, through the National Housing Fund NHF, initiated a policy through which private estate developers could get loans from the Federal Mortgage Bank FMB, to develop estates which will be given to public servants on mortgage.
Through the arrangement, the subscribers are expected to pay ten percent of the cost of the housing unit, and the balance to be paid over a period.
How effective has this policy been?
Apart from the fact that owners and residents of most of the housing estates built through this arrangement have been lamenting the dearth of facilities and amenities, as well as the sub standard way most of the houses are constructed, there have been allegations of out right embezzlement of subscriber's money by the agencies involved.
Imagine that you have borrowed money, maybe from a financial institution, at an interest rate, or you have denied yourself some things, and cut down on your expenditure to save money to be able to pay for a mortgage. Several years later, you have not been able to take possession of your possession, and there appears to be no solution to the problem.
The above is the dilemma subscribers to the Mount Pleasant Estate, Mbora District, Airport road Abuja are in.
The estate which is developed by Citec International Estate Developers according to its subscribers, has obviously not met the purpose for which it was intended.
The subscribers have alleged that the housing units which they paid for three years ago, and which have been completed have instead of being allocated to them, been given to other people.
According to them, they were asked to pay ten percent of the cost each, of the unit subscribed to, which consist of one bedroom, two bedrooms, and three bedrooms apartments respectively, and they paid the money over three years ago.
After completing work on the houses, which were meant for middle class and low income earners, the developers instead of giving the houses to those for which they were meant have sold some of the units to certain wealthy individuals, who have a penchant for property acquisition, and can make full payment for the houses.
It has also been alleged that Citec Estate Developers, deviated from the original master plan which they were given to develop the estate, and have built other unspecified structures, which do not conform to the original plan, and sold same to some 'super rich' Nigerians, leaving the public servants, to still wallow in the depths of poor housing.
The federal government's housing projects, which were aimed at making housing easily available and affordable, which was intended to put an end to the frustration of the people, especially the civil servants, from the above has not met its intended objective, as the issue of shelter remains a disturbing one.
Consequently, demand for houses is still on the increase, and there are those who have got money, and are willing to pay any amount of such money to buy a house.
The estate developers who should be helping the plight of the public servants are therefore using the opportunity to amass wealth for themselves.
The question that readily comes to mind then is what is the fate of those who made initial payment for the housing units, and are still contributing to the National Housing Fund?
Will they still occupy the houses after all these years of waiting, even as none of those involved, that is the estate developers, the primary Mortgage Institution PMI, and the Federal Mortgage Bank, are unwilling to give useful information, on the status of their subscription.
Will their monies be returned to them at the end of the day, or will they be given alternative houses as it has been alleged that the ones they paid for have been sold.
How long shall they remain in the dark?
It is pertinent to note that for a country like Nigeria, that aspires to be among the twenty largest economies of the world by the year 2020 to achieve its aspiration, matters concerning the development of its human resources deserve to be on the front burner.
These human resources can be developed by providing them the basic amenities of life, one of which is shelter.
The issue of housing should therefore be taken seriously, as it is a necessary tool for the development of the country.
As at the time of filing this report, officials of Citec International Estate Developers, declined to comment on the issue, as they said that they were not in a position to speak on the matter.
But the question remains, what is the fate of the people who subscribed for the housing units over three years ago.
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