Public housing delivery in Nigeria: problems and challenges

Paper presented at the XXXIII IAHS World Congress on Housing, 27-30 September 2005,"Transforming Housing Environments through Design", University of Pretoria.In Nigeria political, economic, social and environmental factors and the huge foreign exchange accumulated from the rise in oil price in the 1970s have forced previous civilian and military government to intervene in the urban housing crisis. The initial intervention took the form of rent control. The failure and abandonment of the rent control policy led to the policy of public housing production in the urban centres. The debate on public housing programme in Nigeria has been abandoned largely on the guise of the exercise being a luxury, the economic pressure brought about by the structural adjustment programme of economic recovery of the 1990s and the inefficacy of the previous public housing programme This paper attempts to examine the problem and challenges of public housing delivery in Nigeria. It highlights the nature and dimension of Nigeria’s housing problems. The various government responses at solving the housing problems are identified. The achievements of government past housing governments are examined. Finally factors inhibiting public housing delivery and the challenges of housing in the future are presented.Authors of papers in the proceedings and CD-ROM ceded copyright to the IAHS and UP. Authors furthermore declare that papers are their original work, not previously published and take responsibility for copyrighted excerpts from other works, included in their papers with due acknowledgment in the written manuscript. Furthermore, that papers describe genuine research or review work, contain no defamatory or unlawful statements and do not infringe the rights of others. The IAHS and UP may assign any or all of its rights and obligations under this agreement

Urban housing crisis and responses in Nigeria: the planners’ view point

Paper presented at the XXXIII IAHS World Congress on Housing, 27-30 September 2005,"Transforming Housing Environments through Design", University of Pretoria.The relevance of housing in urban and rural environment cannot be over-emphasised. It contributes to the attainment of physical and moral health of a nation, stimulates social stability, the work efficiency, and the development of the individuals. This paper attempts to examine the urban housing problem and responses in Nigeria. The paper explores the fundamental root cause of the housing problem in Nigeria. The past and contemporary official responses to the urban housing questions are critically examined. The paper asserts that previous responses to the housing problems had failed in Nigeria largely due to institutionalized mechanisms of decision making and implementation process. Finally the authors posit their viewpoints as a way of solving the urban housing problems in Nigeria. All correspondence to: Dr. L.M. Olayiwola Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Tel: 234833379719 E-mail: [email protected] of papers in the proceedings and CD-ROM ceded copyright to the IAHS and UP. Authors furthermore declare that papers are their original work, not previously published and take responsibility for copyrighted excerpts from other works, included in their papers with due acknowledgment in the written manuscript. Furthermore, that papers describe genuine research or review work, contain no defamatory or unlawful statements and do not infringe the rights of others. The IAHS and UP may assign any or all of its rights and obligations under this agreement