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Minister of Housing and Urban Development and architect Ahmed Musa Dangiwa on Tuesday advocated for a national strategy tailored to Africa’s unique housing needs to develop sustainable and resilient housing solutions.
Delivering the keynote address at the Africa International Housing Show in Abuja, Dangiwa also said there was an urgent need for a radical approach to tackling the continent’s housing challenges.
“With limited funding, it is important that the continent as a whole adopts foundational approaches and national strategies that take into account the specificities of housing needs. This will help us develop sustainable and resilient housing solutions that meet people’s needs.”
“As we all know, housing is a basic need and right for all human beings. But while housing is a right, access to it depends on the financial capacity of individuals and the ability and willingness of governments to intervene to create an enabling environment for its provision.
“We all know that the current state of housing on the continent is far from where it should be. We are faced with the dual challenge of inadequate housing supply to meet population growth and substandard housing that does not meet the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organization (WHO) requirements for livability, safety and security, comfort, hygiene, accessibility, infrastructure, social amenities and socio-cultural appropriateness.”
Noting that 75% of Nigeria’s 42 million homes are substandard, the minister said housing supply strategies need to combine urban renewal and new housing development to accommodate Africa’s growing population and address substandard living conditions.
He said: “This is a continent-wide problem. In Nigeria, for example, recent studies show that 75 per cent of Nigeria’s 42 million housing units (or 31.6 million) are substandard. This means that our housing supply strategy must combine urban renewal and new housing construction to address Africa’s housing challenges.”
Dangiwa also announced a focus on local manufacturing of building materials, with the aim of establishing a manufacturing base in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
He said the government is actively seeking partnerships with technically and financially capable institutions, and these hubs are expected to reduce construction costs and strengthen housing supply.
“Another focus area is the encouragement of local manufacturing of building materials. We aim to establish building material manufacturing hubs in each of the six geopolitical zones across the country to reduce the cost of delivery of construction materials and housing. We are actively seeking partnerships for the delivery of these hubs and welcome partnerships from technically and financially capable institutions,” the Minister said.
