Housing advocacy gone wrong?

Advocacy and organising economically equitable policies are a cornerstone for building a just housing system in Nigeria.

In a clime of estimated 250 million people where the Federal Government has not delivered 10, 000 housing units in many years, same government albeit successive, is celebrated with wishy-washy accolades and awards of different sorts.

Let us be very clear, as an advocate of  Housing Fairness, Equity and Justice, you cannot be seen to benefit directly or indirectly from government largesse or patronage. This might come under the guise of event sponsored, business patronage or even “brown envelope”

Housing is the foundation for opportunity. However, Nigeria’s residential landscape is segregated due to past and present housing policies and practices which divide resources and differentiate opportunities at the neighbourhood level — rich vs poor (Maroko et Oniru).

For decades, low-income people and underserved communities in Nigeria have been excluded from decision-making on housing policies and practices through years of systemic exclusion and disinvestment.

Extensive research has shown the beneficial impact that safe, stable, energy-efficient, and affordable housing has on our lives. Affordable housing provides the stability for children to learn, adults to benefit from employment opportunities, families and individuals to feel both physically and emotionally safe, and serves as the fabric of our communities and neighborhoods. Neighborhoods with diverse housing options serve the broad needs of its residents from providers of essential services (teachers, law enforcement officers, medical professionals etc) young families, older adults, and persons with disabilities.

It is for the above reasons that stakeholders need to strongly advocate to increase the supply of affordable housing to address the unmet housing need of Nigerians. The reason for this is not far fetched – there is no state, local government or jurisdiction in the country that has enough affordable and available homes for low wage earners.

On our part, using or platform Mr. Housing, we will continue to encourage the formation of a movement of tenants, homeowners, and allies to address Nigeria’s affordable housing and displacement crisis, advance tenants’ rights, respond to harmful public policy actions, and shift the narrative from housing being seen as a commodity to housing as a human right. Our main strategy is to build and support the infrastructure needed for a powerful, grassroots-led housing justice movement.

For us, success will be when income bracket no longer predicts one’s likelihood of experiencing unaffordable rent, homelessness, and living in areas of concentrated poverty—when we have eliminated those things altogether for the people.

Faleti is an international housing finance specialist  and  certified international property specialist

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