Housing deficit challenge facing developing countries and REDAN (2)

Global population growth is one major social issue that deserves continuous proactive planning strategies by governments to address the attendant problems associated with lack of adequate accommodation encountered in society. In every residential community (hamlets, wards, villages, counties, urban cities and the likes), local authorities are expected to make sure that they regularly monitor population growth rate by micromanaging the number of residential houses and shelters that are made available for occupation by prospective residents. Such data on housing are meant to be collated through constant stock taking, which should be regularly analysed and monitored for its peculiar trends, its uniqueness with regard to any sudden shift that may be recorded otherwise, by census taking. Every good government (at all levels) ought to cater for its citizens’ well-being, including the provision of affordable and comfortable homes, by all standards. However, population growth has been identified, in this modern age of globalisation, as a strong force that determines and throws up problems that are attached to shortage of shelter. This is because procreation is a natural phenomenon and a constant progressive biological factor of life; while the social space for human interactions appears more or less static (when both are compared as interactive forces in society). There are numerous other contributors that may also be considered for this challenge of housing deficit that are, either economical or environmental.

In recounting all the other challenges that the housing sector faces, poor policy programmes from the government that investors and developers see as loopholes in the building industry contribute significantly towards poor building standards, which invariably give room for the utilisation and consumption of poor building materials. Presently, in this country (Nigeria), this particular matter that involves the quality of the critical building materials, like iron rods and cement especially; these two items that are locally produced, require very stringent production quality assurance monitoring measures that should be taken by external standard regulators, like the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON). This is to extensively curb potentially colossal economic losses as being witnessed currently through frequent building collapses in all parts of the country (which obviously is counterproductive, economically). 

Government and all regulatory bodies in the industry ought to be strict with the building rules and procedures for producing standard habitable shelters, especially in this modern age. By so doing, setting targets and goals by the government for all the categories of duly registered, accredited and certified builders and construction firms, could be another performance rating strategy in making sure that estimated number of housing units expected at any particular period is efficiently and promptly delivered for habitation. This, in essence, could be applied in checking and reducing housing deficit.

In developing economies, substantial efforts are required to make sure that the challenges of housing deficit or lack of the needed number of houses to accommodate the population of a given area are effectively addressed. This is the role REDAN has come to play in the scheme of socioeconomic tasks the Nigerian economy is presently overwhelmed by within the building industry. As a well structured housing development body, the REDAN executive is poised to support the government to break the backbone of homelessness in the country by the current initiative to construct “REDAN cities” in all the states of the country. In the South East, for instance, the execution of this particular project has reached an advanced stage, with all the state chapters positioning investors to massively deliver on mapped out housing policies and development programmes. Development partners from all over the globe are being sensitised and mobilised to key in, and participate in this laudable project that will in the long run, improve the national economic growth sustainably. 

Through housing development in the economy, REDAN is specifically poised to improve the lot in human social wellbeing that shall directly impact positively on the health and education sectors of the country. No nation can sustainably record a high level of average life span if very poor housing provisions take the centre stage in its economy because sound health, which is directly tied to decent, affordable and adequate provision of housing stands out as empirically evidenced in overall longevity. This is attributable to good living and sound mind that are linked to decent accommodation. 

In another dimension, decent homes afford and offer users the opportunity to have full, uninterrupted sleep; which will make or mar educational actualisation and attainment if the otherwise happens, and having a sound mind would have been elusive. REDAN cities or communities should, therefore, be seen as a prerequisite to the actualisation of a rich and wealthy economy because a popular saying goes that, “health is wealth”. Nigeria as an economy deserves to offer her citizens the opportunity to enjoy decent living, which invariably leads to longevity for an improved economy.

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