The housing sector and Nigeria’s 21st century economy (3)

Wealth acquisition and owning livable homes are two distinct human actions that are socioeconomically beneficial to society, and they are also known to offer mutually inclusive values and services to their beneficiaries in an economy. It is important to provide understanding and to further elucidate what each of them actually means from an economic perspective. 

Wealth acquisition is the process through which individuals gather and control material goods, wealth, and natural resources to enhance their economic power and influence. On the other hand, livable homes involve the consummation of beautifully finished, quality, comfortable, timeless housing, designed/equipped smart homes, and affordable shelters for the modern society. Affordable housing is a global social issue that continues to impact households positively in the quest for a better society by relieving a greater percentage of families from the unending soaring costs of rental bills, while at the same time retaining and maintaining high standard of living within the available disposable incomes of the salary earners (particularly). This is the structural arrangement that every government is expected to provide in an economy through mortgage. In Nigeria currently, this is what the economic planning arm of the government should apply and sincerely implement, by partnering with private sector operators in the housing industry, of which the Real Estate Development Association of Nigeria (REDAN) is a low hanging fruit available to be effectively engaged by the government, by providing and allocating land in all the states of Nigeria, to realistically restore the middle class cadre within the economy. 

Nigerian citizens deserve to be provided with adequate shelter and given comfort in this economy. The society is entitled to enjoy the fruits of good governance (by way of legacy projects), which public office holders swore on oath while assuming political office, to responsibly protect, freely provide and generously render through selfless socioeconomic services to their tax paying citizens – to have a lease of life in the society (by protecting life and providing security). The critical aspect is that this is the government’s civic duty, to primarily offer succor to the people. This singular service to humanity can innovatively be rendered for high macroeconomic yields (attached multiplier effect) to the economy through the ease of public accessibility to affordable livable home ownership programmes. This needs a well planned agenda for adequate provision and efficient execution. This all important national assignment by every well meaning government, if effectively driven and successfully executed, would have significantly solved over 50 percent of man’s critical socio economic challenges because, “shelter”, naturally, is critical to man’s survival, being among the three basic needs of man. However, no responsible government with a visionary agenda and developmental plan, would love to risk the economic failures attached to productivity by not making sure that the critical factors of economic development (man, money and material) are cautiously engaged and managed, by recklessly mismanaging them. This strategic action is with the simple aim of actualizing the expected yields of good governance that is connected to speedy economic growth and national development.

Sweet smart modern homes are indeed enjoyable, and they cannot be resisted by any visionary, right thinking citizen. These proposed affordable modern homes are really worthwhile as livable shelters that shall be accessible for occupation through innovative financial packages and robust consumer credit initiatives that subject and present the finished physical structures as affordable homes and properties, for every eligible prospective applicant that meets up and scales through the mortgage financing demands and conditionality. A few luxuries make life more livable than uninhabitable, unfit or unsuitable residential accommodations in today’s modern society, where digitalisation, information technology and (most importantly) energy efficient powered home appliances are electronically operated and remotely controlled in the modern homes of the 21st Century. These facilities have related costs that can be conveniently and gradually taken out through a well planned credit control payment schedule by any agency that works with financial institutions. 

At this point in the life of our nation, the citizens should be exposed to cultural reorientation (especially for civil servants or any citizen who has a well paid job and stable salary), to enable such people in the society bring a good life forward, especially after retirement, at old age (in other words, pensioners). The visionary initiatives and ideas of the likes of Uzoma Nwagba of Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDITCORP), therefore, should be enthusiastically embraced in today’s economy. Apart from the corruption that has eaten deep into the fabrics of our socio-economic system, and the insecurity challenges disrupting the entire socio-political landscape of the nation, consumer credit system needs to be supported and encouraged by the government at all levels, to lessen the economic burdens that seriously disrupted the thriving of the middle class system in the country. Citizens should be supported economically to live a fulfilled life within their means through a spaced out bill payment arrangement, for good and healthy living. This, in turn, indirectly improves the average life expectancy, and contributes to national economic growth and development.    

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