Bottlenecks in land acquisition inhibit developers’ efforts in providing affordable housing – Abolaji, Leisure Courts boss

Mr. Segun Abolaji, is a certified real estate professional and active member of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB). He is one stakeholder that is not only worried about Nigeria’s housing deficit that has been put at about 20 million but also contributing his quota to proffer solutions and suggestions on how to reverse the ugly trend.

According to Abolaji, who is Managing Director of Leisure Courts and Super Structures Limited, the lack government’s provision for easy access to acquisition of land is one of the major factors that have placed Nigeria on this unenviable list of countries with the highest housing deficit.

In this interview with The Nigerian Xpress, Abolaji further hinted that the housing shortage should be seen as massive investment opportunities waiting to be tapped by government and private investors. He called for a more concerted effort from the government to encourage and foist a better synergy with private practitioners towards building enough low-cost houses for Nigeria’s teeming population. He also spoke about the frequent building collapse and how it must be tackled.

 

Tell us a little about Leisure Court?

Leisure Court is a household name in the real estate industry in Abuja. We are a group of seasoned professionals in the real estate sector. Our team comprised of builders, engineers, architects, and we are all into providing excellent housing solutions and services. We have done very effectively in the past. So we recently launched our Lagos office in an attempt to solve more housing problems.

As a developer what is your target market?

Our target cuts across all walks of life, ranging from the high to the low-income earners of the economy. We have luxury apartments, that we want to embark on. We also have affordable housing for the lower cadre. So we’re looking at providing housing packages that would make it easier for different categories of income earners in the country to buy houses.

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There is a huge housing deficit in Nigeria, as a key stakeholder, what role can you play in trying to cut down on the shortage of affordable houses?

Many stakeholders have continuously campaigned for the need to build more affordable houses in Nigeria. But when you talk about affordability, it’s relative. Because what Mr. A can easily afford, might be difficult for Mr. B. But generally as a private investor, I aim at building houses that everybody can afford, from the high ranking members of the society to members of the lower class, like civil servants.

We in the private sector have been contributing our quota because we believe that the issue of scarcity and deficit of housing is worrisome. But for me, I choose to view our housing situation as opportunities to do more.

Many have clamoured on the idea that using locally-made and environment-friendly building materials would further bring down the cost of housing. Do you agree with this notion?

it is good to use locally produced materials. I’m also an advocate of that. But it’s not everybody that you can use local materials to build houses for. Because when you compare the standards we produce in Nigeria with the standards being produced overseas, you’ll notice there is a huge difference.

Also, a particular class of people in our society love luxury materials. You can’t rule out that side too. So, it’s interwoven. But if prices of building materials are forced down or subsidised, local industries would be encouraged to do more.

But building material is not the only problem. we also have the issue of land acquisition. It is a major factor because land carries about 60% of the cost of the house. Nowadays it is very difficult to just apply to the government and get lands.

In Lagos, for example, investors have to buy family lands and then process the C-of-O. In Abuja, you have to buy from a third party who has previously been allocated to by the government. Lands in these major cities are not affordable. So if the government can make lands available to developers, then, in turn, the prices of houses would crash, making it easier for millions of Nigerians to afford their own houses.

Another major bottleneck is Infrastructure. The government also has an enormous role to play in that aspect. Infrastructure is a very key factor because if you look at Lagos, for example, you’ll find out that where so many estate firms have their sites, the roads are not even accessible. most times they have to contribute money to see how they can make the road a little bit motorable.

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Our system here in Nigeria is to start moving development to a particular place before the government starts providing access and other facilities that make life better to that place. But in other climes, we find infrastructure on ground. So, estate developers only have to move in their equipment and material and continue to construct buildings.

The government keeps talking about diversification of the economy, do you think the housing sector can yield much to even be Nigeria’s main GDP?

it might interest you to know that the real estate sector is the largest contributor to  Nigeria’s GDP after the crude oil. So, it is not until they begin to look at that before it becomes viable. The sector is already contributing hugely even without the government’s serious participation. Imagine if the government can just key in and see it as an opportunity to do more.

I think the real estate sector would do Nigeria a lot of good because right now, the world is moving away from fossil fuels. If you go to other countries, Tesla is taking over with intelligent cars. So we should look more into the real estate sector because that is where you find the most tangible asset in the economy.

One key development in this sector is access to low-interest funds and people are already looking at international collaborations. What do you think should be done to attract offshore funding to the real estate business in Nigeria?

That again takes us back to the issue of infrastructure. It is one key factor that attracts foreign investments. if there is assured security for funds and life, plus efficient infrastructure is on the ground, Nigeria would attract tourists and investors.

Also, the government can deregulate our banking system because developers are finding it difficult to access funds and when they do, they get the loans at double digits. Most of us would rather not go to the bank. We’ll rather look for other means to source for funds or keep running the business the little way you can and keep growing gradually.

There have been issues of enforcement and compliance with building regulations, and we keep having incidents of building collapse. As a professional, what do you think should be done to reduce the high occurrence of building collapse?

We have government and professional regulatory bodies. Agencies like the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON), Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) and the rest of them should do more in terms of monitoring and enforcement. Then the government agencies who are in charge of these regulations should also do more.

Because it’s easier to make laws than to implement them. Enforcement is key to curbing the spate of building collapse. If you make the laws and don’t enforce them, then people would move to misuse the opportunity. We have a lot of quacks who parade as builders, engineers. They don’t adhere to building regulations and then they mainly use substandard materials in building houses that later cause calamities.