Olusegun Ariyo
Housing problem in Nigeria are multi-dimensional, they occur both in the urban and rural areas. They are qualitative and quantitative, psychological and socio cultural in nature these problems are consequential of the inability and ineffectiveness of both the public and private sector to meet the housing need of the populist. As a result of this, any lasting solution to the Nigerian housing problem require a multi-fatted approach. Housing delivery system in Nigeria Is a combination of interrelated process as such, housing problem is multi-farious and requires multi-dimensional solutions to Nigeria’s diverse housing problem which revolves around overcrowding and slum housing.
Many Nigerians cannot afford decent housing; they live in contraptions that can only be called shelter and not housing. Government overtime has intervened in the housing sector by increasing housing stock through the construction of housing estate and disbursement of housing loans. These measures have done little to address the situation and on the other hand, housing provided by private sector operators is out of economic reach of medium income housing earner.
An effective and realistic strategy for providing decent housing in decent environment at decent price is therefore critical. Various authorities have provide strategies in improving housing delivery but various reports review that the rigid bureaucratic system of government should be streamlined, while issues of land allocation and housing finance should be addressed.
Report on corporative housing ability suggested that financial institution should be more accessible to the people, it indicate that cooperate housing movement should be given a closer look since cooperate housing as a society that corporately owns a group of houses in which each member participate actively relate on matters concerning housing
Good to mention about this concept is that, it democratically controls it activities and receive a social and economic benefits in all owning a cooperative. It operational framework remains lighter for economic advantage were individual can own a house, including all land dwelling unit it stakeholders who by virtue of their stock ownership are entitle to occupy a specific housing unit, in turn, jointly own by the cooperative cooperation.
The stakeholder purchases stock in the cooperative cooperation, upon purchase of the stock, signed perpetual lease that deals him a legal and exclusive right to occupy a dwelling unit as long as all obligations to the cooperative meet the cooperation’s legal owner of the property. As such, the cooperation also is responsible for meeting a financial obligation including mortgage payment, real property tax and management maintenance cause.
The cooperative passes on these costs to the stakeholders who pay a single monthly fee for caring charges for the cooperative seek to provide the highest quality housing possible within cost guidance. Benefits durable from cooperative housing are economic social and physical.
This meaningful option is where maintenance responsibility is the cooperative association’s equity who bears the cost of major repairs, and vandalism and in any case of abuse of property. Another case in point is including democratic control and participatory decision making, cultural diversity and the elimination of outside landlords.
On best practice, report indicates that cooperative movement in united states of America has witness tremendous boost in the past ten years especially since it stakeholders have applied for housing development. Report revealed also that Cooperative housing in the United States provides decent housing and affordable housing for low- and middle-income earner in self-governing communities. Accordingly, it is well funded, regenerated and amendable to comprehensive land use planning and democratic control.
It Overall objectives is to obtain low- and moderate-income families, decent housing at affordable price with effective resident control. Report also reveals that most of the cooperative were set up by civil organization and private realtors. Government only act as a policy maker and a facilitator by offering tax rebates and direct funding from cooperative targeted at the poor.
It also indicate that the government having cooperative are the commercial institution fund the system, cooperative enjoy the right to formulate their own policy and funding arrangement in addition, bottom up approach use here are the professional urban planners who save as the initial pressure group and are fully involved in ensuring that planning principles are not compromise report also indicate that today, over one million American live in housing cooperative 17% of the total number of the rent reduction housing unit in America are on cooperative. Their growths have been attributed to the high government support it gets through legislation and funding, and in recent time privatization.
In Nigerian experience cooperative is not new, the principles of cooperative is entrenched in the lessons of many Nigerian’s either nationality inconsiderable of proportion of rural dwelling were produced by people’s physical effort as well as obtaining loans from the local cooperative saving society.
As successful as the systems were, not much emphasis on formal cooperative housing is operated in Nigeria. Report indicates that although credit, tariff solution and building society exist which indirectly perform cooperative housing function; the impact of the housing sector is negligible. Apart from the fact that the principles of cooperative is inherent in most Nigerian culture, cooperative housing is a pragmatic and curse effective means of home ownership.
The principles have been a benefit to many influential organizations such as the United Nation, infrastructural cooperative alliance and the united nation center for human settlement. Unavoidably, however, socio economic constant have affected the Nigerian housing industry adversely. The construction industry in Nigeria is in dire straits, the problem is further aggravated by the high cost of building material; inadequate provision of infrastructure within the existing housing estate that is traceable to the hailing economy which seems to defy solution. Structural unemployment is the order of the day in fact, poverty has been institutionalized hence it is impossible for a medium income earner to own a house judging from the extensive housing demand in Nigeria urban center, there is the need for a revolutionary and reductive strategy involving non market and nonprofit making measures.
Indeed, the application for the cooperative housing principle to Nigerian housing problem requires an in-depth study of her culture and socio economic environment in order to device and indigenous and workable operational frame work. As discussed, a study of experiences of other countries will also act as guide
