Provision of affordable housing in Nigeria: Successes so far & future challenges

An adequate housing supply has been identified as one of the world’s biggest problems. The international community recognises that increasing the provision of affordable housing is one of the major development challenges of the twenty-first century. The problem of affordable housing is particularly severe in Nigeria, where a variety of housing initiatives have been tried. The most recent one involves Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), which are collaborations between partners in different sectors. The dearth of affordable housing is a national concern, with the federal government of Nigeria estimating that there is a deficit of 17 million houses. The research method employed involved a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with public and private organisations involve with housing delivery to learn from their experiences with housing projects. The current initiatives of this present government to address these problems highlight the urgent need in the way that affordable housing should be delivered, however, the current implementation framework does not accurately reflect what is needed to stimulate and broaden housing development. The recommendations presented here are intended to inform and provide guidance to housing authorities on the kinds of mechanisms necessary to inspire more active participation of the private and public sectors. This paper concludes by outlining an effective way to stimulate the delivery affordable housing and to fuel development of affordable housing initiatives that are supportive and facilitative.