ABUJA HOUSING CRISIS AND THE NEED FOR DECENT AND AFFORDABLE PUBLIC HOUSING

The housing crisis in Abuja, and definitely Nigeria as a whole, is becoming alarming, with the working masses at the receiving end. The reality today is that the government has abandoned its responsibility of providing decent and affordable houses for ordinary people and handed it over to private estate developers. The activities of private real estate companies in Abuja are no longer hidden and can be considered as new oil well.

By Samuel Sankara, DSM, Abuja

Rents in Abuja surge to at least 20% yearly something which has impacted the sector negatively, enabling a shortage of affordable housing.  Prospective tenants are at the mercy of landlords and agents, who charge exorbitant amounts as rent without consideration of the harsh economic impact of the Nigerian State on the working masses. While increase in the cost of building, as a result of inflation and the naira devaluation, is a major factor, the bigger reason is the handing over of the housing sector to private profiteers who have turned housing into a lucrative business. Today, many working people in Abuja cannot afford to live in these estates due to the exorbitant rents. As a result, many of these estates and houses are empty while thousands of Abuja residents live in slum areas, and many are homeless. The blame for the housing crisis in Abuja is mainly on the government. The abandonment of the housing sector is a deliberate attempt to enrich a tiny few while the mass majority are homeless and in misery.

A report by Daily Trust newspaper in 2024 revealed that Abuja contributes about 1.7million to Nigeria’s nations overall housing shortage of 28million units, with a high annual population growth rate exacerbating the demand for housing. What is the actual determinant costs of houses in the FCT and Nigeria at large? The said Daily Trust report stated that 90 percent of building materials are imported and developers spend huge amounts of money to furnish and complete building. Therefore, they have to sell them at the right price to recoup investment and make profit. Why must developers import building materials and not look inward to save cost? However, it should be stressed that the prices of building materials like cement and steel are outrageously high even in Nigeria beyond the capacity of ordinary working-class people. This report clearly shows the danger of abandoning the housing sector to private profiteers. It is clear that the resources to build affordable and conducive houses are available; the only impediment is the pro-capitalist orientation of the government.

The housing crisis in Abuja has deeply affected the standard of living of the working people who have been forced to live in outskirt communities in the FCT as they cannot afford to pay high exorbitant rent within the city center of Abuja in areas like Maitama, Guzape, Asokoro,wuse etc which are the workplaces of many workers. But the majority of the low income earners, workers and middle-class people live in the outskirts and some in neighboring states like Niger and Nasarawa axis of Suleja and Maraba/Masaka areas.  This has resulted into difficulty in transportation to and fro from work and living in houses that lack basic amenities like security, road, water, mobile cellular network and electricity. Yet, rents are high and the standard of the building is low. This is the reality that the masses face in the FCT.

It is obvious that the Nigerian government has ceded the overall affairs of the housing sector to private individuals and profit seekers through various real estate companies. The silence of the past administration and the present Tinubu administration on the housing crisis has portrayed a sense of collusion between the government and capitalist interest to displace the Nigerian working class and the middle-class people from the city centres.

In the Democratic Socialist Movement, we call on the government to build decent, low-cost estates across the FCT and Nigeria at large to provide affordable housing units to workers and ordinary people. For us, housing is a right and the government must ensure Nigerians live in a decent environment. However, this cannot be achieved on the basis of the pro-capitalist approach of the government to housing. In fact, this approach, coupled with the demolition of communities and handing them over to private estate developers, continues to create more homeless people in Abuja. We demand that the government take control of the housing sector and ensure decent and affordable housing for ordinary Nigerians.

Also, there is no justification for the empty estates in Abuja while thousands of residents are homeless; the government must begin the process of allocating those houses to the poor people. Also importantly, the unjust demolition of houses, which has mostly been targeted at the poor masses with no provision of alternative accommodation must stop. Working masses must mobilize to fight for public housing organized in their interest and not in the interest of big business. Our struggle must also be linked to the need to establish a better organization of society to serve the interests of the working masses. This means fighting against the cruel system of capitalism, which has created misery for the majority while a tiny minority live in opulence; we must establish a society where the resources will be owned, managed and used in the interest of the working masses.