Tackling Nigeria’s Housing Crisis: A Radical Proposal for Eradicating Slum

The State of Housing in Nigeria: After Thousands of Housing Projects, Millions Still Homeless.

With only a few units shy of reaching 1000 housing units that I've been directly involved in, I still don't understand why after thousands of Mass Housing projects, we still have a 25 million housing shortage.

Well, mathematically, a few thousand houses can't house millions. (see what I did there? l😀l)

And yes, I know the problem isn't the lack of houses. The issue here’s…the available houses are not affordable. This conversation ‘is really far’, but for this one, I'll stick to what I've observed from studying how ‘affordable’ housing projects (sincerely) react to market realities of demand and supply. 

Mass housing, either for profit or impact, typically attempts to be unbiased in meeting the ‘affordability’ criteria across different social/economic classes. Say for example, a 1000-unit project releases 100 units for high class, 400 for medium class, and 500 for low class. While this is often the intent for these projects, the reality changes as soon as they're released to the market.
What typically happens is:

• The low class typically do not have the cash nor credit to buy,
• The demand from the high class quickly overwhelms the supply,
• To meet the demand, the high class is encouraged to consider the medium units,
• Consequently, the medium typically picks up the low-class units,

The result/implication of this is:

• The high class often buys for profit, mainly from rent that most medium-class can't afford…This is why we have empty housing estates
• The medium class buys for stability, which means they sometimes let their units for more than they're actually worth (remember they were built for low-income class). This is why we pay outrageous rent for unbefitting houses.

Many other human-influenced reactions are layered upon this background that has led to an exponential growth in homelessness figures. But beyond just trying to understand causes, I am doing something about it.

As I embarked on this journey, I uncovered several insights into the true state of homelessness in Nigeria. The issues extend beyond just blaming the government; they involve fundamental problems that we, as a society, need to address. 

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The Slum Dilemma; Understanding Housing from the Nigerian Context

We often import city planning models from other countries without considering whether they fit our unique context —what I call "copy-pasting without the Nigerian flavor." 

While these models may have worked elsewhere, they fail to address the disparities in culture, lifestyle and the various inclinations that differentiate the Nigerian society. Typically, city planning is full of trial and errors, and many of the countries we emulate have spent years refining their approaches, yet we try to adopt their methods wholesale, ignoring the vast differences in our economic and social environments.

For instance, the cost of living and income levels in Nigeria are vastly different from those in other countries. While some countries have government frameworks that control housing markets, such systems are often absent in Nigeria. 

This discrepancy leads to persistent issues like slum development in our cities. These informal settlements, as often referred to, and often seen as eyesores, are a response to the high cost of living and unaffordable rents. This is connected to why we haven't been able to successfully address slum, mistaken to occur on its own, as an isolated inconvenience that must be dealt with.

Slum development is a persistent issue in our cities. Despite government efforts to eradicate them, slums continue to resurface because the underlying economic factors remain unaddressed. Housing is a basic need, and when people can't afford traditional housing, they naturally create alternatives…temporary shelters.

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Slum for Slum; An Hypothesis for Inclusivity.

Here goes the hypothesis: what if we used slums, that is, create slum, as a tool to combat slum development? Let me explain. 

Just as the police once adopted a "fire-for-fire" approach to combat armed robbery, we could consider a "slum-for-slum" strategy to address housing challenges. Here’s how it could work: 

• The government, through local councils or LGAs, would allocate and create specific areas for temporary housing, shed or "batcher" development.
• These zones would be designated for slum development, with residents paying a fee (for Identification, waste management, welfare et.c) to the government for a fixed tenure. Like they would have had to pay ‘area landlords’ had it been a typical unauthorized slum. 
• In return, they would be guaranteed safety and protection from eviction during this period. As opposed to the usual and frequent eviction from unauthorized zones (e.g public air spaces, parks and gardens)
• During this period, the government can leverage this initiative to outlaw and penalize unauthorized slum dwellings.
• Once the tenure expires, the government would reclaim the land, since the residents were fully aware of the temporary nature of their stay from the onset.

I expect resistance like…”this sounds good on paper, how will it work? How will it benefit city planning?"
This approach could offer few short term benefits to the residents with some (long-term) cascading benefits for city planning. 

1. Controlled Development: By concentrating temporary housing in designated areas, the government can better manage and regulate these developments.This controlled environment where temporary housing can exist without the constant threat of demolition will help the ‘honestly’ incapable citizens the fortitude of stability to rebound. Sometimes, all we need is just a moment of help, and a willing government can be inntentional in helping its weak.

“A team is only as strong as its weakest link”, they say.

2. Revenue Generation: While not the primary goal, this system could generate some revenue for the state.

3. Security and Stability: Residents would have the peace of mind knowing their homes won’t be demolished overnight, fostering a sense of security and stability.

Over time, this strategy could be refined and expanded, potentially evolving into a rent-to-own model that allows the long-term residents to become homeowners. While this is not a quick fix, it represents a long-term vision for gradually upgrading slums into permanent, sustainable communities.

You can watch the video version of this discussion:

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It May Not Work, But Why Not Try?

This proposal is not a short-term solution—it’s a long-term strategy aimed at transforming slums into viable housing options. It will also require a bold government to even try, so it seems far-fetched, but I believe it’s worth exploring. 

What do you think? Could this “slum-for-slum” approach be a viable solution to Nigeria’s housing crisis? I’d love to hear your thoughts. 

Thank you for your time.