By ABAH SUNDAY, Abuja
Managing Director , Leisure Court Estate Limited, Mr Segun Abolaji has called for proper regulation of the activities of players in the Nigerian housing sector by the federal government in order to make the planned affordable housing for all a reality in the country.
Abolaji made this call on Thursday during the opening ceremony of a 2-day Real Estate/Housing Reporters’ Workshop in Abuja, even as some other speakers agreed that owing to the rising cost of building materials, there was urgent need for government to introduce subsidy as done in other equally critical sectors.
The Theme of the Workshop is, “Promoting Real Estate investment through Informed Media Alliance and Sustained Reporter’s Professionalism through Capacity Building.
According to Abolaji, the if we are going to have affordable housing the first thing that government should do is to make land affordable by regulating the ownership of lands.
“There is no regulation for the real estate in Nigeria, unlike in America, where possession of land is regulated.
“It is even difficult for real estate people to apply for land and get direct allocations than the politicians who are not pressed to sell the land because they do not need the money and resell at exorbitant prices to real estate practitioners.
“Another factor why affordable houses cannot be realistic is because the cost of cement and building materials. Only Gipson is sourced outside the country yet the cost of building materials are skyrocketing.”
He added that Nigerian attitude is also part of the problem, people take undue advantage of every situation making the business challenging for the practitioners, because it all adds to make housing costly.
Speaking on Journalism Ethics, Rules and Conventions, Dr Maho Austin said journalism has the key function of informing the public.
He, however, said in doing it is the ability to to adhere to the ethics of journalism that makes a true journalist.
Austin said journalists must observe the ABC of journalism which are Accuracy, Balance and Clarity.
He called on journalists to carry out their reportage with fairness and balance.
On his part, Dr Law Mefor, a Media Communication Consultant, speaking on Journalism and the Business Environment government should make policies that will discourage money laundering using empty houses inorder to reduce housing deficit.
He said business journalism is to make correct financial analysis and make it available to the public.
Adding that external factors and internal factors such as economic political, social ,technological and legal environment.
Speaking on housing deficit he said
government could strategically intervene to force down rates of building materials by providing infrastructure.”
Also he said that access to land should be made easy and government should construct mass houses and give them out on mortgage so that people who have regular income can take.
He called on reporters interrogate the government policies, hold government accountable and to engage the government on the issue of mass housing by reporting responsibly.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, Property and Infrastructure Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PICAN) Mr Tope Sunday, called on government to subsidise building materials.
He said if government could subsidise electricity and petrol then government should subsidise cement and other building materials to make housing affordable.