HOUSING THE POOR: A VEHICLE FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION*

By

Emma O. Omuojine Principal Partner, Omuojine & Associates

0.0 ABSTRACTHousing the poor has become an intractable problem in the polity especially in the developing economies of Africa. The inability of government and the civil society in general to provide adequate housing for the poor has led to the creation of shanty towns, environmental degradation and spiraling poverty. There seems to be a correlation between the lack of housing and poverty. Using Nigeria as case study, the paper espouses the problems of housing the poor and explores the possibility of applying investment in public housing as a job creation stimuli and poverty alleviation.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Housing comprises a whole gamut of shelter, home and the attendant

infrastructures such as roads, water, electricity, communication and transportation

etc. While there may be a consensus on an appropriate definition of basic

housing, this presumption may not hold sway for poverty. Poverty can be defined

or viewed from various perspectives, to wit, *income levels and wages, social

welfare, assets, access to basic infrastructure, income per capita or affordability.

However, experience has shown that there is a direct correlation between housing

and poverty. The quality of housing and the standard of living or poverty are

covertly or directly proportionate. This paper using Nigeria as a case study,

*

through data, analysis, human development indicators and research attempts to

illustrate this correlation and demonstrate the role housing can effectively play in

any country’s quest for social order and poverty alleviation.

My case study is a paradox. The country is rich in natural and human resources

but the people are poor. A past American Assistant Secretary of State for African

Affairs, Susan Rice amplified this paradox in 2002 on a satellite programme when

she said that “Nigeria is too rich to be poor and too poor to be rich” How true!

2.0 ECONOMIC SCENARIO AND INDICES

Earnings from crude oil alone arguably the mainstay of the Nigerian economy,

was about 250 billion dollars between 1970 and 1999. The real per capita income

in 1994 was N1,250.00, a 50% fall from its 1980 figure of N2,900.00. In 1998 it

fell further to N1,000.00. Currently, the nation’s per capita income stands at about

N2,000.00. While the actual lowest income/wage in the public sector was

N1,373.00 in 1993, the wage in real terms at the 1986 prices was N182.00. By

1997, the value of the actual wage of N2,856.00 had declined in real terms to

N63.00. The slow and often times negative growth of the national economy

brought about by declining fortunes in crude oil prices, global inflation and the

mismanagement of the nation’s resources accounted for this distortion.(Omuojine

2000) The minimum wage in the public sector today is in the neighbourhood of

N7,500.00 per month while the national minimum wage is about N5,000.00 per

mensem. Applying the international poverty standard of one US dollar per person

per dien, it means that at the prevailing exchange rate any person with a take

home monthly wage below N4,000.00 is living below the poverty line. The

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Federal Office of Statistics in its 1998 survey report, estimates 17% of our urban

population as extreme poor and another 25% as moderate poor, that is, about 42%

of our urban population are living below the poverty line. It is further estimated

that about 90% of our rural population are today living below the poverty line

(Omuojine 2000). The United Nations estimates that 70% of our national

population are poor. Going by our national population figure of 140 million and

the above analysis, about 8 million of our urban population do not have access to

any form of housing, while about 11 million are at best accommodated in shanties

and make shift accommodation. Also applying the modest household size of 6

persons per room, the author is of the view that Nigeria would require about 3

million accommodation units to cater for the poor in our urban towns and cities.

An expert report posted by the Daily Independent newspaper states that Nigeria

would need to put in place about 12 to 17 million housing units in order to meet

the masses mind boggling housing deficit in the country. The author feels that

these figures are a little exaggerated but they are pointers to the colossal nature of

the housing problem in the country.

Housing does not pose much quantitative problems in the rural areas, the

problems are mainly in the quality of housing. It is however estimated that about

6 million housing units will be required in the villages and rural areas by way of

upgrade and replacement without the attendant environmental problems of slums

and squatter settlements (Omuojine 2000).

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3.0 HOUSING THE POOR

It has been established historically that prior to the colonial era, Nigeria did not

have the problem of housing either for the poor or the rich. The economy was

basically agrarian and settlements were rural including the semi-commercial

trading posts. Housing was readily available and in the event of extreme need,

was provided through communal co-operation or sweat labour. It could be said

without fear of contradiction that there was no dichotomy between rich and poor;

haves and have not. The author reckons that what existed was strong and lazy,

bold and cowardly; however, everybody was provided for according to his need

and means. Colonisation and the emergent monetary economy brought about the

development of complex urban environment and the attendant housing problem.

The worst influence of this development was that it killed most of our cherished

social values and our communal life style which ensured that no member of the

community was found wanting in any of the basic social needs including housing.

Urbanisation meant living in clusters, payment of house rent, buying of land to

build upon, borrowing to build and all the attendant problems associated with

owning a home. Under these circumstances, the poor is hardly able to compete

favourably as his resources are limited and hardly enough to sustain a living.

There is a plethora of literature espousing the fact that the colonial masters did not

make any provision for housing the poor and that subsequent governments since

independence towed similar line in not considering the poor in their housing

agenda. The result is that the poor have been compelled to live in less than human

conditions leading to slums and shanty settlements.

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4.0 MITIGATING FACTORS

A number of reasons have been proffered for the inability of the poor to

effectively house themselves in the absence of government or public patronage.

The major reasons mitigating against housing the poor being their low income

capacity, access to credit, land tenure system, high cost of building and the low

employment capacity of the economy.

4.1 Earning Capacity

No matter the annual wage of the poor, it is an incontrovertible fact that his

earning capacity is abysmally low that he can least provide for his basic life needs

and those of his family, let alone make any savings. It follows, therefore, that

where the poor manages to feed and cloth himself and members of his immediate

family, he may never be able to pay his rent or own a house of his own. It is

therefore unimaginable that the private sector will consider this category of

persons in its housing delivery system.

4.2 Rents

Rents for residential accommodation in our cities and urban centres are generally

high for obvious reasons. The oil boom, rural-urban migration, high housing

demand relative to supply, spiraling inflation and high cost of buildings contribute

in no small measure to the high rents regime. In recent times, the deregulation of

the economy, high cost of funds, high foreign exchange rate, the cascading fall in

the value of the local currency and the general depressed state of the national

economy have all conspired to make rents on residential accommodation to hit the

roof and out of the reach of the poor.

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4.3 Building Materials

Building materials and components are import dependent and that makes them

very expensive in the face of the value of the naira and global inflation. With the

low earning capacity of the poor, the building materials are rendered out of their

reach. The author is aware that some traditional alternative building materials

especially burnt or/and vibrated bricks and roof/ceiling tiles are locally produced

in the country, but their use has not been popularised while their production costs

are not competitive because of the problem associated with technology and

economies of scale.

4.4 Land Tenure System

Ironically, the national land policy, the Land Use Act whose intendment is to

make land easily available and accessible to all, constitutes a major clog in the

wheel of housing the poor. The Land Use Act enunciated to streamline the land

tenure systems in the country vests the ownership and radical title to all land in

the Federation on the Governors of the respective states for purposes of easy

management. However, the contentious issues of governor’s consent for any

subsequent transaction in land and the intractable government bureaucracy have

made the procurement of land problematic, unnecessarily expensive and

unquestionably out of the reach of the poor. To the poor, the government is a

distant phenomenon, very much out of his reach; his inability to procure land,

therefore, means that he cannot be seen to make any effort to build or construct a

house even on self help basis.

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4.5 Low Employment Capacity

Since the structural adjustment programme in 1986, the national unemployment

rate has been on the increase. The urban unemployment rate of 3.8% in 1993

which rose dramatically to 6.0% in 1997 is presently estimated at 10%. The rural

unemployment rate stood at 2.6% in 1997. It is being estimated that the current

composite unemployment rate is in the neighbourhood of 8.0% following the

deteriorating state of the national economy and the incessant retrenchments

embarked upon by the private and public sector in their restructuring exercises.

This is all the more worrisome if it is appreciated that the unemployed are mostly

within the virile age group which constitute about 40% of the national population.

The poor are all the worst for it because of their low technical/professional skills

which render them occupationally immobile.

TABLE 1

NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (1992 - 97)

Survey Period Composite Urban Rural

December 1993 2.7 3.8 2.5

December 1994 2.0 3.2 1.7

December 1995 1.8 3.9 1.6

December 1996 3.4 6.1 2.8

December 1997 3.7 6.0 2.6

Source: Federal Office of Statistics

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4.6 Collapse of Communal Life Style

The communal life style, which was indigenous to the Nigerian nation states, was

a veritable tool for catering for the needs of the poor and the underprivileged in

society. Under the system everybody was his brother’s keeper and everybody was

provided for according to his means or according to his needs. Nobody was left in

the cold as housing was regarded as a basic necessity of life. But the advent of

monetary economy and harsh economic conditions have changed all that with

every man to himself and the poor have been the worst for it.

4.7 National Housing Policy

Nigeria did not have a National Housing Policy until 1991 when a National

Housing Policy document was put in place. The policy document sets out the

institutional framework for housing delivery, land and settlement development

policy, issue of housing finance, building materials and construction costs,

strategies for mobilising private sector participation and ways and means of

addressing housing for the low income persons. Unfortunately, the document did

not make any provisions for, nor did it address the matter of , housing the poor.

This is in the face of the United Nations 1999 Report which places Nigeria as the

25th poorest nation in the world and lists 70% of her population as poor.

4.7 Human Development Index ( HDI )

Nigeria ranks abysmally low on the HDI scale. The HDI provides a complete

measure of three dimensions of human development (UNDP 2006); living long

and healthy life measured by life expectancy, being educated measured by adult

literacy and enrolment at the primary, secondary and tertiary level, and having a

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decent standard of living measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, and income.

The HDI provides a broadened prism for viewing human progress and the

complex relationship between income and well- being.

From the UNDP Human Development Report 2006 the HDI for Nigeria is 0.448 a

ranking of 159th out of 177 countries. This is against Swaziland 0.55 and Norway

0.965.

5.0 EXPERIENCE OF DEVELOPED NATIONS IN HOUSING

The analysis of the housing problems experienced by developed nations in the

past and their solutions in combating the problems bring certain issues clearly to

the fore, to wit, that the problems of adequate housing is universal and that

housing is inseparable from the social, economic and political development of

mankind.

Housing programmes in the United States and European nations (Britain, West

Germany now Germany, etc) share many similarities. These countries have at

one time or the other initiated public housing, urban renewal and new town

programmes. Public intervention in housing delivery became an inevitable tool in

solving emergency housing problems and the problems of housing the low-

income and the very poor in society.

Massive public-housing programmes were started after each of the world wars.

For example, by the 1970’s about one-third of Britain’s housing was publicly

subsidised.

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Also there was extensive provision and regulation of housing in the form of

subsidies for slum demolition and rental housing assistance e.g Germany provided

low or no-interest housing loans.

Suffice to mention at this point that housing in the former Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics (USSR) and in Eastern European nations was almost

exclusively characterised by government regulations and provisions. These

countries pioneered the production and installation of massive prefabricated

housing units in urban areas in the form of pre-cast concrete slabs manufactured

in factories and transported to housing sites where they were assembled into large

multi-family complexes. Also in the 1970’s, some developing nations turned to

self-help housing. Families were given plots of land and building materials to

construct or improve their houses, an approach commonly referred to as “ site-

and-services” programme. This method has been implemented on a large scale in

India and many South American countries with considerable success.

International Organisations like the World Bank (IBRD), the United Nations

Commission on Human Settlements and the United States Agency for

International Development assist housing development and upgrading of housing

standards in some developing countries.

Housing being a critical component in the social and economic fabric of all

nations, no country is yet satisfied that adequate housing has been delivered to the

various economic groups that make up its populace, hence most nations continue

to claim a housing problem in one form or another.

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From the beginning of the 1990s, most western countries were facing a critical

shortage of affordable housing for low and middle-income wage earners as well

as for the poor and the rising numbers of homeless people in the cities. Higher

home prices plus a reduction in low-income housing led to a greater demand for

rented accommodation, which resulted in higher rents and fewer available rental

units. Also different types of housing are required additionally, to meet the needs

of people with disabilities, as well as of the elderly people and those living alone.

A variety of solutions were proffered including rehabilitating public housing,

organising public-private partnerships, issuing housing vouchers, granting public

funds to non-profit making developers, amending zoning restrictions, improving

mortgage guarantee programmes and encouraging companies to provide housing

assistance programmes for their employees.

In developing nations, as in Nigeria, raw housing demand is still largely unmet

with the result that many of the citizens find themselves forced to live in shanties

and shanty towns, settlements, in which the houses have very little or no

infrastructure, usually without water, sanitation, electricity or roads. The houses

are largely built by residents themselves, made from improvised materials that

come on hand and constructed often on land where no building rights exist or on

illegally squatted land.

6.0 HOUSING AS A TOOL FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION

In the hierarchy of challenges confronting Africa, poverty eradication is one of

the most important (Lufumpa 1999). Poverty is not the same as inequality

although it is closely related to it. To be poor is not just to have less than others, it

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is also to be without the means of securing the necessary requirements of life

(Novak 1988). Governments believe that the housing of ordinary families could

safely be left to the forces of unfettered demand and supply. The sorry results of

this policy of laissez-faire in housing are with us today; shacks, decrepit

buildings, slums, shanty settlements and ghettos. To begin to correct this

anomaly, it is necessary to put in place an institutional framework which ensures

that the long term goal of sustainable development is achieved which inter-alia

includes the development of legal and land tenure systems as well as the adoption

of best practices for urban and rural development (Castle et al 1996).

The best way to empower the poor is to let them benefit from their factors of

production, land and labour. However, poor people will in all probability have

little or no access to capital. It therefore behoves on governments to improve their

access to capital; and housing constitutes a major tool that government can use to

achieve this objective..

For a start, the existing land policy will have to be revisited. It is now obvious that

the Land Use Act calls for a serious amendment or abrogation in line with the

realities of the management problems on ground. The National Assembly has

made far reaching recommendation on this amendments but it is yet to be enacted

into law. Suffice to say that the cost of land and land documentation has made

land very expensive and out of the reach of the poor under the current government

monopoly and over centralisation of land transactions. A deregulation of land or a

more sanguine arrangement would ensure the availability of land to every citizen

including the poor according to his means.

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Also, the National Housing Policy document will have to be revisited to give due

consideration to housing the poor. The first step being for government to legislate

on public housing for the poor as the exclusive preserve of the local governments.

Being a grass root government, local governments are in the best position to

identify the rightful beneficiaries. This will to a great extent avert the situation

where government builds for those who could afford to build for themselves

rather than build for those who may never be able to afford any form of housing.

A pool of funds should be provided to the local government for the provision of

public housing through direct construction; the houses will thereafter be rented

out or let out to the poor at subsidised rents or through rent vouchers. It is

imperative that traditional alternative building materials like bricks, floor tiles and

clay roof members be used and the construction undertaken by direct labour with

essential participatory component from the people themselves. Local artisans like

bricklayers, carpenters, ironmongers, plumbers, electricians, painters and casual

labourers will be called on to the construction sites. The advantages of using the

traditional alternative materials which are home grown is that “they have the

potential of developing good quality housing at an affordable cost and in a

sustainable way”. In addition, they are also capable of alleviating poverty through

the creation of jobs and income redistribution occasioned by their numerous

linkages and multiplier effects. (Opoko 2000). Housing construction is labour

intensive constituting between 30 and 40 percent of cost of construction. Where

government undertakes the direct construction of public housing, their

employment and multiplier effect in the economy can best be imagined. Housing

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is one investment that promotes income distribution in a very effective manner.

All the building components have labour inputs while it is not possible for a

single or few individuals to earn all the income on the labour component of the

actual construction.

TABLE 2

LABOUR GENERATION ON CONSTRUCTION OF ONE BUNGALOW OVER AVERAGE OF

THREE MONTH PERIOD

Artisans Labour/Person

Mason/Bricklayer 1Carpenter 2Plumber plus Assistant 2Ironmonger plus Assistant 2Electrician 1Painter 1Casual Worker 5Supervisor 1

TOTAL 15

Omuojine (2000)

TABLE 3

LABOUR GENERATION IN BRICK PRODUCTION

Method Labour Input per 10 million bricks (person per year)

Small Scale (Traditional Manual) 160Small Scale (Intermediate and Alternative Technology) 200Soft–Mud Machine otherwise Manual 76Moderately Mechanised 20Highly Automated 8

Source: Tipple (1993) A.P. Opoko (2000)

As a tool for job creation and poverty alleviation, the construction of simple and

functional housing through direct labour, the development of a bungalow would

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create jobs and income for about 15 skilled and unskilled workers over a three

month construction period as illustrated in Table 2. The use of alternative

building materials under the small scale intermediate technology has the attribute

of creating additional jobs for the unemployed (see Table 3)

TABLE 4

JOB CREATION IN CONSTRUCTION OF ONE RESIDENTIAL BUNGALOW OVER A THREE

MONTH PERIOD

Bungalow (No) Job/Persons Vibrated Bricks Jobs/Persons Required (No.)

1 15 5,000 0.6

1,000 15,000 5,000,000 600

10,000 150,000 50,000,000 6,000

20,000 300,000 100,000,000 12,000

50,000 750,000 250,000,000 30,000

100,000 1,500,000 500,000,000 60,000

Omuojine (2000)

The implication of this is that, an investment by government of say 100,000

housing units in functional housing through direct intervention and the peoples

participation would create about 390,000 jobs for semi-skilled and unskilled

labour over a one year period. (See Table 4).

The direct intervention of government in the construction of public housing, with

the essential participation of the people themselves in the actual construction is a

sure way of tackling the problem of housing, unemployment and poverty.

Also the provision of sites and services schemes in urban towns by government

for all categories of income groups with the provision of serviced stands on an

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aided self-help basis will go a long way in providing on the site jobs and

employment and alleviating poverty.

Another aspect of housing for the poor which lends itself to poverty alleviation is

urban renewal and slum clearance schemes. The residential neighbourhoods of the

poor, the squatter settlements, shanties and ghettos lend themselves more easily to

urban renewal and resettlement schemes. The fundamental mistake often made by

government is that they rarely put the people into confidence in the

redevelopment schemes. It is important that the poor participate in the decisions

affecting them. To be effective, urban renewal should not be taken and embarked

upon in one fell swoop; it is better to phase the redevelopment in order not to

radically distort the social and economic lives of the poor inhabitants. The Lagos

State Government is currently superintending the infrastructural renewal of

commercial Lagos Island in a phased plan with minimal distortion to the

economic activities of the island.

Further, the inhabitants should be involved by way of employment opportunities

in the reconstruction and redevelopment schemes especially the housing units

which may undergo total reconstruction or upgrading. Where this is done, urban

renewal and housing will become a veritable employment stimulus and an

effective vehicle for poverty alleviation.

It is important to note that aside from the issue of land and housing policy of

government which as postulated in this paper must have to be addressed,

concerted effort must be made through cooperation between the public and

private sectors on the economy including the non-governmental agencies and the

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entire civil society to create the enabling institutional environment for

empowering the poor so that they are able to take the full advantage of the

employment opportunities in a sustainable way. In this regard, education, training

and skill development become a sine qua non, they basically constitute the

inevitable tool with which the poor can take due advantage of basic technology

and purge themselves of the ignorance of the opportunities that abound.

Also, housing cooperatives formed by groups of beneficiaries or potential home

owners should be encouraged. This will enable beneficiaries to pool their

resources together and participate significantly in the provision of their own

housing in a significant African tradition. Cooperatives have the cardinal

advantage of accessing group education and training in a convenient and cost

effective way. It will be easy for local authorities and other agencies to provide

technical, administrative, training and financial assistance to the cooperatives.

Further, it will be possible for members to take full advantage of employment

opportunities that will be made available in the housing delivery system. And

because such cooperatives are expected to be non-profit making, housing will be

available to the members at rock bottom or subsidised rentals and relatively low

cost. Above all, it will ensure an equitable distribution of housing to those who

need them and the hitherto impoverished.

To stimulate additional employment in the economy, the Federal Government

should revitalise the moribund Employees Housing Scheme as provided in the

Employees Housing Scheme (Special Provisions) Decree No 54 of 1979

compelling employers of labour with a given level of annual profits to develop

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housing estates for housing their workers in the junior or working class cadre and

encouraging the patriotic act of utilising traditional alternative materials in their

construction. Incentives by government will be by way of provision of land

including basic infrastructure, tax concessions and tax exemptions. The private

developers scheme currently being enabled by both the Federal and some State

Governments only provide for the few rich and the super rich and does not in any

way rob off on the poor majority.

7.0 RESEARCH

Before concluding this paper, it is necessary to mention the issue of research and

its importance in housing development and delivery. The Nigerian Building Road

and Research Institute, Ota in Ogun State and a few institutions of higher learning

in the country have made quite an inroad into the use of local raw materials in the

production of alternative building components like burnt bricks, vibrated bricks,

clay floor tiles, ceiling tiles and clay roofing sheets.

Our research stethoscope must now be on wood and timber. Timber is one raw

material that abound in this country but strangely enough, its use has not been

fully explored. Timber can build and sustain a house from floor to roof. A timber

house raised on columns or props will consist of timber walls, timber window

frames and shutters, timber doors, timber ceiling boards on timber trusses.

Research will see to its appropriate treatment against weathering, termite

infestation and fire retardant stock (Omuojine 1986). The use of timber on this

grand scale in housing will make housing not only more available to the poor, but

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will create additional jobs in the wood industry, a familiar terrain to our teaming

rural populace.

8.0 CONCLUSION

A discussion on housing is usually open ended, a conclusion is often difficult

except within the confines of the scope one has set for himself. From the expose

of this paper, you can draw your conclusions but one fact is evident, the state of a

nation’s property stock and housing is a reflection of the state of its economy and

the welfare of its people. “See Paris and Die” as the old saying goes is epitomised

in the Eiffel Tower and the breath taking buildings and structures in Paris. In an

ailing economy, it is housing that suffers the most neglect as it is the least

serviced in the priority of government, corporate bodies and individuals because

of the dearth of funds and funding. Ironically, a well ordered investment in

housing is the best tool for turning such an economy around for the better.

The development of public housing produces and creates instant capital and

increased national wealth. It is therefore important that government sees

expenditure on housing not as mere political expediency and provision of social

services but as investment capable of creating and adding value, national wealth,

employment and contributing in giant measures towards poverty alleviation of our

suffering and impoverished majority.

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9.0 REFERENCES

Annual Abstract of Statistics–1998 Edition: Federal Office of Statistics, Abuja, Nigeria

pp 72 – 75.

Land Use Act Cap 202 LFN 1990

Lufumpa, Charles Loyeka, Towards Sustainable Development – The Poverty

Environment Nexus: Published in The African Economy, Policy Institutions and The

Future edited by Steve Kiyizzi Mugerna, Routlege 1999.

Nigeria, Poverty In the Midst of Plenty, The Challenge of Growth: A World Bank

Poverty Assessment Report No 14733 – UNI of May 31, 1996.

Novak, Tony, Poverty and the State – An Historical Sociology: Open University Press,

Philadelphia 1988.

Omuojine, E. O. Evolving A Paradigm For Housing The Low-Income Worker in

Nigeria: The Estate Surveyor and Valuer, Vol. 23 No. 4 January 2000

Omuojine, E. O. Housing The Urban Poor–Challenge of the New Millenium: Paper

presented at the Eko Millenium 2000, 30th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Institution

of Estate Surveyors and Valuers at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos 21st – 25th March,

2000.

Omuojine, E. O. Housing The Poor in the New Millenium: Which Way Forward? :

Invited Guest Paper presented at the National Symposium/Workshop on Development

and Use of Alternative Building Materials in Nigeria, organised by Nigerian Building and

Road Research Institute at NBRRI National Laboratory and Production Complex, Ota,

Ogun State 9th – 11th August, 2000.

Pollard, Sydney, The Development of the British Economy 1914 – 1980 Arnold, 1988

Opoko, A. P. (Arc/Mrs) Problems Militating Against the Use of Alternative Building

Materials and Construction Technologies in Nigeria: Paper presented at the National

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Symposium on Development and Use of Alternative Building Materials in Nigeria

NBRRI, Ota, Ogun State 9th – 11th August, 2000.

UNDP Human Development Report 2006.

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