In Ogun state, housing is not a privilege but a right for every citizen – Jamiu Akande Omoniyi

Recently you were awarded the ‘Best Commissioner for Housing while the Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun bagged the Housing Friendly Governor of the Year, 2020 in Nigeria during Nigeria Housing Awards, 2020 by Housing Development Advocacy Network. How can you describe these awards?

The award is a testimony of the collective effort the government of Prince Dapo Abiodun put in place to deliver affordable and functional housing schemes across the length and breadth of Ogun State. In Ogun state, we believe that housing is not a privilege but a right for every citizen, whether you are in the formal sector or informal sector. The philosophy and concept is such that we want to take housing delivery to all the nooks and crannies of Ogun state, to all the twenty (20) Local Government Areas of Ogun state, to all the 136 wards in the state and across the three (3) senatorial districts. We are determined to make it more than affordable and in a bid to do that, we, first of all came up with a good housing and mortgage policy and as a matter of fact, we have one of the best if not the best robust housing and mortgage policy in the whole of the country. Assessing the fact that the buying power of an average Ogun citizen is not as high as compared to that of Lagos state, FCT, Rivers state and some other oil-producing states, we came up with the policy that our houses must have the least entry barriers such that the least person can actually key into our programme.

What are the entry levels for the houses in Ogun State?

The entry levels of our houses are within the range of N4.5million for a 2-bedroom expandable unit. We call it an expandable unit because we have given room for it to be expanded at a later date to a 3 bedroom apartment according to your pocket, taste and family size. So, this is our entry point and we encourage all our subscribers to go through mortgage policy. We are the only state across the 36 states of Nigeria that believes that everything should be at least 90% to 95% mortgage paid. We also know that Ogun state government has an investment in Gateway Mortgage Bank. Gateway Mortgage Bank is one of the most capitalized mortgage banks in the country and the state government is fully backing it up with all necessary inputs. The mortgage bank is at the peak of its game, giving mortgages to people and in a partnership with Federal Mortgage Bank and Family homes. We are doing wholly collaborative venture so that at the end of the day we can deliver what an average person in Ogun state can actually call his home. Two sister agencies are involved under the leadership of the Honorable Commissioner, the team captain of the housing industry. We also have the Ministry of Housing doing its own as well as Ogun State Housing Corporation. Both entities have the mandate to deliver these social housing schemes. We are doing a whole lot of things mainly delivering of houses. The economic impact is such that we want to touch almost all the strata of our economy. The low income earners will be the ones to provide artisans on sites. Within the first phase, 130 housing units were delivered and we also employed 947artisans between March and May 2020. As a government, within that period we were able to engage 947 artisans, the multiplying effect is such that an average artisan in Ogun state or anywhere in Nigeria will have a wife, two children and probably parents so one person has about 5 additional people attached to him/her that depend on him for their daily sustenance. Now, the implication is that we must have provided means of sustenance for at least 4,500 to 5,000 families with 4,500 people within a space of 3 months on just 130 housing units. As we speak, we are on site in 9 different locations, which are, Ijebu-Ode, Otta, Ilaro, Iperu ……….. working at different levels  and I can tell you that a visit to one of our sites will let you know what we stand for and what we have done. We moved to Kopakpe….on September 26 and as we speak, we have 150 plots of lands at different levels.

What is the place of OPIC and MAGUN city in the provision of housing in Ogun State?

These are part of what we are doing. Maple city is a product of Ogun state Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC) which is also a sister agency but just like ministry of housing and housing corporation, it concentrates on the low income, the affordable houses, OPIC does more of profit-oriented high ends and middlemen. OPIC is also under the housing sector in Ogun state but while other focus on low income and affordable houses, social housing schemes, OPIC generates profit and not just housing, it delves into other ventures.

What can you say about Ogun State in brief?

The truth of the matter is that in Ogun state today, we have some things that other states do not have. Ogun state is a Gateway state and that already gives us the cooperative advantage over states. Lagos state is the third largest economy in Africa but you cannot get to Lagos state without going through Ogun state, you cannot connect anywhere in Nigeria through Lagos state without passing through Ogun state and Ogun state is bounded by Lagos state, Oyo state, Ondo state and international borders and that means we are surrounded by economies. We have come to realize that these cooperative advantages have pull-factors and also the push-factors. Part of the pull-factors is that trades revolving around this area must always pass through Ogun state so that population keeps increasing daily. There are no lands in Lagos state so the next destination point becomes Ogun state. This means people can actually work in Lagos or Ibadan and live in Ogun state. That corridor has also opened an area of opportunities for the state to tap into and these are the leverages that we have and we believe that the market is there.

Housing for all 2020…what could be the problem?

I won’t criticize any previous government. Everyone has come to do their own best and go but it’s good to make policies but we have seen that our problem in Nigeria is policy implementation. Let me give you an instance, the Dangote cement factory that we have in Igbeshe, Ogun state has actually been provided for since 1960 and never came into limelight until about ten to fifteen years ago. Implementation has been our problem but I believe things are changing gradually even though it has created a lot of gap but I believe that with the sincerity of purpose in the government that we have now and those that will come later and with the fact that Nigerians are now up and doing as we have the ‘soro soke’ generation. I believe with that people will begin to ask more questions and that would put the government on their toes and I’m sure implementation of good plans and programmes should not be a problem.

What are your greatest achievements so far, as the Commissioner for Housing in Ogun State?

The major achievement that we recorded was enacting and passing into law the closure and mortgage law. We are the first government during this dispensation since May 2019 and the third state in the whole federation that has gotten that done so far. Secondly, our ability to deliver 130 housing units within 3 months even during the pandemic was a major feat. Thirdly, we came up with a policy to deliver 2,500 housing units within the first term of this administration. Currently, we are on 1,623 out of the proposed 2,500 in 9 different locations in Ogun state and we are doing that with our own internally generated funding. We have not taken a dime from any financial institution but it is fully funded by the state government. Also, Ogun state has been selected as one of the states to pilot the federal government’s economic programme on housing. We have been chosen alongside five other states in the whole of Nigeria to deliver 10,000 housing units. It has been in the news for the past one week. The vice president and president of Nigeria have been on air stating the scheme. The proposals have been submitted and it’s with the CBN receiving due attention. If that comes into actualization, we will deliver 10,000 housing units and we will engage a minimum of 75,000 to 95,000 direct artisans in Ogun state and that would mean the economic empowerment of nothing less than 450,000 to 500,000 individuals in Ogun state within the next two and a half years of this administration. To cap it up, recently, the governor of the state was decorated as the best performing governor in social housing in the whole of Nigeria and I was also voted as the best commissioner for housing in the whole of Nigeria. These are landmark achievements that we have been able to record and they have been able to stand us out and I believe we are not resting on our horse as we will continue to do more. We want to make housing a right of every citizen of Ogun state in the formal and informal sector and to achieve this, we will not rest until people can be happy to have a roof over their heads, to have direct job placement, during this period. These are targets that go along with our achievements and our projections for the next 2 and half years.

How can you describe your governor?

Talking about my governor, I hope people would not say I’m just being political but he is the best boss anyone could wish to work with. Prince Dapo Abiodun is a consummate leader, a professional, a thorough bred one and someone who has penchant for details. When you have a boss that pays attention to details, you can’t but get things rightly done which is why everything we have done so far is with finesse, level of accuracy and perfection. He is a man that supports good intentions, ideas and he is ready to go all way to deliver.

Best legacy you want to leave behind

I am the 14^th commissioner for housing in Ogun state and I want to leave a legacy of being the best for centuries to come in terms of provision of affordable houses, in terms of being accountable to people and all the relevant stakeholders and I would love to walk on the street of Abeokuta or any part of Nigeria and people would point at me as the man that has given them a roof over their heads.