Stakeholders in the real estate sector have called for the development of critical skills needed for vertical building production to reduce existing housing gap estimated at over 22 million.
They argued that there was need to stop import of artisans from neighbouring countries by training local artisans and eradicating unemployment among the youths.
The Oniru of Iru land, Oba Gbolahan Lawal, led this call at 31st builders’ conference and yearly general meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Lagos Chapter.
Lawal said despite the need for compact, connected and coordinated city, the technical know-how to deploy vertical structure is lacking.
Speaking on ‘The Shifting Landscape: Redefining the Real Estate industry’, Lawal said: “With the growing population of Lagos, there is no way we can continue with the trajectory of building two or three units, we must innovate to do thousands of buildings in a short time with minimal cost.”
According to him, operatives in the sector must collaborate to train local artisans instead of continuing to import tillers, masons, and other artisans from neighbouring countries.
The State Commissioner for Housing, Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, said Lagos is facing serious challenges in the area of housing and infrastructure due to a rise in the number of people migrating into the state. This development, he said is increasing the need to build more houses.
The commissioner said there was the need to deploy technologies that also consider health, safety and cost. He challenged builders to brainstorm on technologies that can be use for vertical housing projects to make available affordable housing.
NIOB President, Prof. Yohana Izam, represented by the institute’s second Vice President, Bimbo Kolade, said the construction industry is growing at a very fast pace, with many private organisations and individuals coming into the space. He added that there has been a lot of shifting in the landscape, especially in the real estate sector.
The Special Adviser to Lagos governor on housing, Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, argued that the good reputation of the real estate industry must be sustained despite the incidences of building collapse, fraudulent and unprofessional practices in the real estate market.
On his part, the Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, represented by Prof. Modupe Omirin, said the real estate landscape in Nigeria has witnessed change in recent time due to social, economic factors, climate change, sea level rise, fire outbreaks affecting buildings across the nation, pandemics, groundbreaking innovations in materials, smart buildings, alternative sources of financing housing production, and building designs.
The landscape, she said is transforming in both positive and negative ways, hence, the need to pay attention to the sector and find lasting solutions to the issues.
Earlier, the chairman, local organising committee of the conference, Olusesan Phillips, said it is important to track progress, failures and close the gaps in the construction sector through strategic brainstorming.
“The global shutdown during the pandemic should make us think outside the box on how to improve production of local materials for construction consumption. Mortgages, insurance, harnessing local materials, ethic and professionalism and best practice are critical to discuss and engage collective minds,” he said.