Soaring rents spark outcry as Kogi battles housing crisis

Correspondent GBENGA ODOGUN writes on how a lack of policy in the last eight years has sparked a shortfall in housing in Kogi State, which has led to soaring rents in capital city Lokoja and other parts of the state

Last May, Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, directed the immediate commencement of work at the proposed 1,000 units’ housing estate under the Renewed Hope Housing Project in the state.

Ododo disclosed this when the management of the Federal Housing Authority, led by its Managing Director, Ayotunde Ojo, on a working visit to Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

He noted that the meeting was aimed at finalising preparations for the implementation of the RHHP in the state, which he said was a demonstration of his administration’s resolve to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

Ododo noted that Kogi was critical to the actualisation of the Federal Government’s policy to provide affordable housing for the Nigerian populace under the RHA in view of the strategic location of the state.

“As a state that borders nine other states and the FCT, our population growth and the effect of urbanisation and migration to the state from neighbouring states and the FCT for social and economic reasons has significantly impacted housing needs in Kogi State,” Ododo said.

“It will be the most strategic choice for the FHA through the RHHP of Mr. President to consider Kogi State as a prime location for the Renewed Hope City.

“Kogi State is hereby allocating 100 hectares of land to the FHA to commence the building of the Renewed Hope City with full compensation paid by the government.”

Kogi State is experiencing a housing deficit that is contributing to the region’s economic challenges and increasing hardship for residents, which have made housing units more competitive, resulting in high rental prices that are often beyond the reach of the people.

Since Kogi State was carved out of Kwara and Benue states on August 27, 1991 by the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), housing challenges have starred residents of the state, named after River Kogi, in the face.

This may have informed the decisions of early governors of the young state, namely Colonel Danladi Zakari, who was the military administrator in 1991 , Colonel Paul Omeruoh, Colonel Zhigulassa Afakariya, Colonel Augustine Aniebo, Prince Abubakar Audu, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris and Captain Idris Wada, all of who embarked on various housing projects, particularly in the state capital, Lokoja.

In fact, two of the former governors have at least one housing estate named after them – the Aniebo Quarters named after Colonel Aniebo and Wada Estate named after Captain Wada. The arrival of Audu for the first time in 1992 brought massive revolution in housing projects in the state .

In addition to the Old Poly Quarters, Lokongoma, Phase1&2 and the Assembly Quarters, his first term projects, his second coming in 1999 also saw another round of massive housing projects in the state with the construction of first 900 housing units and the Commissioners Quarters.

However, the narrative changed with the arrival in 2015 of Yayaha Bello, who did not construct a single housing project in eight years.

The resultant effect of this led to massive shortfall of housing, particularly in Lokoja, the state capital.

This is due to the influx of people from neigbouring sister states Kwara and Benue, other towns and villages within the state and beyond, in search of opportunities and better life in the Confluence State.

Residents, including civil servants, have continued to lament about the skyrocketing house rents in the state.

Some residents said if the rate at which landlords were increasing house rents in Lokoja and other parts of the state was not checkmated immediately by the state government, depression, which could lead to death, might be on the increase in Kogi State.

Abdullahi Umar, a resident of Adankolo, said, “It is alarming the way and manner landlords are increasing house rents here. In Nigeria today, we are faced with hardship, many of us can’t send children to school again. Now, house rent has hit the roof. Who did we offend in this country?

“Kogi State is even worse because these landlords don’t have pity on Kogi residents that are managing to earn a living. Imagine, I was paying N35,000 for one room, woke up one morning and my landlord said the house rent had increased to N90,000 without any renovations. This is the height of wickedness. We barely feed two times a day and we are still battling with landlord issues. This must stop.”

Another resident, who identified herself as Hajia Mulikat Adomu, stated that the government should come up with a policy or law that would check the excesses of landlords in the state.

According to her, some landlords are deliberately frustrating and inflicting pains on their tenants.

“Just because we don’t have any option, they keep treating us like rags,” Adomu said.

“Government should please come to our aid. I believe when the government builds housing estates for residents and at subsidised rates, it will ameliorate the sufferings of the masses and stop the consistent exploitations of the people by landlords in the state.”

Fredrick Odimayo, a journalist resident in Lokoja, told The PUNCH that landlords now preferred to rent their houses to fraudsters popularly known as Yahoo Boys.

Odimayo said he coughed out N250,000 for a one-bedroom apartment in Lokongoma Phase2 last month.

“My experience while searching for a house to rent recently was not sweet at all; houses have been hijacked by the highest bidders,” Odimayo said.

“This has been triggered by advance fee fraudsters, who are willing to pay any amount of rent and landlords, who prefer to rent out their houses to these Yahoo boys at the expense of genuine tenants with legitimate means of livelihood.”

This is happening despite the state’s Security Adviser Jerry Omadara’s warning to landlords to stop renting their houses to internet fraudsters.

In an interactive session recently in Lokoja, Omadara warned landlords that their houses risked demolition if they continued to give their apartments to Yahoo Boys.

He said, “Security agencies will soon go after houses and hotels used by Yahoo Boys.  Appropriate sanctions will be handed to affected landlords and hospitality facilities.”

He revealed that government, in partnership with security agencies, had identified houses built with proceeds of criminal activities and those housing men of the underworld, insisting that such houses would soon be demolished.

Omodara urged residents to assist government and security agencies with necessary information to arrest internet fraudsters in the state.

Another Lokoja resident, Suleiman Maikudi, said it took him almost three weeks to secure a one-bedroom apartment in a three-bedroom flat for N250,000 in Lokoja. The amount excludes electricity, security and water bills, he added.

This is after he took temporary refuge in a hotel after he lost his accommodation last August. He had incurred over N100,000 in hotel bills before he eventually secured accommodation earlier this month.

Estate manager Peter Suleiman said Governor Ododo should continue his policy of radical departure from his predecessor by embarking on construction of 1,000 housing units for civil servants in Kogi State.

“Things are very hard as we speak. Nigerians generally find it difficult to feed themselves daily, aside paying exorbitant house rent.

“We can safely conclude that Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, is fast becoming the most expensive town to live in the northern part of the country in terms of high rent people are forced to pay,” Suleiman, the Chief Executive Officer, Good Trust Properties Limited, Lokoja told our correspondent.

“Governor Ododo will be writing his name in gold when he builds the housing estate for civil servants to address the issues of housing workers are facing currently.”

When asked if the state government under the leadership of Governor Ododo had any plan to embark on housing projects as others before him had done, the Special adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Ismaila Isah, said, “Yes. We already have a partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank to build 1,000 housing units in Lokoja under the Renewed Hope Housing Project.”

He said the state government had allocated land for the project with the Certificate of Occupancy given to the FMB already, adding, “Work is likely to commence soon.”