Changing housing policies and housing provision in Jos, Nigeria

Nigeria's housing problems have persisted regardless of changes in policy, strategies, actions and instruments. This study examines housing policy changes and factors that influence housing supply outcomes at the local level. The study reviews the state of housing provision in the national context. The focus is then turned to the city of Jos in north-central Nigeria, where institutional arrangements for the provision of housing are critically examined. Primary data was obtained through interviews with industry role players (government officers and house builders) and the views of people were sampled through a questionnaire survey. This data was then combined with secondary source material to examine financial mechanisms, subsidy provision and local-level organisational frameworks for partnership. The findings suggest that a shift from a state-led to an enabling approach for housing did stimulate the activities of private house-builders and primary mortgage institutions. However, their activities are not spread across the regions of Nigeria. The issue of equitable allocation of public housing across the regions of Nigeria by the federal agencies has not been addressed by the enabling policy framework. Further, the idea of decentralisation of housing provision was introduced but did not result in the formulation of strategies by the local authorities in Jos. The national housing policy itself appears to be ambiguous and difficult to implement by the authorities in Jos. The ambiguities arose because there is a lack of policy enforcement mechanism, political commitment, and a poor local organisation and coordination framework. These failures create uncertainties and risks for private house builders that partnered the government to access finance and subsidies for the provision of low-income housing in Jos. Also, there is limited participation of households due to lack of awareness on public policies. On the basis of the study's findings, some policy recommendations are made.