According to Kingsley Moghalu, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and founder and CEO of Sogato Strategies LLC, if Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, does not unlock the potential in its property industry and resolve the Land Use Act, its wealth creation opportunity will remain untapped.
Moghalu acknowledged that there were reasons for the Land Use Act’s creation, but said the “period has passed.”
“I demand that the Land Use Act be constitutionally repealed because it creates unnecessary bureaucracy and restricts what people may do with their land,” he stated.
The country’s 44-year-old Land Use Act, among other things, limits access to affordable housing in Nigeria.
The difficulty in acquiring land for real estate development could mean – less inventory in the market or the available products will come at a higher cost as access to land is the foundation of any real estate project.
The latter is the case for Nigeria, where the housing deficit of more than 20 million units necessitates a budget of N170 trillion to N200 trillion.
“We have issues of property rights and the Land Use Act in Nigeria for example vest the right to land in the government. This is a major obstacle to wealth creation in this country,” he said.
According to industry players, unlocking the potentials in Nigeria’s real estate sector would result in greater revenue from the 70 to 80 per cent dead capital, affordable housing for over 23 million Nigerians, a lower unemployment rate, and increased economic growth.
“There is a difference between owning land in freehold and being able to do anything you want versus having a certificate of occupancy and being a tenant of the government, which is not very beneficial for the creation of prosperity,” Moghalu explained.
