Mary Nnah
There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for the common man in Lagos, and Nigeria as a whole, as a reputable real estate company, Leisure Courts, has designed plans to massively roll out low-cost houses with affordable flexible payment options for Nigerians in selected areas in Lagos.
Speaking during the official commissioning of its Lagos office recently, the Managing Director, Leisure Court and Super Structures Limited, Segun Abolaji, said Leisure Courts which has been in Abuja for a while has decided to open a branch in Lagos to contribute its own quota in solving the high housing deficit in the state.
He said, “Leisure Court is a household name in the Real Estate Industry and we are a group of seasoned professionals in the Real Estate sector and a team of builders, engineers, and architects providing excellent housing solutions and services.
“These are what I have done very effectively in the past and we feel it is the best if we extend a hand of fellowship to those in Lagos and help solve more housing problems.”
Abolaji who said that he sees Nigeria’s housing deficit issues as an opportunity to solve problems, and create affordable houses for ordinary Nigerians who dream of having their own homes, noted, ”our target cuts across all classes of life ranging from the high to the low ends of the economy.
“We have luxury apartments that we want to embark on and we also have affordable housing. Our target is even the lower cadre of the economy and you know there has been a campaign for affordable housing in Nigeria and we feel we can contribute our own quota to the economy.”
Expressing the view that there’s been a huge housing deficit in Nigeria and the private sector appears to be playing a key role in providing housing, he said however that when we talk about affordable housing, it is relative because what one person can afford may not be affordable to another person.
He added, “but generally we are looking at something that everybody can afford. This is why I talked about cutting across all sectors of the economy, from the high ranking members of the society to the low as civil servants.
“We have different packages, we have luxury homes, we have those that can go as low as N15 million and we have mortgage facilities for civil servants and those in the organised private sector.”
“We as professionals have been contributing our own quota and we believe the issue of scarcity or deficit for us is an opportunity to do more and that is what we have been doing and we will continue to do more.”
Speaking on how the government can contribute in achieving affordable houses in Nigeria, he said, “The areas where I think the government can contribute are enormous.
“Government can subsidise the cost of materials and make lands available to developers. In a situation where developers acquire land for a very exorbitant price, there is no way the price of a house will be affordable.
“Government needs to also provide infrastructure. If you look at Lagos for example, you will find out that many estate firms have their sites in areas that are not accessible. Most times they have to contribute money to make the road accessible.
“In other climes, you find infrastructures on ground, you just move in your material and equipment and continue to construct.”
He expressed the hope that in the next five to 10 years, Leisure Courts will be one of the biggest stakeholders in Lagos as it is starting with four sites, two on the mainland, in Ogudu GRA and Alaka Estate in Surulere and two sites on the Island, adding, “we have a mind of moving to other states. Although we have landed properties all over the country, we want to take this one step at a time.”
