This rapidly unfolding accommodation crisis is already a sad reality in major cities such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Kano and, indeed, most state capitals across the country.
Unfortunately, this is happening at a time Nigeria’s housing crisis has assumed alarming proportions, with experts warning that the country must build about 550,000 housing units annually for the next 10 years to bridge a deficit now estimated at 14.9 million units.
The figure underscores the scale of a crisis regarded as one of the worst globally, as millions of Nigerians remain without access to decent and affordable shelter. Recent data from the World Bank and the Bank of Industry suggest that actual funding required to close this gap could exceed N59 trillion, a staggering sum that highlights the disconnect between current budgetary provisions and the reality on ground.
Confronted by food inflation that is now hitting the roof, and transportation costs that have continued to rise due to sharp increases in the prices of petroleum products, the condition of most city dwellers has taken a sharp turn that could inexorably end in a climax of disaster.
Indeed many residents are currently being haunted by the traumatising nightmares of being rendered homeless because they cannot pay accommodation rents that have suddenly been priced beyond their reach.
