Government can’t achieve much without estate developers – FCT REDAN chair

Mr. Andrew Elerewe is the Chairman/CEO of AIBEN Investment & Properties Ltd, and current FCT Chairman of the Real Estate Developers Associations of Nigeria (REDAN). In this interview, he talk about how government and real estate developers’ synergy can boost affordable housing delivery.

As the new FCT chapter chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), how do you intend to add value to REDAN members and the nation`s housing industry in general? 

As a real estate practitioner with over 14 years of entrepreneurship experience and  over 15 housing estates spread across three states – Lagos, Abuja and Katsina – I am well equipped to contribute   meaningfully to my constituency,  REDAN, and the housing industry as a whole.

First, we want to change the way government sees us as developers; we want government to see us as strategic partners, not just as people who are  just concerned about making profit.   We have a common objective in terms of providing housing; government has the basic responsibility of providing shelter- that’s the basic responsibility of a responsible government. So, we are like an instrumentality through  which such could be accomplished.  It is important for them to see us as strategic partners because by the time you solve the issue of housing almost everything is solved.

That’s where we will start from, by engaging government at all levels and letting them come to that realisation and of course making them see how it is done in other climes. Take for instance Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, they have been able to transform their cities through real estate which is being driven by the private sector. So, they can’t take us for granted. It is important that they change that perception.

Secondly, we want to work on our membership strength. We will form more cohesion, partnership as part of the way to solve the dearth of construction finance. We have problems with accessing funds, but I believe that with formidable partnership on the part of members and other practitioners we can overcome that challenge.

What do you expect from the new administration concerning housing delivery?

I think our expectations are very high, especially from the incoming government. We want a government more responsive towards housing that would be able to solve the plethora of issues that we have. We have quite a number of them but the good news is that they are all resolvable. We all need to come to the table and they also need to carry us along in whatever policies they need to take.

Just like recently,  they  prohibited the issuance of  approval to all area councils’ title holders. That’s a policy that is far-reaching; we need to be consulted, we should have been consulted and then carried along adequately because when you make such policy it has a far-reaching effect on the economic landscape.

Those who are caught in that web now – for those who are processing for approval of titles they can’t go further; those who have titles can’t sell them as investments and then the land is stuck there.

They are not saying the titles are defective, but we can’t get approval that is what they are saying. So what does that mean, for us that is double standard.

As for the title of the land you say it is okay, so why tell the person to get approval? It just doesn’t make sense and government needs to be businesslike and begin to see time as a very valuable tool, because time is what we don’t have as developers. You can’t just keep me in perpetuity, you create a suspension, a policy and then you are not saying anything for many years.