Jaba, a suburb of Airport and Sabon Gari metropolis of Kano State, not long ago, was just farmlands with few farmers living there eking a living therefrom. But it has witnessed rapid transformation into a destination of choice for real estate development.
About two decades ago, a plot of land measuring 50×50 was sold at less than N30,000 and a entire farm was sold at N50,000.
Most of the plots were owned by the aboriginal Hausa who inherited the farmlands from their grandparents. However, it has changed into a cosmopolitan area with the Igbo and Yoruba among the many ethnicities inhabiting the fast-growing layout.
“This place that we are now, was my grandfather’s farm. I remember the time he sold it at the rate of N40,000 but look at it now, it is an estate management office. That was how almost all of us sold our wealth at giveaway prices in those days,” Bashir Bayero Sale, an indigene of Jaba, and a property agent, said.
The price of land in Jaba has now appreciated astronomically, with the same 50×50 plot of land now sold at the rate of N4m to N5m in the section still dominated by the locals while the same size goes for N5m to N7m in the more cosmopolitan parts.
This is against the average price of N500,000 in some parts of Kano metropolis that were in existence long before Jaba developed to be part of the city.
According to Rabo Ado, a leader of land dealers (Sarkin Dillalai) in the area, Jaba has transformed from a village to an urban area within the blink of an eye and that he can’t recall an environment that had that achievement within such short period in Kano.
He said from 2003 to date, the price of land, number of buildings, job opportunities and availability of social amenities have multiplied over 10 folds, aside the number of rich people that have multiplied in the area.
He added that all these were achieved as a result of the Free Trade Zone that was located in the area during the Olusegun Obasanjo’s first tenure as president of Nigeria.
“The coming of the Free Trade Zone in our area has been a great blessing as it brought a lot of transformation. It changed the price of our land in a rapid way that we never expected. Many people from within and outside this area became rich as a result of the change in the price of farmland.
“During Kwankwaso’s first tenure as governor of Kano, a plot of land was very cheap and people were not even buying thinking that it will not give them profit or they can’t relocate to the village. But immediately the main road from the airport to Jaba was constructed, which was mainly to link people to the Free Trade Zone, somewhere around 2003, the story changed.
“We are now into estate management while many of our youth are into building construction, interior and exterior decoration, block industries and many other building related works,” he said.
He further said another reason that made the area to gain acceptance is the fact that it is serene and secure, as a result of it being surrounded by various security operatives including the Nigerian Airforce, the Land Army Barracks, among others.
According to Rabo, presently, Jaba is also witnessing an industrial revolution as many medium companies are springing up.
An estate company manager, Abdulazeez Lawan of Jaba Estate Management, told Daily Trust that the place has been an eye opener to many people and motivated them into real estate business.
He said with the development, they have built over 100 houses that were given to clients for rent, aside plazas and shopping malls and still doing more. The company is now generating unimaginable profit and it employs many people.
“Real estate in Jaba has produced millionaires and has recruited many people into the business. As I’m speaking to you now, many people are trooping into the area to buy land, not for themselves, but to build estate and apartments for rent,” he said.
Lawan also said his company has been innovative in its designs and building techniques, adding that on most of their lands, they have decided to put up highrise structures to maximize space and to give the zone a city ambience.
“In our company alone we are generating huge amount of money every year and every day we are getting more clients. You know our buildings are very good and self-contained with all the needed services. That’s what makes them attractive such that even other estate agents now hand their houses to our company.
“The prices of our houses vary from house to house, location and finishing. If the house has water, each two bedroom flat is rented at N350,000 while without water it is around N250,000. A single bedroom is rented at N150,000,” he added.
However, it is gathered that a complete house with three to four bedrooms is rented at between N70,000 to N100,000 in some of the state’s metropolitan areas.
With this development, Jaba is now regarded among the most expensive, peaceful and firstclass money-spinning property markets in Kano.
