CREATING AFFORDABLE HOUSING SCHEMES IN NIGERIA THROUGH COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES (A CASE STUDY OF RADIO NIGERIA (TLS, ENUGU)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Backgroud of the study
Housing goes beyond the mere assemblage of bricks and mortar. It encompasses the totality of the environment and infrastructure which provides human comfort, enhance people’s health and productivity as well as enable them to sustain their psycho-social or psycho-pathological balance.
Housing is therefore paramount to human existence as it ranks among the top basic needs of man.
As a unit of the environment, housing has profound influence on the health, efficiency, social behaviour, and the general welfare of the community. It is thus a reflection of the cultural, social and economic values of a society and one of the best historical evidences of the civilization of a country (Oluta, 2000). The provision of adequate housing in any country is very vital as housing is a stimulant of the national economy. Housing is a set of durable assets, which accounts for a high proportion of a country‟s wealth and on which households spend a substantial part of their income. It is for these reasons that housing has become a regular feature in economic, social and political debates often with highly charged emotional contents. Oluyombo (2012) maintains that Nigeria, like in many other developing nations of the world housing problems is multi dimensional. The problems of population explosion, continuous influx of people from the rural to the urban centres, and the lack of basic infrastructure required for good standard of living have compounded housing problems over the years. Access to this basic need by the poor who constitute the largest percentage of the world population has remained a mirage and it needs to be critically addressed. The disparity between the price and quantity of housing on the one hand, and the number of households and the money available for them to pay these prices on the other hand, constitutes the central problem of housing. The cost at which houses reach the market goes a long way to determine affordability. Where the unit cost of houses is abnormally high only a few people are able to afford the houses. According to Okupe and Windapo (2000) the gap between income and shelter cost in Nigeria is very wide. This has almost eliminated the low-income earners from the housing market.
Various authorities have proffered strategies for improving housing delivery. A panacea to the problem is the contribution of cooperative societies to housing finance whose activities, focuses on towards facilitating improved accessibility level to housing finance by low-income earners in Nigeria co-operative is a basic for overall transformation citizenry, social and economic problems.
Asaolu (2004) described cooperative societies as popular organizations which are voluntary associations setup by citizens in order to promote their common welfare. cooperative is defined as an association usually incorporated with economic aims, formed by or for persons or cooperation having common needs, approximately equal voice in management, making approximately equal or proportional contributions to capital derving proportionate services and benefits from it./ This is because according to Lawal (2006) cooperative society is a kind of business for the benefit of its members. It is a general view that solution to economic problems lies in the human factor and that more can be accomplished when people coordinate their efforts with each other and take concerns and talents of other into considerations.
According to Obodechi (2009) cooperative have the potenaals to provide cheap, affordable low cost housing to citizenry its objectives is to obtain houses of their own at responsible cost and receive secure land tenure for their members. Housing cooperatives affords individuals better opportunities to acquire good land sites, obtain loans and secure the land.
Yakub et al (2012) thus, since it is belief that affordability rests to a large extent on the formulation of policies capable of bringing down housing costs such as land, infrastructure, building materials, standards, design, location and modes of production. To be affordable, direct construction through efforts of co-operative societies needs to be encouraged for the fact that government sectors have not been able to live up to the expectation.
Sazama (2010) defined a housing cooperative as a cooperative where member-residents jointly own their building, democratically control them and receive the social and economic benefits accruable from living in and owning a cooperative while the national cooperative housing in and owing a cooperative while the national cooperative housing association of America (2011) described it as a form of multi-family ownership venture between cooperative corporations and the corporation’s owners called tenant stockholders
it is therefore peraterment to state that the plausible contributions of the cooperative society in creating affordable housing schemes in recent years cannot be over emphasized cooperatives helps to create better housing which in turn brings about a reasonable standard of living, increases savings reduces harzards and improves health of both the member and their households. at radio Nigeria Enugu, most of it’s staff survives by being a member of the CTLS. indeed, the CTLS had even of recent been acknowledged by the works of radio Nigeria Enugu as the basis of sustainable growth that is irreversible the CTLS is thus the key to effective and efficient delivery of economic opportunities through the roles it plays in increasing the economic welfare of the workers.
This research work seeks to examine the cooperative societies housing system as a pragmatic tool for creating affordable housing schemes in Nigeria. in order to fully achieve this, the project will look at the structure, types and benefit of the system and goes further to evaluate the impact of the system other advance countries with a view to determining the applicability of cooperative housing in Nigeria in the face of present socio-economic realities. It is against this background that the researcher examines the need for creating affordable housing scheme through cooperative societies in Nigeria with references to radio Nigeria cooperative thrift and loan society CTLS Enugu.
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
There is wide spread recognition that low and moderate income families have a hard time finding quality and affordable housing in most part of the country (Nigeria).
Housing costs are skyrocketing while incomes are stagnating or are not keeping pace with the rate of housing cost constantly increasing.
Also the delay in the payment of workers salary has further compounded the problems encountered in creating affordable housing scheme in Nigeria and th members of cooperative thrift and loan society (SCTLS) working at radio Nigeria Enugu are not left out in this predicament.
Ironically, the low income groups who constitute the majority in the Nigeria society are mostly affected by the menace and access to this basic need by the poor who constitute the longest percentage of the world population has renamed an illusion and it needs to be critically addressed.
The causes of this dearth in housing are numerous and the government over time has intervened in the housing sector increasing housing through the construction of housing estates and through its mortgage institution.
The call is therefore for urgent re-examination of the role of cooperative society in creating affordable housing schemes in Nigeria and the numerous activities of the members of CTLS at radio Nigeria Enugu in facilitating the attainment of this scheme.
1.3 Objective Of The Study
The general objective of this work is creating affordable housing schemes through cooperative societies in Nigeria. Other specific objectives include:
i. To investigate the problems faced by the cooperative societies in creating affordable housing in Nigeria.
ii. to suggest pragmatic ways and means of creating affordable housing in Nigeria
iii.To appraise the challenges of accessing credit facilities for low income earners in the country.
iv.To examine various housing policy that are geared towards creating affordable housing scheme in Nigeria.
v. To analyze the role played by CTLS in radio Nigeria Enugu ensuring affordable housing scheme among its members.
vi.To make recommendations based on the above.
1.4 Research Questions
The followings are the research questions of the study.
i. Are there any problems faced by cooperative societies in creating affordable housing in Nigeria?
ii. What are the pragmatic ways and means of creating affordable housing in Nigeria?
iii. What are the challenges of accessing credit facilities for low income earners in the country?
iv. Are there housing policies that are geared towards creating affordable housing scheme?
v. Have the cooperative societies played a significant role towards ensuring affordable housing scheme among their members in Radio Nigeria?.
1.5 Test of Hypothesis
i. H0: There are no problems faced by cooperative societies in creating affordable housing in Nigeria.
H1: There are problems faced by cooperative societies in creating affordable housing in Nigeria.
ii. H0: There are no pragmatic ways and means of creating affordable housing in Nigeria.
H1: There are pragmatic ways and means of creating affordable housing in Nigeria.
iii. H0: Collateral security is not a challenge of accessing credit facility for low income earners in the country.
H1: Collateral security is a challenge of accessing credit facility for low income earners in the country.
iv. H0: There is no housing policy enacted that can create affordable housing schemes
H0: There is no housing policy enacted that can create affordable housing schemes
v. H0: Cooperative societies have not played a significant role toward ensuring affordable housing schemes among their member in radio Nigeria.
vi. H1: Cooperative societies have played a significant role toward ensuring affordable housing schemes among their member in radio Nigeria
1.6 Significance Of The Study
The study is very timely especially today that all hands are in deck to creating affordable housing schemes through cooperative societies in Nigeria.
It is envisaged that the findings, suggestions and recommendations of this study will be beneficial to all members and non members of cooperative society and government as well specifically; this research will go a long way to encourage people to join cooperative society.
this study will be of immense benefit to public organizations and the organized private sector.
policy makers will also benefit from this project by going through the work which will enable them to know how to create affordable housing for its citizens. also when making laws concerning housing scheme in Nigeria, the policy makers should therefore channel it through cooperative for them to benefit from it .
Finally the study will serve as a basis for further research for colleges of cooperatives, students and scholars who wish to carryout research in this field have been provided a spring board from where they can take off.
1.7 Scope And Limitation Of The Study
The scope of the study is limited to radio Nigeria Enugu with the view to ascertaining the impact of cooperative societies in creating affordable housing schemes through cooperative societies in Nigeria.
Also in the course of generating this work, the researcher faced several handicaps which include:
Non cooperative attitude of some officials visited which resulted in not giving all the information required above the operations inadequacy of data.
Most of the officers visited were not on seat despite several visitations made by the researcher.
1.8 Definition of Terms
According to the international labour organization adapted definition of 1966, a cooperative society is an association of persons who have voluntarily joined together to achieve a common end through the formation of a democratically controlled business organization making equitable contributions to the capital required and accepting a fair share of the risk and benefits of the understanding in which the members activity participate (Ilo 1966).
Cooperative thrift and loan society (CTLS) is a credit cooperative established among the working class and it does not necessarily need share capital to operate.
Income implies the wages or monetary rewards/benefits in cash/or in kind realizable in exchange of goods and services and/or trading, business etc.
Low income earners are group of persons who averagely earn relatively small amount of money and/or kind as reward for their respective labour.
Housing simply means the physical structure that man uses for shelter and desired for the physical and mental health and social well being of the family and individuals.
The US government defined affordable housing as housing that consumes 30% or less of a household’
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