PROBLEM AND PROSPECTS OF HOUSING IN THE NEW STATE CAPITAL
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PROBLEM AND PROSPECTS OF HOUSING IN THE NEW STATE CAPITAL
CHAPITRE ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Housing is one of life’s three essential necessities. Man’s dignity is frequently improved by his ownership of a home. The majority of the world’s population is housed; the population that is well housed is in the minority, while decaying dwellings house the majority of the world’s population.
The concentration and quick growth of people in the new state capitals is based on the town’s few and insufficient social services. The main pointer in the new state capital is the problem of housing, houses to meet the over-growing demand so as to produce rent that is reasonable to meet the community and that is equitable in terms of returns to investors in housing in the urban area and developing areas like Asaba-statistics show that in some areas of Asaba,
the home is too small to allow for decent family life and offers nothing more than a tiny abode to its members. According to statistics, urban dwellings are generally overcrowded and surrounded by a horrible urban landscape scenario.
This most unsatisfactory scenario is persisting as a result of the influence of population expansion and urbanisation, which has seen a significant increase in recent years.
In the current rate of population increase, there has been a steady migration of people from rural areas to urban areas. As a result of improvements, changes, and growth in development standards,
there has been a rapid increase in the number of experts, administrative, and technical personnel; income, and living conditions of people have led to people demanding more and better houses.
On the other hand, because of industries located in urban areas, supply has not kept pace with demand, allowing people to migrate to these areas despite the quality of a problem in finding a means to have accommodation that is relatively cheap with the means of the rural folk and yet of sufficient high quality to satisfy certain basic requirements.
Though experts now reside in rural locations due to advancements, it still takes time to establish a dwelling house, and while the buildings are being built, they will have to accept the available ones.
The housing problem must be considered against the backdrop of the community’s social ideology. Certain anomalies are linked with housing economics, specifically the fact that there is significant inconsistency on both the demand and supply side of housing.
There is the unadulterated ‘MARXIST’ viewpoint that the government should be totally committed and has a responsibility to provide accommodation at reasonable rents for every person and so on should be allowed, for example, to take advantage of his ownership of land or wealth to exploit the tenant group in society, having said all of this, it will be appropriate to state the housing problem in Asaba.
It is extremely common to see that the purchase of is difficult in the sense that land is expensive and limited in supply, and it also takes a long time to negotiate and obtain proper title to land even after land must have been acquired and a building erected.
It is insufficient because it cannot accommodate the swollen population, and this ten leads to overcrowding, which is bad for health. Buildings are overcrowded, and people are overcrowded as a result of huge household sizes and a lack of housing.
One issue should be understood, and that is the need of proper planning; if Asaba is effectively designed, the housing crisis may not be as severe. However, due to insufficient facilities, utilities and amenities were not given.
It will deteriorate if the population is large or overcrowded. Rents are quite high for adequate buildings, which does not sit well with low-income workers and leads to an unhealthy way of life, but if the government could come in and develop low-cost housing, this would alleviate the suffering of these residents.
Although some residents can afford decent houses to live in, the tremendous increase of tenements is due to the fact that they are now forced to live in areas with poor ventilation and house clusters.
These dwellings are not permanent in the sense that if there is severe wind or rain, the building falls and lives are lost, which is unfortunate because they will have to provide alternative housing or rebuild.
Another issue is a lack of planning, because the carelessness with which these dwellings are constructed does not allow for appropriate planning. They do not get the go-ahead from the authorities concerned;
these buildings have been developed and demolished when the planning authorities discover them; therefore, it is safer to get the go-ahead from the authorities concerned, even if it will take a long time to obtain, but it should be worthwhile in the long run.
A decent place to live is a basic requirement for any individual, family, and society. In general, a requirement for human survival. Housing, as an environmental unit, has a significant impact on the community’s health, efficiency, social behaviour satisfaction, and overall well-being.
It indicates a society’s cultural, social, and economic worth since it is the best physical and historical evidence of civilization in a town or country. It is impossible to overstate the necessity of providing appropriate housing in any municipality. It stimulates the national economy.
On the other hand, decent housing can be recognised as a right of all individuals; yet, a large proportion of the population in Asaba lives in substandard and poor housing, and a terrible, unsanitary fast urbanisation and economic expansion have exacerbated the problem of acute population in Asaba.
1.1 ASABA’S HOUSING PROBLEM
As a result, there is a severe housing shortage in Asaba, particularly among low-income residents. A home sample survey done in one selected portion of town by workshop participants in October 1995 found that around 84.46% of housing units are flats
while just 28.4% are tenement units. As a result, room occupancy rates of more than five (5) people per habitable room have been recorded in portions of Umuaji, Umuezei, and Egengbome in Asaba.
Flat sharing or multiple occupancy of flat apartments are redress methods adopted by low-income earners. This frequently results in the deterioration of residential buildings and the environment. The causes of tenement house shortages can be attributed to factors such as high cost of land acquisition,
lack of finance, high cost of building materials, and population trends, unwillingness of private developers to invest in tenement houses due largely to unknown returns from such development, and the fact that planning schemes for some of the layout intentionally excluded tenement building, such as Ezena Avenue.
Some of the variables responsible for flooding in the city include the location of specific housing projects (i.e. a part of low-income housing). Some draws on Ezenei Avenue, for example, low-cost houses, were built with complete disregard for the area’s terrain, so that water is expected to flow against the radiant.
In general, Asaba’s housing problem is more of a scarcity of adequate housing units in the form of tenements or rooming houses whose rents are reasonable to individuals with low incomes than a scarcity of flat apartments, many of which are vacant due to high rates.
Floods in Asaba also cause individuals to lose property and lead to the deaths of five persons. These issues necessitate rebuilding and relocating tenants of impacted buildings.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ASABA
Asaba is located in Delta State’s eastern region and has sixteen (16) local government areas. Delta state’s administrative headquarters and a rapidly rising urban hub in Nigeria. It has historical ties to both Kogi and Anambra states.
Diaba, a lady from Agbakuba village in Nteje, Anambra state, was claimed to have been impregnated by Onojobo, a prince and trader from Igala country, while she was a court girl in Eze Anyanwu’s court. She was supposed to be descended from Ezechima, the fabled ancestor of many communities east of the Niger, including Onitsha.
This explains why Benin, Asaba, and Onitsha appear to share a shared culture and tradition, such as festival regalia like as traditional coral beads and hand-woven huge flowing white dresses, as well as traditional titles such as Onowu Iyasele of Onitsha and Iyase Onowu of Asaba. Asaba is one of Nigeria’s rising urban centres today.
Prior to the formation of Delta and Ado states, Asaba was the seat of Oshimili South Local Government, which had little political clout. Following the foundation of Delta state, and Asaba as its capital,
Asaba has continued to draw more governmental officials such as ministries and various forms of government parastatals, resulting in a growth in population and working class people.
Asaba is currently suffering more housing challenges than ever before, and it is expected that the impact will take some time to dissipate.
1.3 LAND ACQUISITION PROBLEMS FOR HOUSING
Prior to the Land Use Act of 1978, ownership of land was vested in individuals and communities, making it difficult for anyone seeking to acquire a stake in land. The Alnd Use Act prohibited private proprietors and people from owning land rather than having perpetual possession of it.
It put all land under the control of the governor of each state. Before a private individual gets an interest in land from the state governor, he must go through a series of procedures before being awarded a right of title or certificate of occupancy to use and enjoy the relevant piece of land, which is commonly evidenced by a certificate of occupancy (C OF O).
The method and process for obtaining title to land are inadequate and time-consuming. As a first stage, the private individual must purchase a form that has some questions that must be answered and filed within a certain time frame.
The authority in charge of processing and insuring this certificate of occupancy frequently makes things tough for the developer who would otherwise like to start building right away.
This is because the certificate of occupancy takes a long time to be awarded to a developer. Following the processing of the form, those that have been approved are rented to the governor for endorsement,
and if the governor is busy, he can delegate this duty to the commissioner of lands, works, and transport, who endorses his signature with a red wax to demonstrate its validity.
The successful applicant is subsequently issued a certificate of occupancy, which allows him or her to use and enjoy the land subject to the conditions and covenants outlined in the certificate.
The idea behind the condition and covenant issue is that only authorised occupiers can develop, use, or lease the land, according to zoning and planning rules, as well as other regulations influencing land use,
in the relevant metropolitan area. It is now obvious from the preceding that the problem of land acquisition in Asaba works against housing.
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