A collaboration between the Federal Government and real estate agencies in the country has been identified as central to addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit.
The Executive Director, Real Estate Synergy Support Associate (RESSA) project Nigeria, Festus Ibiam, made the call while speaking at the annual Teachers Must Become Land Owners Summit held in Lagos.
Ibiam explained that such a partnership would support economic growth and show commitment to improving the living conditions of the low-income earners in the country.
Describing teachers as builders of future leaders, he said, “If teachers who are builders of the next generation do not have roof over their heads, they will not have a settled mind to impact into the young ones positively.’’
Speaking on the annual event, the RESSA boss explained that this year’s programme was the 6th in its series and it aimed to celebrate teachers and offer lucky persons among them the opportunity to win a half plot of land each in Lagos.
He further said that since its inception, the event has improved the living standard of the winners who are now landowners.
According to him, “Real Estate Synergy Support Associates project has come to change the narrative. What we do is to encourage them to form a team of eleven teachers in their schools, we understand that they do monthly contributions and because they do not have any project to execute, the moment they receive their monthly contributions, they consume it, but now we encourage them to invest their contributions in acquiring properties.
“So, now when they receive their contributions, eleven of them will add it together and buy a land for one person, before one and half years all of them would have become a land owners, we will give them time to pay for the remaining part of the money. We wave both agency and agreement fees for them.’’
On the choice of teachers, he said: “Our focus on teachers was born out of passion for proper education. Purpose gave birth to vision and vision attracts goal setting, and we must achieve our goal on nation building. Teachers are drivers of nation building.’’
On his part, a representative of RESSA in Ghana, Stephen Kojo Sackey who spoke on the theme stressed the urgent need for teachers to own a property.
