The Housing Problem
- By solomon2day
- On 25/07/2024
- In Update with Solomon
Nigerian workers are increasingly giving up hopes of owning their own homes, as issues of poor salaries, unfavorable working environment and conditions linger.
Most workers have for long contended with the exploitative tendencies of house owners, who increase rents randomly.
This is in addition to the soaring cost of land and building materials.
Indeed, the workers have taken their destinies into their own hands when it comes to the fundamental issue of housing.
The beauty of working is to retire into one's own home, with the assistance of the government.
The provision of housing loans to be paid back installmentally is desirable, but this is not the case.
Interestingly, the National Housing Fund(NHF) seems to be a method the government introduced to evade its responsibilities.
The housing fund without doubt is an imposition by the Federal Government of Nigeria, in a bid to run away from its responsibilities to provide either affordable housing schemes for Nigerian workers or giving out housing loans to the workers.
The NHF is used to scooping cash from already impoverished workers because the deductions are mandatory and almost non-refundable until probably after retirement.
The interest on the deductions collected from the workers is equally ridiculous.
More painful is the fact that the process of obtaining housing loans is very cumbersome and workers are usually frustrated, making them resign to fate and allow the deductions to continue without attempting to take the loans.
Workers feel cheated and, due to the fact that they have no options, and are not transparently represented by their industrial unions, have resigned to fate.
Sadly, the NHF has never given an account of the contributions and balance of workers on a monthly basis for a long time.
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