Given Nigeria's increasing dependency on the diaspora for foreign exchange, should the government not introduce a special Diaspora Housing Scheme to attract more hard currency?

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Introduce a policy called the Special Diaspora Housing Programme (SDHP)

[2] A pilot project will be initiated in Abuja involving the construction of about 1,000 3-bedroom bungalows

[3] Under a public-private partnership scheme, the bungalows will be constructed in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) with the government providing the land and a developer constructing the building. A bank will advance single-digit loans for the project and disaporans will be able to take out mortgages from abroad

[4] Under the initial phase, the programme will start off with the UK diasporans who will be asked to apply for housing via a credible Nigerian estate agent in London regulated by the UK Financial services Authority and can be held accountable for any hiccups if they occur

[5] We will call the first facility Diaspora Estate. It will be fenced and properties within it will only be open to disaporans to avoid the traditional Nigerian problem of the powers-that-be and vested interest groups appropriating properties for themselves

[6] Because all applications will be handled from the UK, those not eligible in Nigeria will not be allowed to use their positions as senior civil servants to abuse the process

[7] Given that we want to attract diasporans en masse, we will make the houses affordable. For this first phase, the monthly mortgages for these three bedroom bungalows will not be more than £200 i.e N110,000

[8] If the pilot scheme is successful, we will then look to extend it to other 36 states of the federation and will also look to extend the Abuja estate with a range of housing. For instance, we could build blocks of flats, duplexes and town houses in the second phase

[9] Once the government is committed to the scheme, pledging a certain amount to it, we shall push it with banks and financial lenders, asking them to commit to the project. I would suggest that the government commits to funding about a third of the cost of the initial project to generate confidence in the scheme

[10] To give the process credibility, the Office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will have overall responsibility for the process, allaying any doubts or fears about the project.