Housing fair to chart course for indigenous materials’ production

Disturbed that Nigeria’s numerous solid minerals resources are not harnessed as a veritable tool for the much desired wealth creation avenues for the nation’s economy, the organisers of the popular Lagos Housing Fair have moved to ensure that the much sought after homeownership drive is built on the production of indigenous building and construction materials.

The fair has thus been designed to explore all the possibilities of growth in the industry as well as examine the root causes of failure based on the understanding that a vibrant and viable local building materials manufacturing sector of the country would doubtlessly serve to increase her Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as well as become a job spinner.

Organizers of the 15th edition Lagos Housing Fair, Lagos State Radio Service and Beachland Resources Limited, announced at the weekend to the media in a briefing that the theme of the fair, which commences on April 25th, is Indigenous Materials for Housing Delivery.

Addressing the press, Vice Chairman of the Lagos Housing Committee, Mr. Moses Ogunleye, a town planner, said that the availability of relevant building and construction industry related local products has long been established but is yet to translate to actual products that the industry can utilize.

“There is virtually no component used in the construction of a building that cannot be sourced within Nigeria. There have been researches on the use of indigenous building materials by various research institutions including universities and polytechnics. To what extent have these research outputs been applied in Nigeria?” he asked rhetorically.

He explained that the organizers of the fair are driven by a passion to see Nigeria become an exporter of various building materials, while also feeding its own markets.

“Our concern is how the various resources like soil, timber and other array of solid minerals that are available in the country can become materials for housing development. At this state of Nigeria’s development, we believe the country should be a global leader in the export of various types of building materials.”

“For the nation to have an enhanced building materials production system, we believe there should be an expansion and improvement in the manufacturing base for building materials production, as well as efficient distribution network. There is also the need to expand the capacities of existing industries that are involved in the production of building materials from sources like bricks, clay, concrete products, timber, glass, tiles and so on.”

The event billed to hold at the exhibition hall of Radio Lagos / Eko Fm premises will discuss different issues of housing delivery in the country and seek to chart the way out of the woods under special programmes dedicated for Technology day, Indigenous Materials Day, Housing Finance Day and Professional Services Day. Former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, will perform the opening ceremony.