THE PRIVATE-SECTOR AND URBAN HOUSING PRODUCTION PROCESS IN NIGERIA - A STUDY OF SMALL-SCALE LANDLORDS IN ABUJA

The private production system continues to supply the majority of hous ing to the population of Third World cities. In Nigeria, statistics sh ow that the bulk of urban housing units is supplied for rent by small- scale private landlords. This paper examines the process of housing pr oduction among this category of producers using, as a case study, the peripheral settlements of Abuja, Nigeria's new capital city. A predomi nance of small-size sole proprietorships is established among the smal l-scale house building firms, mostly for reasons of maintaining operat ional flexibility and cost saving. It is also found that the greatest attraction of investing in rental housing by small entrepreneurs is th e hedge it provides against inflation and the stability and permanence it introduces into the capital base of economic pursuits. A strong in fluence of traditional chiefs in land supply is revealed, together wit h the emergence of a commercialised land market, resulting in speculat ion and contributing to rising land prices. It is shown that building materials are the most problematic of the key building components to t he housing production process. It is argued that small building firms would make more profit if they had access to formal sector working cap ital and that the practice of using casual workers in project executio n has the advantage of enabling firms to survive periods of job drough t, but does not encourage growth of the firms, apprenticeship training and skills development in the house construction industry. It is conc luded that what is needed to enhance the operation of this category of producers is for government to accept an enabling role that will seek to minimise the financial burden and risks to which they are currentl y exposed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.