Abuja 28 July 2023 (Mediaage NG News) – Data is the collation of information meant for understanding an on-the-spot situation of events that can be used for future references. It can be used for finding solutions to problems or averting them entirely.
Accuracy in statistics creates room for improved planning and gives a defined lead on what resources to utilise.
Collating of data also leads to growth of a sector(s) and gives room to predict the outcome of the future. So, in essence, the understanding this is meant to pass on is, lack of data has a greater power to stall the growth of a sector.
Where there is no accurate information of past events, it is impossible create resources to work with in preventing problems. It results in chaos in planning.
With statistics, you get to know the cause of a disaster and with proper housing data/statistics, the needs of people are easily understood and how to meet these needs will be clearly defined.
Kecia Rust of the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance In Africa (CAHF) at the just concluded 2023 Africa International Housing Show held in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, spoke of the logical and accountable importance of housing data in the country.
She believes her assertion can be proved right with the projected Nigerian housing deficit coming up with different figures from various publications that have no basic trace.
She said it is impossible to mobilise investors if they can’t be told of how their money will be used or what will happen with their money? And the accuracy of what will happen to their investments can’t be predicted when there is no data. “We have to understand the pulse and movement of the housing sector”, she said.
She quoted former Minister of Works and Housing, Fashola saying, “the point I am making here, which needs to be repeated is that by logical and accountable use of data, if there was a need of 17 million and 1 unit was provided, one would expect that the need would reduce by 1.
“Unfortunately, that was not the case. In a seeming desperation to race to the bottom, binge on the deficit and perhaps unleash a “Nuclear War on Housing” the “deficit” grew to 19 million, later to 22 million and just a few days ago to 28 million according to announcers who cannot point to a source. All these figures without a basis.
“Happily, the source of the “data” of a housing deficit of 17 million did not prove eternally elusive. I eventually found where it came from. It was in the preface to the 2012 National Housing Policy signed by the Minister then in charge of the Ministry of Works and Housing (Babatunde Fashola), Rust said in her presentation.
She added that baseless data should be ignored, rather, housing professionals and the government should “work like rational people” and this will make them work with the information available, while waiting for the results of the 2023 National Housing and Population Census.
CAHF, Rust said concurred with the former Works and Housing Minister, Fashola on the need for a reliable data which must be collected or gathered from verifiable sources. “Its integrity must be unimpeachable”, she stated
She also revealed that CAHF is partnering with the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) to drive the development of a Housing Market Information Portal that speaks directly to the former Honorable Minister’s statement.
Some numbers she said are certain, while others are different from what they appear to be. ‘To champion the national housing data center. We also have to be specific about the needed data.
Housing should be easy to count and data can be collected manually and then verification can be crowd sourced’, Rust entailed.