Urban Housing in Nigeria for Sustainable Development: Challenges and Prospects

— Urban Housing has been laden with host of problems, for which urbanization is seen as a major catalyst. The implication is manifested in high unemployment, over population with crowded housing, proliferation of slums, and squatter settlements, degradation of the environment, highly inadequate infrastructural and social amenities, increasing crimes and social vices and other social issues that could jeopardize development. The pervasiveness of urban housing constitutes serious challenges to city growth and sustainability in Nigeria. This study analyses housing problems using systematic review and observation methods of selected houses and the problems confronting them in Lagos and Ibadan, Southwest, Nigeria. It discusses the concept of sustainable development and through its findings, revealed the despicable living conditions of the urban residents and housing conditions in Lagos and Ibadan cities.The study therefore justifies the need for adequate housing, and provides a basis for official intervention in the urban housing delivery process towards achieving sustainable development in Nigeria.


INTRODUCTION
The demand for housing increases in response to several factors, notably urbanization and population growth. According to Omiunu (2014), a high population growth will have significant effect on resource allocation such as housing and this could pose a big problem to the Nigeria housing and national development. Thus, urbanization and population growth if not adequately handled can put excessive strain on available housing which could negatively affect the attainment of sustainable development in Nigeria (Igwe, Okeke, Onwurah, Nwafor and Umeh, 2017). Nigeria's housing situation is gradually becoming critically bad and could make Nigeria fail in the sustainable development plans and goals. Hence, there is need to cushion housing challenges in Nigeria towards the attainment of sustainable development. The link of housing provision to sustainable development is hinged on its multidimensional impact on the promotion of quality of life, health, education, safety and security of individuals, households, communities (Ibem, and Aduwo, 2013). Adapting Maslow's hierarchy of needs (1943), Jiboye (2011) and Emiedafe (2015) noted that adequate housing has always been one of man's basic needs; and a significant component for human survival which could serve as a useful barometer for gauging societal development. Hence, due to several other factors such as economic, political, industrialization, commercialization, and social mileages compared to the rural areas, there has been high rate of urbanization in Nigeria (Fitzgerald, 2017). According to Aliyu and Amadu (2017), urbanization implies a process whereby societies transform from a rural to urban way of life or redistribution of populations to urban settlements associated with development and civilization due to high rate of commercialisation, scientific development, political and cultural life. Coupled with the increase in the nation's population, a major problem of urbanization is housing challenge because people are attracted to cities and towns which lead to high population increase. With the increase in the number of people living in urban centers, there is continued scarcity of housing, which could be due to insufficient expansion space for housing and public utilities, poverty, unemployment, and costly building materials which can only be afforded by few individuals (Conserve Energy Future, 2019).
Adapting the push and pull factor of migration by UNICEF (2001) and Stanojoska and Petrevski (2016), urban cities offer greater opportunities in terms of education, employments, research, and even the search for marriage partners in Nigeria. According to the United Nations- , the majority of the world's people live in cities and slums-these are growing dramatically within the world's poorest cities, particularly, in Sub-Sahara Africa such as Nigeria. In 1996, the United Nations had put the global urban population growth at 60 million. Between 2001 and 2002, the world's urban population had increased by nearly one-half percent of the total population. This growth occurred largely in the East Asia and Pacific region. In Sub -Sahara Africa, which is largely ruralwith only 32 percent of the population living in the urban areas, there is a very high urban growth rate of up to four percent (Ogunleye, 2005).
According to Enisan (2017), the rate of urbanization in Nigeria has been on the increase in the last two decades. Okupe (2002) noted that in the 1930s, only 7% of Nigerians lived in urban centers, and 10% in 1950s, but by 1970, 1980 and 1990, 20%, 27% and 35% lived in the cities respectively. However, in recent time, over 40% of Nigerians now live in urban centers of varying sizes and this has created severe housing problems, resulting in overcrowding in inadequate dwellings, and in a situation in which 60% of Nigerians are said to be "homeless" (Enisan, 2017). This has created a lot of social pressure on social services and infrastructure such as transportation, electricity, water supply, health services, housing, etc. In addition, Aliyu and Amadu (2017) noted that urbanization in Nigeria is mainly demographically driven providing no commensurate socioeconomic dividends and benefits to the urban population and areas. This has also led to urban health crises such as inadequate water safe supply, squalor and shanty settlements, lack of sanitation, lack of solid waste management, double burden of diseases and inefficiency, population congestion, and risky transport system.
The massive influx of migrants towards urban areas in Nigeria has resulted in the over-population of practically all cities. Like any other developing nations; Nigeria with a current population figure of over 140 million people, is experiencing rapid urbanization (Ajanlekoko, 2001;NPC, 2006). According to the United Nation (2007), Nigeria has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world, with its cities ranking among the fastest growing in the world. Growing at the rate of about 5.5 percent annually from 1980 to 1993, and more recently, has increased to the rate of 5.8 percent which has resulted in a total urban population of 62.66 million people (or, 43 percent of the national population). By projection, this proportion is expected to increase to more than 60 percent by 2025 . This rapid growth constitutes major problem to the urban residents whose quality of life and living conditions have deteriorated considerably (Ajala, 2005;Jiboye, 2009;Fitzgerald, 2017).
According to ; Jiboye (2011) and Amao (2012), the pace and scale of the growth in the urban areas have outstripped the capacity to maintain acceptable standards of public health, physical infrastructural development, environmental safety and healthy living environments, government's ability to provide services for sustainable, among others, therefore reducing the housing quality and quality of life in general in urban Nigeria. In the long run, this could hamper development and also the attainment of sustainable development in Nigeria making it to lag behind in global development.
In addition, housing stock in Nigerian cities are grossly inadequate and the increasing urban population has resulted in uncontrolled, overcrowded, and unplanned urban settlements culminating into settlements ill-suited for human habitation; especially in large cities like Lagos and Ibadan . Furthermore, in 2000, Nigeria needed 12 to 14 million housing units. It was also estimated that by 2020, the country will need 29 to 40 million housing units to solve the housing shortage in the country. In addition, Nigeria's poverty level rose from 46.3% in 1985 to 65.6% in 1996 and 70% till present with over half Nigeria's population living below the poverty level of US$1.00 per day. With this gross poverty in Nigeria, affordable housing is both inaccessible and unavailable for the majority of the urban poor (Lagos State Report, 2004).
In the past, in recognition of the global housing need and the consequent homelessness pervading most communities, the United Nation Center for Human Settlement (Habitat) had inaugurated a world Habitat day in 1987 with the theme, Shelter for the Homeless. The aim of which was to explore ways of addressing the problem of global poverty and homelessness and to encourage various national governments to pay more attention to the shelter needs of their citizens (United Nations Centre for Human Settlement, 1993). , 30 percent of the world's urban population lives in slums, deplorable conditions where people suffer from one or more of the following basic deficiencies in their housing: lack of access to improved water; lack of access to improved sewage facilities (not even an outhouse); living in overcrowded conditions; living in buildings that are structurally unsound; or living in a situation with no security of tenure (that is, without legal rights to be where they are, as renters or as owners); among others. In addition, more than two billion people are in desperate need of better housing (Enoghase et al., 2015;Ezeigwe, 2015). The Nigerian society is undergoing both demographic (people living longer) and epidemiological (change in population health due to changes in lifestyle) transitions due to urbanization and at a current growth rate of about 2.8%-3% a year, Nigeria's urban population will double in the next two decades (Aliyu and Amadu, 2017).
Nigeria has a population of over 140 million people (NPC, 2006), and the population is estimated at over 200 million in 2019 (World Population Prospects, 2019), and land coverage of an estimated 1million square meter. According to Omiunu (2014), the Nigeria population growth rate is 3.0% while Agbola and Agunbiade (2007) noted that the urbanization rate in Nigeria is 5.5%, a figure that is almost twice the population growth rate of the country. With the increase in number of people, there is also an increase in the demand of housing and services (Makinde, 2012).The rapid increase in urban population has resulted in very high cost of living brought about by great demands on inadequate urban housing and facilities. There is high cost of land, and housing, these are often in short supply and out of the economic reach of the most of the urban families. With the populated urban areas by a large number of people and with very low incomes, it becomes impossible for a large population of this people to be able to meet their housing demands. Hence, housing issues and challenge remains one of the most important challenges facing the country (Ezeigwe, 2015 (2012) have stated that involving citizens in urban planning helps ensure sustainable economic development; and plays a vital role in providing well-planned cities. As citizens are deeply affected by urban planning, authorities need to ensure that they are involved and provided with a forum for expressing their opinions. Thus, the experiences from two major cities in Nigeria, comprising Lagos and Ibadan demonstrate the level of severity of the urban housing challenge in Nigeria.

III. REVIEW OF PROSPECTS OF URBAN HOUSING IN NIGERIA
According to Ibem and Aduwo (2013), housing provision could promote quality of life, health, education, safety and security among individuals, households and communities. Hence, Onibokun and Faniran (1995) noted that the urban housing sector plays significant roles as engines of national development. Therefore, for efficient urban housing in Nigeria, the following needs were suggested by Onibokun and Faniran (1995): i. There is need to educate the Nigerian government and its agencies in the conduct of value research on urban housing towards articulating the several problems militating the urban housing and providing recommendations and solution towards ameliorating these challenges in attaining sustainable development in Nigeria. ii. There is also the need for partnership orientation in the conduct of this research on the urban housing. This could be provided by local researchers from the various institutions and research institutes, the United Nations agencies and the bilateral and multilateral agencies who already know the value of research especially with regards to urban housing in developing countries such as Nigeria. iii. Also, donor agencies need to accord greater priority to the urban sector in Nigeria and promote partnership towards achieving sustainable urban housing development in Nigeria. iv. Donor agencies such as USAID, IDRC, the Ford Foundation, IFRA, the bilateral agencies, the UN system, the multilateral agencies, the World Bank, among others should provide support and promote urban research at a much higher level in Nigeria through capacity building of the NGOs and the institutions. Also, Igwe et al. (2017) provides some solution for ameliorating urban housing in Nigeria towards sustainable development, and these include that: i. Governments at all levels of systems should provide low-cost houses so as to cater for the large number of low-income earners who are unable to afford a decent apartment and also to meet their housing needs. ii. Employers could also contribute to urban housing by providing housing or building loan to their staff with no interest to enable them build their own houses so as to cushion the housing challenges in Nigeria urban centres. iii. Government should develop economic, social and environmental policies that will facilitate urban housing that is both affordable towards ensuring urban housing sustainability in Nigeria. iv. Also, of importance is the renewal of urban sites and slums so as to change the poor environmental conditions that is known to be prevalent in major areas of the urban cities in Nigeria.

International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science (IJAERS)
[ i. The private or public sector alone has not been able to serve their huge and growing housing needs in Nigeria. However, Basorun and Fadairo (2012) noted that the private sector has been far more efficient in the provision of societal goods and services such as housing than the government. Hence, it could be postulated that a joint partnership between the public and private housing sector could go a long way to ameliorating the urban housing challenge facing Nigeria. ii. Also, there should be the need for mixed public housing schemes directed towards the provision of enhanced institutional frameworks on innovative public-private partnerships and home-ownership schemes in Nigeria.

IV. METHODOLOGY
The study adopted the systematic review and also used the observation method. Ibadan is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, Nigeria with a population of over 3 million (Population city, 2015). The exact population of Ibadan is not known because the National census of 1991 undoubtedly underestimated the number of inhabitants. The current estimate today varies from 2 to 5 million inhabitants (Ayeniyo, 1994;Olaniran, 1998). However, it is the third most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, and the country's largest city with regards to geographical area. Ibadan is situated in the south-western Nigeria, and is a prominent transit point between the coastal region and the areas in the hinterland of the country. The principal inhabitants of Ibadan city are the Yorubas, as well as various communities and states from other parts of the country due to its central of attraction in Nigeria. By the year 2000, it was estimated that Ibadan covered 400 km 2 (Onibokun and Faniran, 1995).The growth of the built-up area during the second half of the 20th century (from 40 km 2 in the 1950s to 250 km 2 in the 1990s) shows clearly that there has been an underestimation of the total growth of the city.
These characteristics made it possible for Lagos and Ibadan to be purposively selected for this study.Also, information obtained from past literature were synthesized and used to provide answers to the research objectives of this study. In addition, the observation method was used to take pictures and images of several houses in the urban cities in Lagos and Ibadan, Nigeria, and these are used to provide evidences of the situations of urban housing in Nigeria.

V. RESULTS
The result is divided into two sections based on the selected locations used for this study: the first section provides the observation results for urban slums in Lagos while the other section provides the scenario of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

A case study of Lagos state
Lagos epitomizes the phenomenal growth in urban population that is most typical of most African cities (Aluko, 2010 phenomenal that the State has become legendary for its congestion and urban housing problems. Lagos is an urban complex that embodies tremendous contrasts. As the former national capital and the major port of the largest country in Africa, it is a powerful magnet for migrants from all over Nigeria and neighbouring African countries. The rapid urban growth which Nigeria has experienced is well manifested in Lagos, the major parts of which are the product of modern economic, social and political forces in interaction with traditional culture which was the factor that distinguished life in the city from that in the countryside (Alagbe, 2006 1,2). Families living in one bedroom apartment are very common. Also pertinent is the issue of overpopulation in many urban areas. According to Cities Alliance (2008), inadequate housing arises from the wide gap between demand and supply in Lagos state, resulting in denied access to housing and rapid growth of slums. Apart from slums and squatter settlements that are characterized by poor housing, poor environmental conditions, and overcrowding visible for all to see, inadequate housing is a phenomenon common in Lagos state.

Plates 1, 2: Deplorable living conditions (source-Jiboye, 2011).
Most areas lack good surface and waste water drains (see plates 3,4). Sanitary facilities are absent in some houses and in houses where they are present, they are usually very unhygienic. The different types of sanitary facilities in use in most of these areas in Lagos include-Pit Latrine, pour flush toilet, and W.C attached to septic tank. Also, in many areas of these Lagos slums, many houses have no toilet.

Plate 3, 4: Unsanitary disposal of waste water
Air pollution in Lagos is also a major problem majorly due to the use of Generators for the supply of electricity (see plate 5), high number of vehicles on the roads, and concentration of industries in the state. Power generation and supply is very poor in Lagos state as well as other parts of the country, so people rely on the use of generating sets to do practically everything -from household use to commercial use. Also of importance to housing problem is the high use of motorcycle riders which has been due to the overcrowding nature of the city, most of who feed from the riding business due to lack of employment due to high rate of competition due to high population of the state (see plate 6). All of these cause air pollution of the environment which could affect the health of the inhabitants.

Plate 5: Several generators used by single household. Plate 6: Motor cycle riders in Lagos (google images)
In addition, most inhabitants Lagos lack access to water and have to walk quite some distance to get clean water, since they are not connected to pipe water network. Others pay exorbitant amount, almost 200 times more than the price of pipe water to water vendors to be able to get water for domestic use (Fika, 2008 Hence, Lagos obviously is due for better planning in order to ensure sustainability of the environment and sustainable urban housing. A major challenge is the social and economic exclusions arising from not engaging a broad spectrum of the local people in the decision making process, as well as many people lacking access to finance (Cities Alliance, 2008). This has jeopardized the tendency to achieve sustainable urban housing in Lagos state, Nigeria, hence, there is need for attention to be directed to the cities by the governments and also by private housing sector.

International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science (IJAERS)
[  Coker (2007) concluded that nearly half (47.6%) of the houses surveyed in Ibadan are either sub-standard or unfit for human occupation. Nearly three out of every five houses (60.5%) has one defect or the other with respect to the neighbourhood environment. Houses located in the more recently developed areas of the city (low density zone) tend to fare better compared to those in the high and medium density zones from perspectives of both housing conditions and neighborhood environment. The inner core region, occupied by early settlers in the city, presents the worst scenario with respect to both quality of dwelling and neighbourhood environment. The quality of housing and neighbourhood environment reduces as the degree of density or level of crowdedness increases.
According to Fourchard (2003), the development of unplanned urbanization along the major roads of the city from the 1970s to the 1990s has finally given birth to notable slums in the north, the east and the south of the city. Also, 30 per cent of the derelict houses in Ibadan are found in the outskirts of the city at more than five km from the centre (Abumere, 1985). Most houses in Ibadan are very old, derelict and unsafe for habitation (see plates 11,12) and sometimes, there are evidences of fallen building leading to the loss of lives and properties in Ibadan. According to Mabogunje (1968), half of the city constituted in the inner core area was occupied by "slum dwellings characterized by no identifiable sanitation facilities, housing in mud, physical deterioration and the highest population density area of the town". Despite the fact that these observations were made 46 years ago, they are still very much relevant as little or no differences exist between Ibadan of then and now. A major problem in the core area of Ibadan is the unavailability of water; lack of potable water is a common phenomenon in these areas. A resident's account of the situation suggests that even houses which have the facilities (pipes and taps) cannot get water more than once in a month. Waste disposal problems in Ibadan as in other cities are acute. Open areas, green spaces, quiet streets and recreational parks are important building blocks that compliment housing and for promoting quality of life in urban environments. They are virtually absent in Ibadan.
People cannot afford quality housing in Ibadan (see plates 16,17).Very high percentage of housing in Ibadan is below quality level. The poor are also homeless in Ibadan and most of the people live in derelict houses.

Plate 16, 17: Typical Houses in slum areas of Ibadan
Ibadan obviously is due for better planning in order to ensure sustainability of the environment towards achieving sustainable housing development in Ibadan city. Affordable Housing Agency of Britain (2006) describes the concept as that which "ensures a better quality life for everyone, now and for generations to come". In a broader form, it is the process of building our communities so that we can live comfortably without consuming all of our resources (Jiboye, 2011).

VI. PROSPECTS FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
In recent times, the concept of sustainable development has been one of the most discussed and adopted global topical issues. The concept is a shift from a mere sustained growth of a society, to the level where such growth does not jeopardize the need of the future generation. Sustainable development is premised on the articulation and incorporation of environmental and human needs in the pursuit of economic growth and development objectives. However, it has human, socio-economic, and physical development dimensions (Oduwaye, 2009;Jiboye, 2011).
Sustainable development espouses the intrinsic link between socio-economic, cultural and environmental development as well as the right of the individual to improved living condition in any given society or nation. Thus, a socially, economically or an environmentally sustainable system should achieve distributional equity, provision of adequate social services including health, education, housing as well as functional and livable environment among many others (Lawanson;Jiboye, 2009).
In addition major challenge to sustainable urban housing provision in Nigeria as identified by Iwuagwu and Iwuagwu, 2015) and Olutoge and Obakin (2017) is the high costs of imported building materials. However, Olutoge and Obakin (2017) opined that alternative low-cost materials for sustainable urban housing and sustainable materials should be developed for adequate and sustainable housing provision in Nigeria. The prospect of a sustainable urban environment in Nigeria is a very exciting one because according to Jiboye (2011), high quality and well-managed housing is a cornerstone of sustainable communities. The quality and condition of housing has a major impact on health and wellbeing.
Therefore, a sustainable urban housing environment is where slums are completely non-existent and existing derelict housing in slums are brought to decent standards; and where homelessness are tackled by regenerating deprived areas, and making up new communities is prioritized. It is also an environment where adequate and affordable housing thrives thereby protecting inhabitants from extreme weather conditions and where citizens have sufficient living conditions with no more than three people sharing the same room; an increase in housing supply where provision of affordable homes is key, and the provision of infrastructure and social amenities support for people who wish to own their homes on empty properties are made available; the identification and development of new growth areas by the Government and private participators; protection and management of existing green areas, improvements to local parks and public spaces and creation of green areas in areas where they are non-existent; an environment with the presence of secure tenure that prevents unlawful evictions; an environment with full access to an improved drinking water source and where access to improved sanitation facilities is priority.
In addition, sustainable urban housing could also be achieved by understanding the housing needs of the population through research and providing of a critical analysis of the housing needs from a cross or various socio-economic groups in Nigeria. This would go a long way in helping to overcome the challenges of urban housing towards achieving sustainable urban housing in Nigeria.

VII. CONCLUSION
The study has examined the challenges and prospects of urban housing in Nigeria. The study revealed the deplorable and pathetic situations of the urban housing conditions of majority of people in Lagos and Ibadan cities in Nigeria. The study justifies the need for urgent attention from government and other stakeholders which could lead to a joint partnership between the governments and private sectors towards addressing the problems of providing adequate urban housing and infrastructure for the urban poor. Unlike in developed countries where concerted efforts are being made to better the living conditions of citizens, the situation in Nigeria and other developing countries appears to be deteriorating. The need for the provision of adequate housing with all basic infrastructure put in place should be top priority in the national development programs. There is a need for all the stakeholders in the housing industry to recognize the fact that necessary infrastructure should be put in place in proposed residential sites even before the commencement of construction of housing projects by individuals. The Government owes its citizens a duty to put in place infrastructural facilities like potable water, waste water drainages and sewerage treatment plants, electricity,