The Mayor of Housing, My-ACE China, has called for a declaration of a state of emergency in Africa’s housing sector, saying a 42 million housing deficit on the continent, with most of it coming from Nigeria, was a serious concern.
The real estate success strategist and CEO of Construction and Housing Mayor Limited said this when he was honoured as one of Africa’s 100 brand personalities with an award from the Peace Legends Awards in Abuja.
Speaking with journalists at the ceremony, My-ACE China declared, “Housing has become such a place of crisis that I think a state of emergency should be declared in Africa.”
Identifying the cause of the housing crisis, he said the most prominent factor is when Africa departed from indigenous building systems and materials to imported and monetised building materials.
“When we were building with local materials, nobody in African villages was homeless, but when these highly monetised and imported materials took over, the alarming rate of homelessness or housing deficiency is shocking.”
While assuring that his group has many strategies and solutions in the bag to tackle housing deficit challenges, he said, “ The reason we are starting from Port Harcourt is that it is one of the most beautiful cities that have been underdeveloped in Nigeria and has more potential than even most of the developed cities in Nigeria. And what we are doing is to open up Port Harcourt to the rest of the world.
“So, this award being a continental award with a global attention will not only bring the attention of the world to my brand but bring the attention of the world to the development we are bringing in Port Harcourt which is the world class ‘Sustainable Green Smart City’ project that will not only open up Port Harcourt but be a pilot scheme and a model from which we can replicate in every other part of not just Nigeria but Africa as a whole.”
The real estate success strategist said he has taken it upon himself to reduce or try to eliminate the housing deficit in Nigeria and Africa through solutions that are mainly through collaborations.
China noted that Nigeria faced challenges in building integrity caused by a high incidence of collapsed buildings, saying, “Why you see houses collapsing in Nigeria and Africa is that the bureaucracy or political office holders have compromised on established standards.
“Another is that they are in political power, they know there will be no consequences of such approvals of sub-standard houses. What the government should be doing to address this is to embrace the tested system called Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).
“But right now, the failure of PPP is when they replaced the private with ‘political’. But when the government can go into actual PPP and have private institutions or individuals contracted to regulate the standard, when a house collapses and a private individual knows he will suffer, I assure you no house will collapse in Africa.”
He commended the organisers of the Peace Legend Awards series, saying such an effort needed to be deepened to unearth the real development in Africa and those behind it.
“In Nigeria, there are so many people doing very noble things that are not being recognised. The meritocracy industry is almost an endangered industry in Nigeria, where you are almost fighting against the tide alone and not being recognised. So, this is adding feathers to our wings, knowing that what we are doing to push the development needle in Nigeria and Africa is being noticed,” China said.
He said his foreign technical partners were coming from Korea, noting that, “one beautiful thing about Korea is that it went through the same development organogram as Nigeria or the development journey. In the early 70s and 80s, Korea was where Nigeria is today. So, they have seen what it takes to go from a third-world country to where they are today.
“Apart from the fact that they are coming with technical support. They are coming with financial support, they are coming with something that is priceless, which is experiential support, because they have gone through this development path, and they can see and tell the actual indices of development.
“That is why we are partnering with them, and that is why even when they heard about this award, they have come to see it themselves and experience and can give us guidance from the experience they have and the experience we are having as a nation.”
In her remarks, the Creative Manager Peace Legend Awards, Tonye Favour George, said the initiative was to identify, celebrate, and amplify the work of peacebuilders and social change agents across Nigeria, Africa, and beyond.
“This is the 14th edition. It has been hosted in Lagos State, Delta State, and Rivers State. Our vision is to be Africa’s leading platform for celebrating and empowering individuals, organisations, and brands committed to advancing peace, social impact, and transformational leadership.
“Our mission is to identify and honour champions of peace, humanitarian service, and sustainable community development. To inspire leaders and foster peaceful collaboration. We envision enhanced visibility for peacebuilding initiatives and their impact, increased public awareness and support for peace-related issues, and the empowerment of youth and women to participate actively in peacebuilding and community development,” she said.
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