Alhaji Nasiru Suleiman is a Nigerian Quantity Surveyor and CEO Wiser Estates Nigeria Limited, Abuja, Nigeria.
In this interview with African Leadership Magazine, he details the myriad of issues related to his company, the progress made and the works in progress.
Can you tell us briefly about yourself?
My name is Nasiru Suleiman, I am a native of Kainji, in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State. I am a Quantity Surveyor and an alumnus of the Federal University of Technology Minna.
How has practice been for you?
I started understudying while still in school, and during the mandatory NYSC program, there was a continuation. Shortly after that, I joined Brains and Hammers as the pioneer project Manager. Quantity surveying is a profession that demands focus and wholeheartedness. In practice, it involves helping people through the core job which is construction.
What is the major cause of the global housing deficit?
You can agree with me that the number one cause of this is Poverty. This primary factor is principally at large, but is manifest in unemployment and underemployment, illiteracy, and poor government policies which can also come in as;
– inadequate or the lack of land location.
– the lack of basic infrastructure.
– the lack of easy access to mortgage and loan.
How can his problem be tackled frontally?
The problem is not invincible. Like I said earlier, the solution must be policy driven firstly. For example, if there are good employment opportunities, scholarship programs and the improvement of our educational facilities, access to credits like mortgages, massive and transparent allocation of housing lands directly to genuine developers, and the provision of basic infrastructures, the problem will be a thing of the past. But these must take place because they’ll prevent the bottlenecks experienced in accessing funds and in processing building approvals.
What are the policies that can drive this forward?
First of all, land acquisition policies have to be reviewed for easy access to genuine lands. Also, the government has to grant free import duty on major building materials. The interest rate on mortgage financing must be reduced as well. Lastly, the government must win the trust of the civil servants and the low-income earners by removing the multiple bureaucratic red tapes in processing government mortgages and loans.
In a more practical way, the government has to create policies to ease the bottleneck in accessing mortgage finance for a maximum of 1-3 months as against 6 months and beyond, and also provide take-off grants.
We observe a great deal of youthfulness in your firm?
It is not coincidental, it is a well-thought-out plan. The deliberateness of this stems from the global trends of doing this which is common among the youths, the robust and maximum energy to achieve set goals by this age group, very importantly, it is in place to meaningfully engage the youths to discourage idleness and stave off indulgences prevalent in the society.
Are there currently or previously held projects by your firm?
In the past two years, we have completed 35 units of houses in Kaura District, 27 units of various house types at beside Regent School Mabushi, 80 units of various house types near the VIO office at Mabushi
What are your company’s goals and expectations in years to come?
We want to be the highest employer of labour in the country, and also to explore various construction techniques in promoting the use of locally produced materials for housing construction.
In all these, I look up to God above because everybody has his or her God-given talent which makes you unique.
Thank you for your time.
It’s My pleasure.
