Mohammed Shosanya
The Ooni of Ife,Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi,has said that the government alone could not provide adequate housing for Nigerians.
He disclosed this on Friday while receiving former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar(retd), Bishop Matthew Kukah, General Martin Luther Agwai(retd) at his Ojaja Park, Alagbaka, Akure, Ondo State capital.
He implored the private sector to save the sector by making use of local content in terms of materials and human resources.
He disclosed that he embarked on the housing project to reduce the deficit in the sector.
He used locally made materials in the project which he noted,reduced capital flight usually experienced when importing such materials.
He took his visitors round the facilities in the over one hundred thousand square meter estate,and showcased the artworks and other interior decorations done by some young folks who he said are products of Nigerian higher institutions of learning
Oba Ogunwusi said: “We won’t continue to cry over spilled milk. We know that we have a housing deficit in the country, but we need to make do with what we have to get results. We need to buy Nigeria, we need to produce in Nigeria, including our housing needs.
“Our project here is a city on its own. It is 100,000 square meters, and we are trying to showcase what is possible in Nigeria. Practically, everything you see here, we know where it came from in Nigeria.
“So, our own mantra is at least 90 percent of things that are made in Nigeria will be used, because a lot of people probably think we do things that are of inferior quality.
“Today is the official showcasing of Ojaja City to the world. And the official showcasing is to actually let everybody that matters in this country know that whenever there is a will, there is a way.
“A lot of good things can happen in our country and if we believe in ourselves, like this typical project, if we believe that Nigeria and Nigerians can do it, then our deficit of housing will continue to reduce gradually.
“Here is an integrated city that you don’t even need to go out. We have everything here, we have a five-star hotel here, game centre, children’s park, we have a shopping mall here, we have park, we have school, we have residential estates.
“So for us, it’s just to model something that has never been done in Nigeria. A lot of people are always very skeptical of our products, that homemade goods, Nigerian made products aren’t good, but we are not skeptical. We went all the way.
“We don’t need to leave government to do everything and this is the why I invited General Abdusalam Abubakar and Bishop Mathew Kukah to come and bless this place, because they believe in peace, and they believe in youth engagement, because for us here, it’s all about youth engagement and I believe Nigeria will be a better place.
“When you are driven by money, you can’t do such a project, it’s not possible, but for me, on the throne, I just want to see a lot of youths and their lives being turned around. And I’m happy, I’m fulfilled. I have thousands of youths that, from nothing, they are something today. So, that’s my objective.
“The numbers, you can’t even count, they are into billions. But, we don’t want to talk about number here. It’s about passion. What can we do for our dear country? We always blame government but what are we all doing individually?”
