Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has advised Nigerians, particularly young people, against spending more than 40 per cent of their income on rent.
Hamzat said young Nigerians should not feel pressured to start their independent lives in expensive apartments, urging them to consider accommodation that reflects their income and financial circumstances.
He made the remarks during a radio interview on Nigeria’s housing crisis, affordability and the need to strengthen the economy.
The deputy governor said unmarried young people could, where necessary, continue living with their parents or relatives while building their finances.
“Don’t let us misunderstand ourselves as a people. We are cultural people,” Hamzat said.
He added that young people should not feel compelled to immediately move into expensive accommodation.
“If I start to work as a young person and I’m not married, a lot of us live with our parents. A lot of us live with our cousins,” he said.
“Go to Turkey, for example, and see how young people also live. You don’t start from the top; you start from the average, depending on your circumstances.”
Hamzat said spending more than 40 per cent of one’s income on rent was unsustainable because households also had to cater for food, clothing and transportation.
“In fact, if you spend more than 40 per cent of your income on rent, it is too high because you must eat, buy clothes and pay for transportation,” he said.
He also urged Nigerians to cultivate a culture of saving, saying financial discipline could help individuals work towards property ownership.
According to Hamzat, young people could start with smaller accommodation, including a one-bedroom or self-contained apartment, rather than waiting to afford larger homes.
“But the bottom line is, like I said, the culture and ability to save. If people see that you can save money, then I can give you a property,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to be a big property if you are a young person. You can start with a one-bedroom apartment or even a self-contained apartment.”
However, Hamzat said the housing crisis could not be solved solely by encouraging individuals to spend less on rent, stressing that Nigerians also needed better incomes.
“What is important is that we must also build our economy in such a way that people earn better. That way, everybody can be uplifted,” he said.
He linked housing affordability to the overall performance of the economy, arguing that economic stability would make inflation, prices and household planning more predictable.
Hamzat commended the Federal Government’s efforts to stabilise the economy, saying such measures would provide the foundation for addressing other challenges, including housing.
“That way, we can start to uplift the economy. So, we need to prepare the fundamentals first before we can actually move to the next stage,” he said.
The deputy governor said the cost of essential goods and services must also be addressed before the country could make substantial progress on other economic and social challenges.
“The cost of buying things is what we need to fix first. And when we fix that, which is what the Federal Government is doing now, then we’ll be able to talk a lot more about the other pillars that depend on it,” he said.
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