THE RENEWED ENERGY FOR AN IMMINENT MASS HOUSING REVOLUTION DRIVEN BY THE FEDERAL HOUSING AUTHORITY [FHA].
By Congressman Bimbo Daramola
Capacity is innate..Capabilities is intrinsic.. Competence is not inherited .
The above assertion would seem to have been confirmed by the new management and board of the Federal Housing Authority [FHA] under the leadership of the young determined, goal oriented and focused leadership of Honourable Oyetunde Ojo, a one-term member House of Representatives, recently appointed alongside other distinguished members of the board of the agency.
In less than three months of assumption of office , the energy that this team have put into the task of delivering the RENEWED HOPE MANDATE IN THE MASS HOUSING SECTOR compares to no other since the Authority came into existence a little over 50 years ago.
One would be tempted to think that these team knew themselves beforehand, or were privy to any or an existing roadmap document or had a fore knowledge of what to do on assumption of office, i.e an “expo” of some sort to be able to move this fast, from the way they have hit the ground running in pursuit of the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, it could only be an attestation to one fact ,that the President head hunted rightly with regard to the new team to head this very critical agency, the Federal Housing Authority [FHA].
While some newly constituted agencies and boards would seem to be groping in the dark, appearing not to have a clue about where to take off from, the new FHA board is already revving at a good speed , not taxiing but already taken off and climbing a good altitude within a very short time .
The new board would come across as having such a close knit bond between them, driving the unity of purpose that is a condition precedent to this fast pace movement, almost in a hurried determination to shape the future of mass Housing in Nigeria in accordance with the Presidential declaration of 5000 Housing Units across all the States of the Federation.
Since the days of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, it may be safe to say that no other administration has had such an ambitious plan like the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration to tackle head long the notorious issue of mass Housing deficit in Nigeria .
To drive this lofty but ambitious lplan alongside other sister agencies Ministry is the Federal Housing Authority, headed by Honourable Oyetunde Ojo.
Upon assumption of office , the board realised that the days of staying smack in the Abuja head office of the organisation is long gone if the mandate given to them must be realised and the task accomplished within record time. A rebound of energy in this sector will impact the nation’s economy in tangible ways.
Consequently the board members became the marketers of the mandate of Mr President, by going out to acquaint the numero uno partners and Stakeholders, i.e the State Governors with the vision of Mr President for the Housing Sector , not only to bridge the mass Housing deficit but for this sector to be another major springboard for economic recovery reverberating from the sub nationals.
The aggregate of concomittant activities in this sector across all the states will further drive the much desired rebound in the economy, through thousands of jobs that will be created and associated activities along the value chain.
To date the Managing Director acting as the Chief Marketer of the Agency is leading from the front , and in a little over two months , about fifteen state Governors have been visited, pitched and all of them fully enlisted in the required and much needed partnership to drive the RENEWED HOPE MANDATE FOR THE NIGERIAN MASS HOUSING SECTOR.
There is no leadership since the formation of the Federal Housing Authority that has contemplated this level and dimension of seeking across board , Pan Nigeria buy in for the agency’s mission, and objectives, none until now. Find below the latest visit to the Governor of Akwa Ibom State by the Board and management.
The Managing Director, now named the “Roadmaster” by the team because of his inclination to literally “hit the road” criss crossing the States of the Federation in pursuit of the mandate, not one to allow the unpredictable local flights to limit him from acomplishing the set target of getting all the State Governors on board as soon as possible as a prelude to the formal ground breaking by President, Commander in Chief , His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu before the end of the third quarter.
Amidst the criss crossing, the board has also started the digitalisation of the operations, and activities of the Federal Housing Authority to make it more contemporary in the discharge of its duties, for more efficiency and effectiveness in line with global best practices, such that by the time the process is completed, the activities of the board will be so transparent and fluid in line with expectations of the citizens .
It is indeed a new day for the agency and a renewed energy to drive the vision of a Federal Housing Authority that will be more active, relevant and play crucial roles in the recovery of the economy while fulfilling its core mandate.