INSECURITY IN NIGERIA AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR - Chapter 1

A Research Conducted by Nwabuisi Dennis
CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

            Over the years, there have been questions raised about the effects of security with regards to the real estate sector in respect to property values and development as it relates to the general growth and development of the real estate sector.

Notwithstanding the persistent rise in the insecurity level in Nigeria today, the quest for shelter (real estate) can be dated from Adam. Shelter as used in this context implies housing and the real estate sector as it is one of the crucial needs of man in conjunction to food and clothing. This is the more reason why the security of man’s habitat/neighborhood is of great importance because as the saying goes “Life has no duplicate”, this connotes the fact that the security of real estate sector has an important role to play in the development if the real estate sector and in turn to the overall growth and development of the economy in general.

Security of lives and property is one of the vital duties of the government as well as the individuals in any given estate because the security of these lives forms the basis of almost the day to day activities of the people that are there because of the perception of a secured environment has a positive and psychological effects on the lives of the citizens in a place.

Nigeria being one of the developing countries of the world located in the West Africa has become investors den for carrying out real estate and property investments as one may have it. Over the past few decades, Nigeria have been faced with various insecurity issues and these issues have increased sporadically since 2009 that it was on the increase in the northern part of Nigeria. Real estate investors now see the high risk level of insecurity in the country as one of the factors that possess threat to their various investment options. In most cases, these investors when carrying out investment analysis, appraisals and study might end up selecting and exploiting other options which might not be real estate which has little or no insecurity treats.

                  In Bello (2013), it was reported that Nigeria’s population is on the increase and thus have given rise to various social vices and crimes which in turn have increased the level of insecurity in the country.

Nevertheless, the research would be systematically carried out to pin-point the effects that insecurity has on the real estate sector, taking cognizance of the reviews and attempts made by other scholars on this topic and other related topics to ensure that useful facts and recommendations are provided to help in reducing the negative effects of the insecurity saga in the real estate sector as we see today.

               Furthermore, the research would be carried out to highlight the other effects that insecurity have on other ancillary sectors to the real estate sector as they all affects the overall growth and development of the economy because studies have shown that an unsecured environment or neighborhood is drastically affected by the menace of insecurity either positively or negatively as this research would be answering these questions. Also the effects insecurity have on the property values in the real estate sector would be looked into in the course of the research.

                Based on this, the research would attempt to bring this problems facing the Nigerian economy to a minimal if not a complete tranquility in the real estate sector and furthermore improve the growth and development of the real estate sector and give more investment insights to the real estate investors and property owners in the sector.

2.    STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

                Nigeria is a large country densely populated with all manner of people and as a result of this and many others factors, the country is now faced with various insecurity issues such as militancy in the South especially in the Niger Delta regions, insurgency in the North as we see the case of the Boko Haram sects who are tagged to be terrorist groups affiliated with the killing and assassination of both Muslims and Christians with the goal of creating an ungovernable state and disrupt the peace and coexistence of people in the country.

             On the Other hand, there have been a rise in the rate at which real properties are brought into the real estate market for sale especially in the area where insecurity is seen to be high. There have also been high case of void properties especially in these areas too. It is based on the forgoing that the researcher seeks to carry out this research in order to determine and address if there is a relationship between insecurity in Nigeria and the development of the real estate sector.

3. AIM AND OBJECTIVES

            The aim of this research is to explore the insecurity in Nigeria and its effects on the development of the real estate sector. Based on this aim, the researcher will pursue the following objectives;

1.  To determine the various causes of insecurity in the country.

2.  To highlight the various forms of insecurity in Nigeria.

3.  To determine the relationship between insecurity and real estate development.

4.  To determine the effects of insecurity in Nigeria.

5.  To proffer means of curbing insecurity problems in Nigeria with a view of promoting the development of the real estate sector.

4.     REASEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions below will help the researcher to systematically and logically carry out the research properly and effectively to address the already listed objectives above. They are;

1.  What are the causes of insecurity in the country?

2.  What are the various forms and types of insecurity in Nigeria?

3.  What are the relationship between insecurity and development in Nigeria?

4.  What are the effects of insecurity on the real estate sector?

5.  What are the possible means of reducing and curbing the insecurity problems in the country?

5. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

              Over the years, several attempts have been carried out by different scholars and other researchers on this subject and other subjects. This research will be of great importance in so many ways and to other schools of thoughts who would be making reference to this literature. As the research focusses more on the insecurity problems in Nigeria and its effects on the real estate sector, the research would be of great significance to the real estate developers and investors in the sense that it will be a guide to them on the Nigerian real estate sector and also disclose the insecurity effects on the real estate with an attempt to proffer solution to curb these effects on the real sector as an investment to enable them take good decisions regarding their investment to the advantage of the sector.

               The study would emphasize on the various insecurity issues in the country, their causes and possible solutions. This will be of immense importance to the government and people of Nigeria in achieving a more secure nation by recommending various government intervention programs against insecurity in the country.

               Lastly, the research will enrich the scanty literature on insecurity in Nigeria as it relates to the real estate sector. In other words, it would add value to the existing body of knowledge and be a reference point to the upcoming scholars and researchers in the field of estate management and other related fields like national security, civil defense etc.

6. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

              The entire body of the research is a vast one in the sense that the jurisdiction under review is the entire country and the real estate sector, therefore the research was randomly conducted and real estate carefully selected to reduce the stress of moving around the entire country with the time frame available for the successful completion of the research.

             Secondly, as a result of the complexity of the research, strategic locations, states, real estates were constructively selected. This was done this way to give room for the accommodation of travelling expenses incurred by the researcher as well as the risks of plying the road all time in the course of conducting the research.

             Thirdly, using the present insecurity situation in the country, the North as the most suitable location for carrying out the research and as such the researcher was faced with so many challenges like the language problems which the researcher was able to overcome by having someone to interpret some local languages that were alien to me. Also, the problems of the acquisition of data was a bit hectic and so, questionnaires were sampled and issued out to the resourceful persons and individuals who are willing to give out useful information for this research. As a result of the state of emergency in the states in the north, the researcher’s movement in the area was limited and restricted in some remote area to ensure safety.

            Lastly, the researcher was limited to sufficient internet data on the computer modem in terms of finance in constantly recharging it. Nevertheless, adequate use of the medium was applied in the sense that good sites and search engines were used to save time and money in surfing the internet all day. So it is based on the above limitations that this research was conducted. 

To be continued in Chapter 2.. Happy Reading