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Title :

Housing for-all in Nigeria: The Indigenous Building Technology Alternative

Authors :

Umar Muhammad Jabbi

The challenge before anybody interested in building for the masses of this country must be how to reduce the price/cost of an average house. The Nigerian Government has since independence invested huge sum of nation's resources towards the provision of adequate housing for the citizenry. It is a housing policy that places greater premium on imported building materials and design that are costly and do not go in line with the realities of the culture and environment of the occupants and certainly not suitable for an all housing programme. It is the argument of this paper that, the use of indigenous building technology and material holds the key to a successful housing?for all in Nigeria. The advantages of indigenous building materials of availability, reusability and environment friendly are important yardsticks for their preference. However, this should not be misconstrued as advocating for a reversal to a past that is considered unproblematic, but an a?empt to marry past practices with the present advancement in material engineering to create a durable, comfortable and affordable housing for the generality of Nigerians. This point of view is supported with the hindsight of our past.