Government Policies and Household Mobility Behaviour in Nigeria: The Case of Osun State Property Development Corporation (Ospdc)

Abstract

Purpose-This paper examines government housing policies and how it affects household mobility behaviour in Osun State Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach-Primary data used in the study was obtained through oral interview of randomly selected officials of the OSPDC and purposively selected households' situated in OSPDC estates in the six geo-political zones of the state. Similarly, secondary data was collected from the official records of the corporation. Simple descriptive statistical tools such as frequency distribution, mean and percentages were employed to analyze the data collected. Findings-The study revealed that the major determinants of household mobility behaviour in the state are accessibility and affordability of housing units, other factors include: household type, size class of households, type of dwelling/housing units, number of exclusive sleeping rooms and tenure status. Also, the study revealed that in Nigeria, particularly Osun state, the government through the agency of the OSPDC encourages household mobility through the provision of accessible and affordable housing to particularly the low and middle-income classes. However, much is still left to be desired as only few of the citizenry have access to these "affordable" housing units. Practical implications-Housing is a basic necessity for all households. The recommendations proposed in this study will help the government in formulating better housing policies, which will encourage household mobility for especially the low-income class in the state. To enhance this, adequate funding of the state housing corporations and encouragement of Public Private Sector Participation can greatly improve accessibility and affordability for household mobility. Originality/value-This research work is unique as it looks into the mobility behavior of households in Osun State Nigeria. In Nigerian context, this is rather an unexplored aspect in the housing literature, hence this study. With the right policies in place, households (especially the low income class) could be motivated to move to better housing units.