How to Foster Speedy Regional Dev’t in Nigeria – Osinbajo
THECONSCIENCEng reports that former Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has called for a coordinated regional development strategy to accelerate growth in South West Nigeria, anchored on land reform, infrastructure-led planning and inclusive housing policies.
Osinbajo made the call on Tuesday in Lagos while delivering the keynote address at the Wemabod Real Estate Outlook Conference 2026, titled “From Bodija to the Future: Unlocking land and infrastructure for inclusive housing – A Regional Agenda.”
He said the South West, drawing from the legacy of the old Western Region under Chief Obafemi Awolowo, has a moral and developmental obligation to pursue growth models that benefit the wider society, not just a privileged few.
“Housing cannot be left solely to the logic of profit. It is not just a commodity; it is the cornerstone of socio-economic transformation and the foundation for equity, prosperity and human dignity,” Osinbajo said.
He noted that rapid urban growth from Lagos to Ibadan and Akure is being poorly organised, with housing policy reduced to short-term real estate development, disconnected from land governance, infrastructure planning and regional coordination.
Using the Bodija Housing Estate in Ibadan as a model, Osinbajo described it as a landmark development strategy that integrated land assembly, infrastructure provision and mixed-income housing within a single planning framework.
“Bodija was not just a housing project; it was a complete neighbourhood, deliberately planned, infrastructure-first, socially integrated and close to employment centres,” he said, adding that its major failure was non-replication across the region.
Contrasting past planning with current patterns, he criticised the rise of fragmented, gated estates on city fringes, poorly served by infrastructure and transport, which, according to him, deepen inequality and exclusion.
“We have become efficient at delivering projects, but inefficient at building inclusive communities,” he said.
Osinbajo identified land and infrastructure as the two major constraints to inclusive housing, describing land scarcity as institutional rather than physical, driven by fragmented ownership, slow titling and speculative land banking.
He called for structured public-private partnerships, where governments provide land and infrastructure at scale, while private developers bring capital and execution capacity.
“When states provide land at subsidised rates, deliver infrastructure and fast-track approvals, mixed-income housing becomes viable,” he said.
He further advocated proactive land assembly by government, infrastructure-first development, mandatory inclusive zoning, and affordable housing finance models that reflect real incomes, including flexible repayment structures for informal sector workers.
Osinbajo concluded that political will, not capacity, remains the real challenge.
“State governments that control land can provide housing if the political will exists,” he said, adding that faster development in the South West depends on coordinated regional planning, long-term infrastructure investment and a deliberate commitment to inclusive growth.
