DECENT HOUSING for the PEOPLE in NIGERIA, COVID-19 DISEASE, SOCIAL DISTANCING, PHYSICAL DISTANCING and OTHER PALAVERS [1]

back in the day
NIGERIA seemed to be somehow accidentally? getting it right
.. more or less ..
as far as providing housing
and in particular
decent housing for the people was/is concerned.

i say accidentally?
because
the whole thing seemed to be in fits and starts.

and also
there seemed to be a
clear lack of
genuine, comprehensive and well-articulated practical(ized) programme(s)
to this purpose
and
to this effect.

and also
some of the good gestures and good initiatives
seemingly put in place
by
well-meaning people
and
well-intentioned people
seemed to be sort of hijacked and diverted
at different points and stages
by
folks who could do so.

anyway,
like i said
NIGERIA seemed to somehow accidentally? be getting it right
…….. sometimes.

for example,
one time
NIGERIA hosted an event called FESTAC 77 i.e FESTAC 1977.

( by the way,
that FESTAC there
is an acronym / mnemonic
for
Festival of Black and African Arts and Culture. )

folks from
virtually everywhere in the
Black, African and Negro Diaspora world-wide
participated in this event

and
in order to provide decent accommodation
for these high numbers of people,

Nigeria went beyond the idea of accommodating them in hotels
to
actually building a housing estate where all of them could be housed
for the period
and
their security and safety ensured.

that housing estate became known as FESTAC TOWN.

after the event,
the Federal Military Government of Nigeria
then headed by
General Olusegun Obasanjo
did/held a lottery for the houses
and
sold the lottery tickets in very affordable units
like

NAIRA 00:50 KOBO ?
NAIRA 01:00 KOBO ?
NAIRA 05:00 KOBO

the information was made available nationwide
and
was carried in newspapers like
the Daily Times of Nigeria newspaper
which was a major staple here in Nigeria back in the day then
and
was also carried on radio and television.

and many people who participated in the lottery won.

and many ordinary, simple,normal, everyday Nigerians
who participated in the lottery
won.

as far as my memory serves,
anyone anywhere in Nigeria
who wanted to participate in the lottery
could do so.

however, i may be wrong here
and
it might have been a Lagos thing only i.e
a Lagos State inhabitants thing only.

in any case,
i personally know some folks who won houses in that lottery
e.g 
JOE RERRI ➡️➡️➡️

( hey, Joe, if you are reading this, how are you doing? and how is life out there in Europe ? )

➡️➡️➡️ and
some other folks
who won houses in that lottery and
who are/were ordinary simple normal everyday Nigerians

and
were not of either
the Yoruba tribe or
the Hausa tribe

so it will be difficult for anyone to convince me that

General Obasanjo ( Yoruba tribe, {South-}Western Nigeria )
and
General Yaradua ( Fulani Tribe, Northern Nigeria )
and
General Danjuma ( Tiv Tribe, Northern Nigeria
although according to rumours
his mother is Jukun Tribe
which is also from today 2021’s Middle-Belt? Nigeria?
just like the Tiv tribe

although back then in 1977 i.e in the 1970s

both the Tiv tribe and the Jukun tribe were generally seen as
a core component of Northern Nigeria
a core part and parcel of Northern Nigeria

.. more educated in terms of numbers of graduates, etc
than the Hausa, Fulani and other tribes in the North
.. more Christian in terms of numbers of Christians, etc
than the Hausa, Fulani and other tribes in the North
as they had/have a fair number of Christians
unlike the Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, etc
who seem(ed) to be mostly Moslems

.. but all the same 100% pure Northerners )

distributed the houses to only members of their own tribes
i.e to persons from {South-Western} Nigeria and Northern Nigeria only
and
did not allow anybody from any other part of Nigeria to win a house there.

i don’t have the numbers
so it possible that
the Yorubas and the Hausas and the Fulanis and the Tivs and the Jukuns form the greater majority of the winners of the lottery tickets.

however, i do know for a fact that
persons from other parts of Nigeria
e.g
ibos/igbos from the {South-}Eastern part of Nigeria
also won houses there.

JOE RERRI for example is a MID-WESTERNER i.e
from the area called
the Mid-West Region of Nigeria / MID-WEST(ERN) STATE
at the time ( 1977 )
and is from a tribe
that now in 2021 A.D
is either in EDO STATE or DELTA STATE.

and in 1977 he was still a kid.
couldn’t have been more than 12 – 15 years old at the time.

probably
someone dashed him ( i.e gave him as a gift and/or present )
N0:50 KOBO?
and
he used the money to play the lottery and won a house.

( a small flat really.
i know – as i have been there to visit him before he left Nigeria for Europe sometime after 1989 or thereabouts

in search of greener pastures abroad

because of the economic down-turn in Nigeria
and
the severe difficulties university graduates were encountering in Nigeria
in the process of trying to earn a decent living. )

FESTAC TOWN ( 1977 ) remains
till date JANUARY 2021
one of the largest housing estates in Nigeria

and one of the best examples of
a Nigeria Administration providing
decent accommodation
for
ordinary, every day Nigeria residents and Nigeria citizens.

there have been some other efforts
e.g
by some state governments in Nigeria

to provide housing for residents in their state(s).

however,
the FESTAC TOWN (1977) example
will suffice to make the point
that
at one time
NIGERIA seemed to be moving in the direction of
providing decent housing for (all?) the people.

and it will also serve
to make the point
that

if this sort of housing initiative had been copied and carried on
by the Federal Government and all State Governments across Nigeria
since 1977,

by now JANUARY 2021,
quite a larger number of Nigeria residents would have
more decent housing.

clearly,
the fact that it wasn’t replicated in real terms
.. either in Lagos State or in any other State ..
serves as

demonstrative example par excellence of the reality
that
some good initiatives executed in Nigeria
regarding housing
have occurred in fits, starts and stops.

and that brings me to the point.

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