The Governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Zulum, has disclosed that over one million homes were destroyed in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states by the Boko Haram insurgents.

He disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday at the unveiling of winners for the 2023 Nigeria Housing design competition tagged ‘Home After Crisis’.

“But within the last 12 years, beginning with my predecessor, I think we have rebuilt more than 30 per cent but we still have a very huge and significant deficit,” Zulum said.

While congratulating the winners of the competition, he noted that houses being built for the returnees must pass the rigidity test.

“The aim of the project is to have a house that is incremental, affordable and modular”, assuring that his government would provide the political will and commitment to the housing project.

He however allayed the fear that terrorists could destroy the new housing efforts, saying over 90 percent of Borno was safe.

Speaking at the event, The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Nigeria’s Chief of Mission, Laurent De Boeck, said the Northeast of Nigeria had faced escalating violence since 2015, leading to an unprecedented housing emergency.

As of 2023, an estimated 3.5 million people had lost their homes or lived in precarious conditions, he said, adding that Nigeria currently experiences an acute housing deficit, estimated at around 23 million.

According to him, the 2023 ‘Home After Crisis’ design competition, funded by the Nigerian Humanitarian Fund (NHF), is part of the effort to solve the housing needs of the IDPs.

He said: “It brought together 1,600 designers, architects and engineers from across 100 countries. Those architect experts have developed 250 design proposals for low-cost and innovative housing.”

While disclosing that the housing competition targeted the housing challenges linked to Nigeria’s rapidly growing population, he said that they aim to provide access to affordable housing, built to deliver climate-proof housing with local materials.

Team Imagini NG won the competition with their Sabon Gida, Sabon Farko design while Zuhura Zuhair took the second position and team COWA came third.

The overall winners got 5000 Euros as prize money while the second and third got 3000 Euros and 2000 Euros respectively. (Daily Trust)

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