The paper takes a holistic view of the housing affordability problem to discuss the multifaceted nature of the problem vis-à-vis the political, social, institutional, economic, and financial milieu of Africa. The paper reviews the definitions of housing and housing affordability and analyses relevant secondary data obtained through archival research and Google searches to propose pragmatic measures for resolving the problem in the context of the socio-economic, cultural, and political milieu of Africa.

It concludes that the enormity of the problem is a function of, among others, the vested interest of the power brokers who are profiting from it; the market; the unwitting application of Western models to Africa; poverty; and the sheer neglect of time-tested African means of affordable housing delivery by the housing policymakers of Africa. A major fascinating finding is that the people can build themselves cheap houses that no one (including the government, international bodies, aid donors, and especially the market) can do for them.

All they need is help with infrastructure provision. Thus, the problem is not insuperable – it can be resolved if we have the will and commitment to do so by tapping on the African indomitable spirit, self-determination, and enterprise to provide a contextual African model solution for the African urban housing affordability problem. The findings could help all stakeholders to work together to resolve the problem in a meaningful practical way for the benefit of Africa.

The world’s housing affordability problem has vindicated Abrams (1964:53) that “so far as housing is concerned, the whole world has remained underdeveloped”. Housing affordability is problematic in both developed and developing countries. Given all the technological advancement, the copious housing policies that have been promulgated, and the virtues of the market economy, it is bewildering that a solution to the problem has thus far proven to be a will-o-the-wisp.

The paper is therefore aimed at conducting a review of the urban housing affordability problem of Africa to propose pragmatic measures for resolving the problem in the context of the socio-economic, cultural, and political milieu of Africa and, secondly, to provoke more research and debate on the issue. The key to resolving the problem could be found in the statement of the respondents to a survey for affordable housing in Lagos: “We are the answer…We can build cheap homes for ourselves” (Osunsina, 2018).

The rest of the paper proceeds as follows. The next section deals with a review (with special reference to Africa) of the relevant literature. This is followed by the methodology after which the results of secondary data analyses are presented and discussed. This is followed by policy discussion. The last section is devoted to concluding remarks.

There is no consensus among housing experts on the definition, nature and scope of housing, and the housing problem. The definition of housing is complicated by the fact that words like “home”, “house”, “shelter”, “dwelling” and “housing” are often used interchangeably in the same context (Burn and Grebler, 1977).

According to Rapoport (1980), housing has been approached as a product, as a commodity, as a process, as a place (including such concepts as the expression of identity, self-worth, and status of the inhabitants), as a territory, as private domain, as a ‘behavior setting’ (a unit of analysis in ecological psychology), or as the response to a set of purely functional requirements (a locus of activity). Rapoport (1980) further notes that the definition of housing has been neglected “possibly because, since we all live in housing, we feel that we know what dwellings are”.

According to Francescato (1993, p.37), the real reason for neglecting to define housing could be the multiplicity of meanings evoked by housing. Teymur (1988, p.19), in trying to define housing, states: “Housing is a complex phenomenon… The terms and the framework which we talk and think about, housing constitute a concept of ‘housing’ … It is an amorphous, heterogeneous, multi-media, imprecise, and relativistic concept; but one which has a real existence in our lives, language, and thinking”.