FRESH out of the University of Sokoto with a Biochemistry degree in hand and a passion to practice journalism, Umar* stepped into Abuja in 2022—Nigeria’s buzzing capital and land of big dreams.
He had just secured NYSC posting with a digital media platform based in Abuja, confident that his years of campus reporting had prepared him for the big leagues. However, beneath the city’s shiny promise, he was about to confront a reality far tougher than he ever imagined.
“At that time, I didn’t know anyone in Abuja except for this distant uncle who promised to give me accommodation when I came. Upon reaching here, he sat me down to explain that it would not be possible to stay with him because he was managing with his family in a self-contained room,” Umar recalled.
Umar recounted how his uncle who worked as a secretary for a transport company at the time, offered him a temporary solution; permission to sleep in his tiny office at the Nyanya Park.
Umar explained how he started house hunting with a Fifty-Thousand-Naira budget. “There are no houses of N50,000 in Abuja, so I had to sleep there.”
“I had to sleep there for two weeks, and it was during Ramadan fasting. It was lively because it’s a garage and there were a lot of people sleeping outside the garage, so the garage is kind of crowded area. There is a public toilet, I paid N20 for bathing and N30 for using the restroom,” he said.
In the same year Umar moved to Abuja, the ICIR reported that while over many houses in the city sat empty, nearly two million residents were struggling with homelessness.
Umar had only saved N50,000 as NYSC was only paying him N33 thousand. The average cost of a three-bedroom flat in highbrow areas such as Maitama, Asokoro, Wuse and Jabi that year was between N3.5 million and N4 million, while a one-bedroom apartment hovered around N1.5 million annually.
Even though the media platform was paying N25,000 stipend, he said that he couldn’t afford houses in satellite towns, a three-bedroom flat went for between N600,000 and N1.5 million, while one-bedroom flat was for an average of N400,000 yearly.
Umar said his parents contacted another distant uncle who accommodated him after the two weeks he spent in the garage.
“I stayed there for over a year. I was able to save up for my accommodation. I was retained at the media house after my youth service. So, I got a self-contained for the first time at N200,000 in a slum area of Lugbe,” Umar said.
Housing hurdles of Abuja journalists
Tunde*, a reporter with a renowned newspaper in the country also shared his experience.
“I have been living fully in Abuja since 2021. When I first got here, I was a bit stranded because work took me here from Ibadan and there was nowhere for me to stay. I think the major challenge I have faced is when I have to house hunt, from exploitative house agents to getting the kind of house you really like within your budget,” Tunde said.
The journalist shared that he struggled for three months before he could afford a room in a flat in Jabi, which costs N400,000 per year, noting that to make ends meet, he took on various jobs.
“The major rent I experienced was last year. Where I stay currently, the rent used to be N700,000 for a one bedroom. Now, it is N1.5 million, aside from estate charges for security and cleaning, among others. My main job is slightly above N200k,” he explained.
“I also have other sources of income that bring in steady cash monthly, but they are not salary based. But money is never sufficient,” he explained.
Tunde who has been practising for four years now said he plans to start a family, but his current earning is not sufficient especially with the inflation and cost of living in the capital city.
Similarly, Chidimma*, a broadcast journalist with a radio station in Abuja who has been in the city for two years, lamented the frequent rent hikes, sometimes occurring annually, which strain her finances and force her to constantly adjust her budget and prioritise essential expenses.
“I currently reside in a one-bedroom apartment in a decent neighbourhood along airport road. My monthly rent stretches my salary,” she lamented.
Chidimma, who has been practicing for eleven years, revealed that her current monthly salary is around N250,000.
“Unfortunately, it’s not enough to meet the high cost of living in Abuja, especially when you factor in rent, transportation, and other essential expenses,” she said.
A 2023 study by the Nigerian Urban Studies Association reveals that limited housing options and affordability challenges often compel low-income earners like Umar to live in substandard conditions.
According Paylab Nigeria, a salary survey platform that collects and analyses salary data from employees in various industries and positions job platform, the salary range for journalists working in Nigeria, starts typically from N172,193 minimum salary to N341,068 highest average, actual maximum salary is higher.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chairman, Grace Ike, told The ICIR that some journalists often earn between N80,000 to N162,500 per month at entry level, while more experienced journalists may earn up to N350,000 monthly or higher in some cases, especially in print or broadcast media.
“However, average salaries reported range from about N60,000 to N150,000 monthly for many journalists, which is considered low given Abuja’s housing situation. Housing costs in Abuja are relatively high, with decent accommodation often requiring a substantial portion of a journalist’s salary,” she explained.
The Chairman added that majority of journalists face low pay and it’s insufficient to accommodate cost of living.
Can journalists afford to buy a house in Abuja?
“Of course, I do work hard but I don’t see myself buying a house in Abuja, because I’m not earning enough to build a house in 30 or 40 years to come,” Umar said.
Umar explained that he relies on other sources of income like story grants he applies for and occasionally receives, to meet his basic needs, else continuing his work as a journalist would be nearly impossible.
A print journalist based in Abuja, Solomon Odeniyi, on the other hand, said that even though his company provides him with a N41,000 housing allowance, buying a house in Abuja feels like a distant dream and a prayer point.
“It would take the help of God for many of us to build a house in Abuja. Do you know how much it costs to buy land in satellite towns in the FCT, let alone in the city?”
After calculating the cost of buying a plot and building a house in Abuja, and linking it to the ongoing hike in prices and inflation, Odeniyi said, “It’s something I desire, and without engaging in illegal activities, while carrying out my job as professionally as possible, I believe it will happen.”
Chidinma said she has thought about buying a house in Abuja, but factors like soaring property prices, limited mortgage options, and complex bureaucratic procedures have made it a tough goal to achieve.
“To afford a house in Abuja, I’d need to save consistently, potentially explore mortgage options, and plan my finances carefully. A significant down payment and stable income would be essential, although this is really tough and near impossible,” she said.
The Editor of Pinnacle Daily, Sunday Michael Ogwu who owns a house in Abuja said even though it took him and his wife, a building engineer, six years, they strategically planned how to finance the building project.
“We already knew that whatever we were doing, we could not raise the bulk of money for the project, so we had to opt for financing options that are easy, like joining cooperatives and contributions that enabled us save money in large chunks,” Ogwu explained.
The editor, who has been in the profession for eighteen years, said he and his wife had to cut down what they considered luxuries to achieve their goal.
Expressing concern over the inflation bedevilling the country, he said he was glad his family took the initiative fifteen years ago to build.
Ugwu urged journalists not to focus on the final costs of owning a house in the city because it will be discouraging especially the cost of land, but to rather save up and take a bold step.
For early career journalists like Umar and Tunde who are still struggling to get a comfortable and affordable rent, working with a plan to build or buy a house in Abuja might be challenging.
“Except if I want to go to the outskirts and what that means is that I will have to travel all the way to town for work, spending a whole lot to get to your office if you have a car,” Umar said.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Correspondents Chapel, had echoed the challenges journalists are facing in the capital city when the called for affordable housing schemes in 2022.
The former Chairman of the Chapel, Jide Oyekunle, urged the federal government to develop a programme of action to make affordable houses available for journalists.
In his words, “Journalists served the country with dedication and patriotism, therefore, deserved a better living. However, many cannot boast of a decent home of their own. They are the mirror of the society, but they suffer in silence. The Nigerian government and private sector should bridge the housing gap, particularly for our members”.
Ike, the NUJ FCT chairman confirmed to The ICIR that since the call in 2022, NUJ FCT has been working to partner with relevant housing authorities in a bid to address the concerns and provide platforms for journalists to own affordable housing scheme.
“Very few journalists in Abuja own homes outright, given the current high real estate prices,” she said.
Government-sponsored schemes, like those from the Federal Housing Authority, and Family Homes Fund Limited target low-income earners, provide a measure of affordable housing options, but they are unlikely to fully eliminate the housing shortage.
All the houses on the FHA website observed by The ICIR ranged between N35 million to as low as N5.5 million but were all sold out, and these were from a few years ago.
The current administration housing project, Renewed Hope Cities and Estate Programme, led by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, said it aims to deliver 100,000 homes, with 20,000 planned in Abuja. The houses in Abuja from a search done June 22, ranges from N25 million for a 1 bedroom flat to N55 million for a 3 bedroom.
Meanwhile, housing experts have expressed concern about the plight of low-income earners in Abuja, highlighting the rising costs of housing and the limited availability of affordable options.
According to experts, most government-led housing projects are concentrated in urban areas and priced above the reach of the average low-income earner, defeating the purpose of “affordable housing.”
Housing expert and urban planning lecturer, Jumoke Oyedepo, said that many so-called affordable housing units remain out of reach for low-income earners due to hidden costs, inadequate infrastructure, and a dysfunctional mortgage system.
Giving a comparative analysis with similar economic challenges, Nigeria Housing Market, a Real Estate platform revealed that Nigeria’s approach appears less structured and underfunded.
It showed that Ethiopia introduced a condominium housing programme that subsidised housing for thousands of low-income residents by partnering with local banks and builders at scale.
India’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) uses direct subsidies, relaxed building codes, and incentivised public-private partnerships to deliver over 11 million homes to date.
Plea to employers and government
Umar who has the option to join the NHF housing scheme said he opted out because the deduction will not leave him with enough to survive in a month.
“It is my dream to own a house someday,” he said.
The young journalist who believes his colleagues are increasingly accepting offers from international platforms while neglecting local ones, noted that media owners often prioritise institutional growth and sustainability, forgetting that journalists are a crucial part of that very sustainability.
“I think media owners should prioritise paying their journalists well,” he emphasised.
Ike said that “NUJ FCT journalists expect and demand several key support from employers and the government regarding housing.
“Like establishment of Affordable Housing Schemes, a creation of government-backed affordable housing estates or “Journalists’ Villages” across the FCT will go a long way.”
She called on the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to prioritise this initiative during his tenure.
“We are making an urgent call for Minister Nyesom Wike to come to our aid regarding the critical housing challenges faced by journalists in Abuja. Given Wike’s ongoing initiatives in the FCT, including plans to build 10,000 affordable housing units under the “Renewed Hope City” project aimed at providing homes for the poor and vulnerable, there is hope that journalists’ housing needs could be integrated into these schemes,” she urged.
She also charged media employers to improve access to affordable mortgage financing and housing loans, to bridge the gap between their incomes and housing costs.
Single names and names changed are marked with an asterisk
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.