The Family – The Nucleus Of The Church

 “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of God shall stand forever”

                – Isa 40:8.

In discussing the family, we must only rely on the OWNER'S MANUAL, The Word of God - The BIBLE.

 THE FAMILY

What is a family?  A family is a union in which the husband and wife are properly married with each living their lives to please God individually and in the union.  A family is a unit where love is experienced, demonstrated and oneness is a watchword thus creating the relationship that exists among the Trinity between men on earth i.e. heaven on earth.

GOD’S PLAN FOR THE FAMILY

We can peep into God’s plan for the family by reviewing what God said concerning Abraham in Gen 18:19 “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he have promised.”

God’s plan for the world was channeled through Abraham by his obedience and by exemplary conduct in his leadership of his family who are supposed to follow after him in doing what is right and just.  He was to lead by example and thus become a channel for the actualization of God’s purpose in his generation.

The outcome of this character and obedience is that God will then accomplish His purpose for Abraham and through him, God’s purpose for mankind.

The family is therefore a unit of creation put in place to enable God accomplish His purpose on earth’

The Church, being the body of Christ, is therefore an aggregation of family units serving as vehicles for the accomplishment of God’s purpose.

ORIGIN OF THE FAMILY

The family is God’s own idea.  It is His provision for the lonely and the deserted, it is his mercy towards the man  He has made for His own pleasure.

THE CHALLENGES OF HOME OWNERSHIP IN NIGERIA

 TRANSFORMATION AGENDA OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNEMENT AND THE CHALLENGES OF HOME OWNERSHIP IN NIGERIA: WHICH WAY FORWARD FOR STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

One of the most basic needs of people is shelter but in Nigeria and in sub-Sahara African most people still find housing a major challenge as even the smallest units are out their reach. It is interesting to note that all governments since Independence have always highlighted housing as a major priority. Although, the Federal government established the Federal Mortgage Bank to assist Nigerians in this regards, terms and conditions for mortgage loans have continually made it inaccessible to majority of Nigerians. Many housing developers have emerged in recent years in Nigeria, however the cost of owing such houses have almost made impossible to buy from them

The Federal Government under President YarAdua created the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development from the former the erstwhile Ministry of Works and Housing and tasked it with the provision of housing across the country; however a lot need to be done to address the huge gap existing in the housing sector.

MAJOR OBSTACLES TO HOUSING DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

In 1978 the Obasanjo regime passed the Land Use Act which vests the ownership of all Land in the government. Accessing the land for both Agriculture and Housing Development became a major problem. On assumption of office the President YarAdua promised to review the Land Use Act to make land more accessible. This pledge of Mr. President was not fully address before he died in 2010

Another challenge facing the housing delivery is the high cost of building materials in Nigeria. There are some restrictions on the importation of some building materials. Cement factories in Nigeria for instance are not meeting the local demand. Also steel which is needed in the building industry is hardly produced locally and since local currency fluctuate against foreign currencies prices of steel is not always stable. It was in need to address the problem of steel import that lead government to establish steel industries but they have not been in operation fully since establishment. With housing deficit hovering around 16 million units of housing, urgent measure should be put in place to avoid crisis in the future. This number of housing units will cost more than N45trn being speculated the way cost of building materials keep changing. Meanwhile in order to provide decent and affordable mass houses to meet the nation’s housing requirement, the Vision 2020 economic blueprint had recommended the construction of 600,000 housing units by the Federal Ministry of Housing. The State governments are not helping in regards to housing provision even in the state where they hold sway.

The high interest charged by financial institutions like banks have made acquisition of houses inaccessible. The government does not provide its workers necessary support to own houses in Nigeria as it is done in other developed economies.