HOUSING CONDITION At OBANLA/IJOMU STREET, AKURE

INTRODUCTION
Several studies have shown that poor housing condition is not only an eyesore to the cities and its dwellers but, it has caused varieties of diseases, which are hazardous to the general living conditions in our cities. Such conditions need to be improved or eliminated in our residential housing. This is the essence of this work.
The research work was carried out with the aid of questionnaire administered to the people in the area which comprises of various components to enhance the building and survey facilities in the focus area. This process tends to the involvement of interviewing different people in each houses in the area.
DEFINITION: A good definition is the one giving by the World Health Organization (WHO) which defined housing as the residential environment which man uses for shelter plus the environmental facilities and amenities which man uses in conjunction with the building that make life, physical, mental, social and others worth of living.
GENERAL OVERVIEW
The study area is located in the inner city zone of Akure, Ondo state. The slum identified in the study area which is Obanla-Ijomu area in Akure is based on the phenomenon like the age of the buildings, location and size. This area serves as the oldest and largest area affected by slum in the area of the town and it covers the entire pre-colonial town.
The research and survey of this project brings about the importance of housing to the people and their immediate environment which serves as a prerequisite for the survival of the people living in the study area and how it has influence on their health, behavior and production.
The study area as mentioned earlier is one of the oldest in the state and it consist of the lowest quality of building in Ondo state. The aim of this study is to recommend the necessary solution to policy makers (Government, politicians etc) to enhance the life of the people of the area such as public enlightenment campaign to the residence and the upgrading programme through the provision of urban basic services and improvement of strategies for the sanitation suitable for the inhabitants of Obanla-Ijomu area in Ondo state.
HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND OCCUPATION
The activities of the people living in Obanla-Ijomu area in Ondo state is mainly trading which are petty trading and non-petty trading.
The activities of the inhabitants and visitors in the area have gone a long way in affecting the level of habitability of the buildings in the area irrespective of the use to which they are being subjected to(commercial, residential etc). The high rate of trade activities has led to the low standard of living condition of the inhabitants of the area, thereby increasing the population figure of the study area/neighbourhood. In general, 90% of the people residing in the area are self employed and carry out trading activities in their houses, thereby demarcating sections and parts of their residential buildings to shops, while some on rent and lease.


METHODOLOGY
There are various methods or techniques of data collection in research or study. They include the primary source, secondary source, questionnaire, personal observation etc. The type of data collection used in this research is the primary source of data collection which is the collection of first hand information or raw data which have not been processed or analyzed. The different means of data collection under the primary source are the observation method, interview and questionnaire.
All the aforementioned means, under the primary source of data collection are being used in this research.
Observation method of data collection is the getting of information with the researcher being present in the area of study. It is a very distinct way of collecting data because the researcher does not need to find out about the behavior of his or her respondent because he is there to see for himself. It is done through watching the way of life of his respondent. For this reason, data collected through this means are being regarded to as original and uncontaminated. It is not only related to behavioral issues it can also be extended to non behavioral conditions.
Interview is regarded to as a face to face inter-personal situation in which an interviewer ask respondent question designed to require answers from the respondent. This is of two types and they are the formal and informal. During the research, the respondent are being asked questions as relating to the aim of the research.
Questionnaire is another means of collecting data, it is a data collection tool that is normally relied upon in survey research. It consist of a set of questions that are primarily meant to achieve the objectives of the study or research. This is also of two types namely the factual and opinion or attitude questions. In the research, the questionnaire are being filled by the respondent and in areas where they don’t understand the questions, it is being explained by the researcher or the interviewer. The methodology involved in this research is as mentioned above
EXISTING HOUSING CONDITION
To start with, housing condition can be defined as the totality of the state of the physical, environmental and the satisfactory level of a particular dwelling unit, measured against some variable of livability at a particular time.(Omole moreover, housing conditions in this area are generally depressed with poor supporting social and engineering infrastructure, the housing environment is characterized by haphazard development, inadequate housing infrastructure, poor drainage and high population concentration. Furthermore, as a result of this study or research work, it was revealed that the area exhibits slum condition that has undenied impact on the socio-economic and health behavior of the people in the area, in which it affects the general outlook of the environment. From our findings and observation, we were able to discover that the housing condition of the study area is below housing standard. The word standard can be defined as the level or the degree of quality considered proper of excellent, correct and acceptable. It is something fixed as a rule for measuring weight, valuable purity, quality etc.In setting housing standard some factors like culture, population, climatic variation, general land use pattern and the availability of land, topography, general level of development, political orientation among others. The primary aim of setting standard in housing is to protect other peoples interest from being abused and to ensure safety, healthy living, misuse of land, privacy and to prevent disorderliness. From observation, the study area lacks the above qualities for housing standard and the situation therefore calls for urban renewal which is the process by which outworn or out-modeled structures and facilities in an area designated as slum, blight or squalor are altered or replaced.

LIMITATIONS/CHALLENGES
One of the problems encountered in the study area, is the fact that majority of the inhabitants of the area(Obanla -Ijomu) are illiterates and could not speak English but speak in their own native dialect which became problem for us( The interviewer) to interpret
Another problem is the fact that 99% of the respondents are tenants and could not relay accurate information about the building in which they reside. Information like the age of the building, the type of building materials used in the construction of the building, the land area and most importantly whether the building has a building plan or not. It is therefore concluded that the information collected is not too reliable.
RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
From the research carried out, we can see that the study area which is Obanla-Ijomu area of Akure is far below planning standards as mentioned in the write-up which is due to the different sub-standard houses which has also led to slum creation in the area.
There is need for urban renewal to be done in the study area which is the primary aim of the research. Also, from the research it is only few housing units or dwelling units that requires minor repairs like renovation others being major repairs like demolition, total clearance, rehabilitation etc.
In conclusion, we can see that those buildings and the associated problems were majorly on the part of the planners as a result of their habit of planning for the people. The candid opinion for planners is to plan in line with the people’s view, beliefs and custom.