Lagos Government Tells Young Workers to Live With Parents Amid Worsening Housing Crisis

Instead of tackling the soaring cost of shelter, the Lagos State Government has offered controversial advice to struggling young workers hit by the ongoing housing crisis. Rather than creating real solutions, the state has suggested that young professionals live with their parents or share apartments just to survive.

Telling Young Workers to Stay at Home

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, offered this advice while responding to growing public concerns over how a worker earning N100,000 monthly can afford an apartment costing N1 million in annual rent.

Hamzat advised young workers to avoid spending more than 40 percent of their monthly income on rent. He suggested that those who cannot afford single apartments should co-habit or stay with family until their earnings improve. However, critics argue that this response completely ignores the government’s responsibility to manage the housing crisis.

Sacrificing Independence to Survive

This advice highlights the heavy financial burden facing young professionals today. As rents continue to skyrocket alongside food, transport, and basic utilities, the housing crisis is forcing many to give up their independence.

Key struggles facing young Lagos workers include:

• Unrealistic Rent Prices: Annual rents for basic single-room apartments often exceed a full year’s total salary.
• High Cost of Living: Skyrocketing transport and food prices leave workers with virtually zero savings at the end of the month.
• Loss of Personal Independence: Working adults are forced to return to family homes simply because they cannot afford a place of their own.

Is the Government Doing Enough?

While the state government claims it is promoting mortgage financing and long-term housing schemes, ordinary citizens see very little relief on the ground. Simply telling citizens to move back home does not solve the root cause of the housing crisis.

Young workers are calling for clear rent regulations and affordable state-backed housing projects. Without direct interventions to lower rental costs, the housing crisis will continue to push basic independence out of reach for an entire generation.