Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, has charged members of the country’s delegation at the Real Estate Future Forum in Riyadh to move beyond observation and translate global best practices into concrete housing reforms and delivery outcomes across Nigerian states.
Dangiwa made the call on Tuesday during a mid-forum meeting with the Nigerian delegation on Day 2 of the three-day international event, convened to review key lessons and engagement so far.
The delegation comprises senior federal officials, state representatives and private sector stakeholders, including the Managing Director of Family Homes Funds Limited, Abdul Mutallab Mukhtar, representatives from Lagos, Rivers and Taraba states, as well as private developers, real estate firms and legal practitioners.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s participation at the forum is strategic rather than ceremonial. “Our presence here is not symbolic. We are not here to observe from the sidelines. We are here to learn, engage and reposition Nigeria—and our states—for the future of real estate and urban development,” he said.
He noted that discussions and case studies at the forum show that countries attracting sustained real estate investment are those that have moved away from fragmented projects to structured systems, predictable rules and credible pipelines of bankable developments.
Dangiwa urged delegates to critically assess the ideas, models and engagements they have encountered since the opening of the forum and consider how these could reshape housing delivery, land administration and private capital mobilisation in Nigeria.
He stressed that the real impact of the forum would be measured after delegates return home. “What we pick up here must translate into better policies, faster approvals, clearer frameworks and more effective delivery on the ground,” he said, urging participants to see themselves as change agents.
The minister said the Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is already aligning housing policy, land reforms, housing finance and public-private partnership frameworks into a coherent national housing delivery system, but added that states remain central to implementation.
“Investors are not just asking about Nigeria. They want clarity on specific states—land availability, titling, planning certainty and execution capacity,” Dangiwa said.
He therefore called on state representatives to improve their investment readiness by streamlining land and planning processes, increasing certainty and moving from policy declarations to bankable, investable projects.
As the forum heads into its final day, Dangiwa encouraged the Nigerian delegation to deepen engagement, build networks and ask tougher questions, with the aim of returning home better positioned to drive housing and urban development reforms nationwide.
