Daily rising population with inadequate infrastructural development and the need to have a roof over the head created a vacuum for fraudsters, shylock landlords and agents to rip off the helpless public.

In adequate housing facilities in our cities is a big issue in our national discourse since the majority of our leaders taking the place of locust think less to shelter the poor class of our society. Housing for all promised by some politicians remained a farce. Therefore, up to 60 per cent of city dwellers scamper daily for shelter especially big cities like
Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.

This grave neglect of an important issue like this naturally gave place for the forces of demand and supply to play. And since demand for shelter is on the increase as people migrate to cities in search of greener pasture, with few investors the prices continued to soar.

        Government is naïve to intervene in the-cut-throat price because nothing on her part has been done to provide shelter to ameliorate the suffering masses but ban and high import duties and clearing charges which impact on cost of building materials and building itself. This gave greedy opportunists reasons to skin fellow Nigerians in a bid to provide shelter and would do everything to frustrate any housing policy to reduce the burden of house rents on the people. Many are politicians, government contractors and drug barons who are part of the government or have unrestricted access to seat of power.

       Not withstanding the high cost of accommodation decent people will not live under the bridge, therefore, would cough out, and sometimes borrow from work places to solve the accommodation riddle. Sadly, some of these money ends in the hands of Dupes who parade as house agents or property vendors whose mouths are wide open like hungry whales as people approach them for houses to rent or buy.

       Agents could accept house rents for three years from more than five people for one property, flat or room only to make it survival of the fittest at the end. Go for refund of money agent will be at large, landlord will pose ignorance to your complaint neither will police help out if agent is caught. So, taking advantage of this situation, ours have become a breeding pond for 419ners as popularly called. To alert the simple minded property owners in our cities will boldly write in front of their properties that this property is not for sale or beware of 419ners. Giving an impression that someone can take advantage of your quest.

In the light of this, more so now mortgage business is gaining recognition in Nigeria; it will be good to set up a property market or board that will control the buying and selling of Land and housing properties in the country. The board with physical office like the Nigerian stock exchange market equipped with internet facilities will ensure a smooth trade on old and new properties in the country.

           It is a market for selling, buying, renting and leasing of both firsthand and secondhand properties of land and building. It will play the same role as Stock exchange to tangible assets of lands and buildings. It aims to remove the bottlenecks in the acquisition and transfer of land and similar properties like in Europe. It will only require registering with appropriate Authorities detail of properties one wants to buy or sale. This in turn be published or advertised through internet base via property brokers registered with the exchange. It will destroy the activities of fraudsters who advertise, sale and resale to more than one person the same property, removes Omonile syndrome, area boys, quack property agents, giving room to specialized professionals to practice their profession for a fee. It will create price stability or uniformity in price of similar properties in the same location. It will give widespread information on the availability of properties through listing and delisting of properties already purchased. It authenticates and authorizes ownership of properties by issuing support certified papers to purchasers and entering information into central data base. It is a sure way of monitoring payment of capital gains tax and other taxes on properties as the institution will serve as agent to the Government. It will at the same time minimize default in payment of property taxes and increase government revenue. It enhances peaceful cohabitation by eliminating acrimonious litigation over who owns property as buyers through representatives make dutiful search using internet base to ascertain the true ownership. High cost of accommodation will be reduced as a standard percentage for agency commission will be set nationwide. The line up of touts prying for commission will be eliminated because what a buyer or leasee needs is to browse the net to obtain information on any existing property and pays accordingly.

It will create confidence and reputation in the acquisition of properties within and outside Nigeria. Fear of 419ners will be arrested. The exchange will serve as window for authentic information on the existence of properties outside the shores of Nigeria for citizens who may want to buy. As a market, it will give information on the volume of properties been traded in Nigeria from time to time. And possibly offer insight to the government the level of need of such properties in the country and the class of citizenry that needs what. It will give information on the locations where supply is low and demand high to enable investors have accurate knowledge where to channel resources for development. It will ensure orderliness, uniformity and sanity in property transaction in the country. It will enhance set standards of the properties to be advertised hence any property that does not conform to specifications will not be published. It will prevent exploitations by greedy landlords who renege from certain tenancy agreements of maintenance of building once money entered into their hands.

It will enhance a common official valuation or revaluation standard of properties to enable them have the right value before listing.

It will restore the relevance of professional Estate managers and value for professionalism in the system.

It avoids direct contacts, negotiations and payments with parties involved in the transactions since each party passes through a registered agent. It grants to some level the security of lives of buyers and sellers because transactions and payments are done electronically.

Nigeria property market if established by law like stock exchange will leave no one with option than to fall in line, thereby making it very easy to track assets of lands and buildings belonging to fraudulent politicians and 419ners.