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The news making the rounds that Ebonyi State Governor, His Excellency, Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, has ordered the ban of housing agents in the state effective January 2026 is not entirely a welcome development.
In his book: My Life and Work (1922), famous American industrialist Henry Ford remarked: “Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” indeed, Governor Nwifuru’s decision to ban housing agents appears to be more about finding fault than providing a remedy. With all things being equa, a truly lasting solution must be holistic in its approach.
We all agree that many agents extort clients and make house hunting unnecessarily burdensome and costly. Yet, beyond these challenges, their importance in the real estate value chain cannot simply be obliterated. What the governor ought to have considered instead is the regulation and sanitization of the sector through proper legislation passed by the State House of Assembly.
A more effective approach would be to ensure compulsory registration of all housing agents in Ebonyi. Every registered agent should be issued a unique identification number and card. Furthermore, the state government should create a unified portal where clients and house owners can verify an agent’s authenticity before engaging with them. This unique ID system would also allow clients and house owners to report infractions directly to the government for prompt sanctions.
Above all, agency fees should be standardized and regulated. A fair, government-approved rate should be set, and any agent who exceeds it should be penalized under a revised tenancy law. This approach would protect clients from exploitation while keeping the system functional.
An outright ban, however, would only worsen the situation. Many people simply do not have the luxury of time to personally search for apartments. Agents serve as a bridge, making information about available houses easily accessible. Take Abuja for instance, despite the abundance of agents, it often takes weeks or even months to secure a decent apartment. I personally recall spending nearly five months searching for accommodation, working with no fewer than five different agents. Without them, the process would have been far more difficult.
Milton Friedman, a 20th-century American economist, in his book: Capitalism and Freedom (1962), rightly argued: “one of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than by their results.” Friedman’s position, at its very core, hints that even well-intentioned policies can fail and may even cause more harm if outcomes are not carefully considered.
Beyond inconveniencing clients, banning agents would also trigger unemployment and potential security challenges. The truth is, house agency has become one of the easiest survival strategies for many young Nigerians today. Both graduates and non-graduates have leveraged it either as a full-time job or a side hustle to pay their bills and stay away from crime. To cut off this lifeline without alternatives would be economically and socially dangerous.
In reality, Governor Nwifuru would be making a grave mistake by banning housing agents in Ebonyi State. Regulation, not eradication, is the answer. The action to ban agents in the state seems to me like one taken out of emotion and hasty conclusion. Any decision taken in haste, within the confines of emotions, rarely turns out to be a good one.
Italian theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas, in his classic work Summa Theologica (1274), observed that “if the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” History shows that overly cautious decisions often inflict greater harm than good. The Ebonyi case is unlikely to be different should Governor Nwifuru proceed with the proposed ban on housing agents.
Caution, strategic thinking, and careful consideration of the ripple effects on all parties are factors that must guide a policy of this magnitude. Leadership is not a one-way street; it requires 360-degree thinking and thorough analysis before implementation. Caution is never misplaced when it prevents negative future consequences. In the end, no problem is truly resolved by embracing a solution that breeds even bigger problems.
Sunny Ibeh Jnr is a a Nigerian Journalist, PR and Communication Expert.
Contact: Sunnite10@gmail.com
