Dr Seun Ajayi is a senior academic at Harper Adams University, United Kingdom with extensive teaching, research and industry experience spanning Nigeria, South Africa, Germany and the UK. In this interview with YETUNDE AJANAKU, he spoke on the future of higher education, research, innovation and youth development in Nigeria.
Nigeria has one of the largest youth populations in the world, yet many young Nigerians struggle with access to economic opportunities, what policies do you think the Nigerian government should prioritise to harness the potential of its young population?
Nigeria’s youth population should be treated as productive infrastructure, not as a social constituency. With roughly six in ten Nigerians under 25, government must connect education, enterprise, housing and infrastructure policy. I would prioritise apprenticeships linked to employers, digital and green-skills academies, youth enterprise finance tied to plans, and employment zones around transport, housing, agriculture and technology. The 2025 National Employment Policy is useful, but implementation must be measurable. Every public project should report how many young Nigerians it trains, employs and helps into sustainable businesses.
What role can the government play in making housing more affordable and accessible to young Nigerians in light of the increasing housing deficit?
Government should stop defining affordable housing only by the selling price of a unit. Affordability is the relationship between income, deposit, mortgage cost, transport and services. Nigeria needs serviced land, faster title registration, standardised approvals, long-term mortgage funding and more rental housing at scale. States can contribute land and infrastructure, while developers deliver mixed-income schemes transparently. The National Housing Fund should reach informal workers through flexible contribution records. We also need rent-to-own, shared-equity and housing microfinance products, because conventional mortgages remain unrealistic for many early-career Nigerians.
How do economic challenges, including inflation and the rising cost of living affect the real estate sector and the ability of young Nigerians to own or access decent housing?
Inflation affects housing twice. It raises the cost of cement, steel, transport, labour and imported fittings, while reducing household purchasing power. Nigeria’s headline inflation was 15.91 per cent in June 2026, with food inflation at 17.52 per cent, so essentials absorb more income. High interest rates make construction finance and mortgages expensive. The resultant effect of that is delayed projects, smaller units, higher rents and overcrowding. Policy must deepen local building-material production and expand fixed-rate housing finance rather than rely on short-term commercial lending.
Because government policies and regulations have a significant impact on the property and real estate sector, what reforms do you believe the Nigerian government should introduce to make the sector more sustainable?
The first reform is searchable land information. Investors should verify ownership, encumbrances, planning status and transaction history without opaque networks. Second, states should publish approval timelines, fees and reasons for refusal, with applications tracked. Third, Nigeria needs stronger valuation, building-safety and property-management enforcement, including sanctions for misleading promotions. The SEC’s warnings about unregistered schemes show why investor protection matters. Reform of the Land Use Act should reduce delay while preserving oversight. Transparency will reduce uncertainty premiums and attract serious, long-term capital.
Following your experience in Nigeria, South Africa, Germany and the United Kingdom, what lessons can Nigeria learn from promoting national development?
Nigeria should not copy another country wholesale. Germany shows the value of training, applied research and institutions that survive political cycles. The United Kingdom demonstrates how professional standards, data and long-term planning support investment, although affordability remains difficult. South Africa shows sophisticated capital markets and the consequences of spatial inequality. Nigeria can combine these lessons locally: strengthen vocational and university-industry pathways, build property data, fund research around national problems and ensure urban development connects people to employment rather than pushing them further from opportunity.
You have built a career in real estate education, research and academia across different countries. What exactly does your current research focus on, and why is it important to society?
My research examines how risk, information and institutional quality affect property values and investment decisions. A strand focuses on climate risk, whether flooding and adaptation infrastructure are reflected in valuations,transactions and portfolio strategy. I use spatial analysis, econometrics and machine learning to study property records rather than treating sustainability as a slogan. I also research listed real estate, corporate governance and market behaviour. This matters because property is where household wealth, pension capital, bank lending and urban resilience meet. When risk is mispriced, losses reach institutions and communities over time.
Your PhD research examined the performance of listed Real Estate Investment Trusts on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. How can the Nigerian real estate market benefit from research and investment models such as REITs?
REITs allow people to invest in income-producing property without buying an entire building. Properly structured, they pool capital, provide management, distribute income and channel pension and retail money into housing, logistics, healthcare and commercial assets. Nigeria has a regulatory framework, but the market needs scale, liquidity, tax clarity, credible valuations and disclosure. REITs should not become another label for opaque fundraising. Assets, leases, debt, fees and related-party transactions must be visible. With those protections, REITs can widen participation and finance productive real estate rather than concentrate ownership.
You have received several prestigious research grants and awards, including the 2025 Emeritus Professor Sarah Sayce Sustainability Research Award. What are some of the key issues you are currently researching, particularly regarding sustainability and the future of real estate?
My present work asks a question: how should investors value property when future climate conditions differ from the past? The research behind the 2025 Sarah Sayce Award examines flood exposure, adaptation and downside risk in the Thames Estuary. I am extending this into climate-adjusted valuation, insurance availability, infrastructure credibility and stranded assets. I am also exploring data centres, energy constraints, rural assets and battery-recycling infrastructure, because real estate will be shaped by power, climate, technology and circular-economy requirements.
Sustainability must become a financial calculation, not a decorative paragraph.
As a senior academic, what do you believe needs to change in the way universities prepare young people for the demands of the modern job market?
Universities must move beyond the assumption that knowledge transfer ends with a lecture and examination. Students need depth, but also evidence that they can solve unfamiliar problems, interrogate AI-generated material, analyse data, communicate with decision-makers and exercise ethical judgement. Programmes should include industry briefs, placements, simulations, fieldwork and assessed portfolios showing what graduates can do. Career development should begin in the first year.
Universities should reward lecturers who build employer partnerships, because employability improves when curriculum, research and professional practice inform one another.
What are the major differences you have observed in the way research, innovation and academic development are approached in these countries you’ve worked and studied in?
Nigeria has energy and entrepreneurial improvisation, but research is weakened by unstable funding, limited data access and promotion systems that reward volume more than influence. South Africa gave me exposure to methodological rigour and continental networks, although inequality shapes participation. Germany impressed me through structured collaboration between universities, industry and applied research institutions. The United Kingdom has funding, ethics and impact systems, but can become bureaucratic. The best model combines Nigerian creativity, South African analytical depth, German institutional discipline and British standards, while avoiding exclusions and rigidities present in each system.
Before becoming an internationally recognised academic and researcher, where did your journey begin, and what inspired you to study Estate Management?
My journey began in Ile-Ife, where I studied Estate Management at Obafemi Awolowo University. My exposure came through my father, Emeritus Professor Cyril Ayodele Ajayi, but I still had to develop my own reason for choosing it. I became fascinated that land is never merely physical; it carries finance, law, politics, culture and aspiration. Estate Management offered a way to understand why some cities create opportunity while others reproduce exclusion. That curiosity later took me into investment analysis, REITs, sustainability, climate risk and university teaching across countries.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building your career and how did you overcome them?
The hardest part was rebuilding credibility. Moving across countries meant learning new academic cultures, funding systems, professional expectations and communication styles. My PhD took five and a half years, with periods of financial pressure, rejection and uncertainty. I progressed through disciplined routines, mentors, collaboration and a willingness to improve without losing my identity. I learnt to separate rejection from self-worth. A rejected paper, application or idea contains information, but it should not become a verdict on your future. International careers are built through competence, resilience and relationships.
Was there a particular moment, person or experience that changed the direction of your career?
Professor Omokolade Akinsomi changed my career by helping me see that completing a PhD was not the destination; I needed a distinctive research identity. Another turning point was my 2019 DAAD-supported period at the International Real Estate Business School in Germany. It expanded my horizon and showed me that an African scholar could contribute to global real estate debates. Mentors, including Emeritus Professor Andrew Baum, reinforced professional usefulness. The lesson was simple: excellence grows when rigorous work is matched by exposure, generosity and strategic relationships.
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to build an international career?
Do not wait for confidence before moving; confidence often arrives after evidence. Become competent at something the market values, then document it through projects, publications, certifications or measurable results. Build relationships before you need recommendations, introductions or employment. International mobility requires humility; so, learn how the destination market communicates value, but do not erase your background. Expect rejection, visa complications, financial pressure and loneliness, then prepare. The objective is not merely to leave Nigeria. It is to create value across borders and transfer knowledge and opportunity back.
If you could speak directly to young Nigerians today, particularly those interested in academia, research, real estate and professional development, what three things would you tell them to start doing now?
First, build proof, not only ambition. Produce work another person can inspect: a portfolio, research paper, market analysis, project or professional contribution. Second, cultivate relationships. Identify people whose work you respect, engage intelligently and become useful before asking for favours. Third, choose problems larger than your circumstances. Nigeria needs better housing data, climate-resilient cities, transparent investment vehicles and universities that translate knowledge into development. Learn the tools required to address such problems. Your background may affect your starting point, but disciplined skill, integrity and strategic visibility can change where you are.