By Adewale Michael Adedeji

Land is the original source of all material wealth and the economic prosperity of a country. Viewed from the perspective of being the foundation of the society, of the economy and all human endeavors, land can be rightly taken as the most vital component of the planet earth, source of essential resources, be it food, minerals, water and energy. In addition to holding valuable reserves of fossil fuels and other natural resources, land sustains the ever-increasing world population and every aspect of our lives. 

In terms of historical and cultural heritage, land plays a pivotal role of providing insights into human history, while holding a deep cultural value for communities around the world. The importance of land as a resource for human existence and development cannot be over estimated, no wonder more pressure is exerted on land and its resources by communities and human settlements across the world. It is therefore not surprising that conflicts around land ownership and land rights became a “recurring decimal”, severe and violent in many instances, all because land is crucial for socioeconomic development 

Effective land administration become expedient in order to balance the needs of people, communities, and larger societal interests on land, and to ensure fair and equitable access to land resources, as well as protecting the rights of marginalized populations, more so now that land rights and ownership have become sources of social inequality. 

Simply put, land administration is all about ensuring a system or framework within which land is made readily available for all citizens of a state. Achieving an efficient land administration system requires that policy and technical issues on land must relate to its availability, use and preservation, and that land is properly harnessed in an integrated system. Sustainable land administration and management policies are necessary steps to ensure long-term viability and health of our planet’s land, for which reason nations all over the world puts in place structures and measures to regulate land ownership, allocation for various purposes of development, and more importantly measures to balance the interests of the government, the land-owning class and the landless class.

In other words, because land is a choice resource, governments have ensured that it is heavily guided by the use of appropriate state-wide legislation for the purpose of efficient administration, the absence or weakness of which has, and would always result in endless litigation, land related communal violence, eventually and ultimately very high amount of economic and human loss. 

Land administration and management systems are a fundamental infrastructure for ensuring availability of land to those who are willing and able to use land well, thereby, facilitate investments and growth, improve land allocation, and develop financial markets. For land administration to be effective and to work efficiently, it must be underpinned by land administration system that define property rights; guarantee security of tenure; establish a mechanism for registering these rights within reasonable time and costs, and generate information to support property valuation and taxation. Well-functioning land administration reduces conflicts, decrease transaction costs, and provide incentives for the private sector to invest.

A good benchmark for effective land administration and management entails land use regulations that are justified, effectively implemented, and do not drive large parts of the population into informality, and are able to cope with population growth. Effective land administration enables timely provision of investments to influence the shape and pattern of development, essential to achieve efficiency in service provision, enable connectivity and maximize the potential of agglomeration for city competitiveness in metropolitan areas. A well-functioning land administration enhances ability to plan, attract investment, and capitalize on increasing land values to benefit the public and provide vital services.

Land administration is a trigger of socioeconomic development in Nigeria, and it has continued to play crucial roles to that end. Land administration in Nigeria is performed under the Land Use Act of 1978. The Act which vested all land in the state on the Governor endeavor among others, to unify the contrasting land tenure systems obtainable in Nigeria, minimize the hassle in getting land by both government and willing individuals for public purpose, reduce the activities of land speculators and grabbers and minimize the several cases of communal clash and litigations which have resulted in loss of several lives and properties. 

Land governance or administration in Nigeria under the Land Use Act has effectively facilitated, promoted and enhanced socioeconomic development, improve urban planning and development, and infrastructure development. The Act has facilitated the allocation of land for various purposes, including residential, commercial, and agricultural use, thereby stimulating economic growth and infrastructure development. It has enhanced access to, and use of land by government, investors and individuals, as well as the dynamics of physical development in Nigerian cities and towns.

Under President Buhari administration for instance, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing delivered housing projects in 34 states of Nigeria, under the National Housing Programme, with the support of the State Governors who provided the land. The Governors have under successive administrations have been making land available for infrastructure and service provision across the country. The ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal road is another example of Governors of the affected states, providing land for the game changing project. These and several examples are testaments to effective land administration enabling socio-economic development, not only in Nigeria, but in other climes.

It would be imprudent of me however if I fail to acknowledge the bureaucratic inefficiencies, intricate process of land acquisition, documentation, titling and issuance of Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), and all legalities in the implementation of the Act. That is why I am lending my voice to the call for the review of the Land Use Act to accommodate innovation, and adaptation to today’s realities in our ever changing world. On the whole, I would conclude that land use holds the aces for a promising future for sustainable development and economic prosperity of Nigeria. Effective land administration is crucial for securing of facilitation of investment in land and infrastructure, supporting agricultural productivity, and promoting sustainable urban planning.