By Idowu Surajudeen

Land, according to Margaret Mitchell, the American author and journalist is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for it is the only thing in this world that lasts, something worth working for, worth fighting for, worth dying for.
I can’t figure any resource as valuable and as important to man as land. Land is inextricably linked to human well-being and survival, and plays a crucial role in shelter, food security and livelihoods. Land does not only provide vital environmental functions and ecosystem services, including provision and regulating services, but its role in economic and cultural activities cannot be overstated. Land is associated with history, sense of belonging and identity, setting and marking cultural and political boundaries. Hence, many societies hold land as sacred, and the location of religious and spiritual rituals.
In a nutshell, land is an ultimate resource that provides the basis for life. Fulfillment of a man’s potentials in life depends on his relationship with land. Humankind has, and will continue to have close association with land as a basis for food, shelter, livelihood and economic development.
Meanwhile, land is limited in quantity, and fixed in supply. As the population grows, and demand for land increases, competition for it becomes more intense and fierce, leading to strives, conflicts, land degradation, deforestation, and other forms of environmental degradation, which have negative impacts on man and the environment. Land remains a highly complex and contentious issue, involving economic, social, political and cultural systems
The overwhelming importance of land to mankind and the society, amidst conflicting interest over it, and its use necessitated the state intervention by way of property legislations, land policies and administration. Land policy is essentially aimed at ensuring land accessibility to stakeholders and citizens of the country, as well as protection of their interests within the country’s policy framework. No nation handles the issue of land management with levity. Land administration systems play important roles in the stimulation of economic development, social coherence and environmental sustainability. Any country aiming for greater heights in economic development among others must therefore necessarily consider undertaking improvements in their land administration system.
The government of Nigeria recognized land as key priority for economic development and poverty reduction, and developed a comprehensive institutional framework for land governance. The contemporary land policy in Nigeria is the Land Use Decree No. 6 of 1978, now Land Use Act (LUA), Cap L5, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2024. The Act further determines how the system can offer security of tenure and how government can regulate land markets, implement land reforms, protect the environment and levy land taxes to enhance the utility and value of land. A basic principle of the Land Use Act is the placement of all land in the territory of each state in the state Governor to be held in trust for the use, and common benefit of all Nigerians.
Land administration systems are the basis for defining and recording the complex range of rights and information, and spatial records which specify the extent over which these rights and information apply. They are basic tools that support land management and operate within the framework established by land policy and the legal, social, and environmental background of a particular jurisdiction.
Unfortunately, Nigeria’s land administration system still relies largely on the conventional system (manual system) of filing , recording, storing and retrieval of information relating to land within their jurisdictions. The conventional process include storing land records in paper files, conducting searches manually, and processing transactions through physical paperwork. This outdated system is fraught with delays, inaccuracies, and lack of transparency, producing outcomes that often lacks accountability, which erodes public trust, and conditions which promotes corruption, sharp and fraudulent practices. Inefficiencies in the system discourage prospective investment, facilitate illegal land grabbing, and undermine confidence in the integrity of land ownership records. The paper based system, with no cartographic standards and often out-dated information, can no longer be sustained in an emerging information and technology driven society.
Addressing these issues has become essential to fostering economic growth and ensuring the equitable distribution of land resources. The Peruvian Land Economist guru Hernando De Soto in his book, ‘The mystery of capital’ submitted that digital property data capture is a key to creating fungible assets and unlocking substantial economic benefits. Hence, Technology-driven land administration system (TDLAS) within the public land management becomes an integral part of government and private sector activities.
A number of states like Ogun, Lagos, Abuja, Kaduna and Enugu have made significant strides towards digitizing land records and transactions, while Lagos and Abuja have succeeded in converting a significant portion of their land records into digital formats. Ogun state recently reinforced efforts towards having an efficient and effective sustainable land administration system. Thus, it is recommended for other states to follow suit as the adoption TDLAS will potentially redefine land administration in Nigeria, thereby, providing a system that guarantees transparency, security, and efficiency in land management, which will enhance public confidence in land transactions, centralized and consolidated file storage, and facilitate availability of on-line document search and retrieval system at the registry. It will also support spatial analysis and modeling procedure for solving complex planning and management problem as information management system is an integrating technology where resources and activities are brought together to support the decision making process of an organization.
The present innovative drive in land administration is a welcome idea, as it will reduce all form of bottlenecks associated with manual practices. Going digital will remove time wasting during documentation, loss of documents, missing files, double allocation, bribery, corruption and fraudulent practices.

*ESV Surajudeen, an Estate Surveyor and Valuer, lives in Abeokuta.