As state governors desperately look for ways to boost
their internally generated revenue base, here’s a radical
idea for them: Use whatever influence you have at the
federal level to push for the removal of the Land Use Act
of 1979 from the constitution, then proactively support
those working on getting that piece of legislation
reformed, and allow their recommendations to be
effectively implemented in your respective states. With
the current system, it is estimated that less than five per
cent of housing units have formal title registration.
Reforming the land management system will open up the
possibility of bringing the remaining 95 per cent of
existing housing into formal title registration.
There is a shortage of affordable housing in Nigeria.
Some estimates say we need 14 to 17 million more units
than what we currently have. Others say the figure is
closer to 40 million. Either way, reforming the land
management system will release the choke-hold on
private sector urban housing developers who have the
ingenuity and the energy to tackle the multimillion
housing deficit, which the states’ housing corporations,
the states’ ministries of housing and their federal
counterparts, are trying valiantly to satiate. Think of
what the states would gain directly in increased
transaction volume through stamp duties, fees, PAYE,
and indirectly through reduced unemployment, increased
civic satisfaction and so on. This can be achieved if the
bureaucracy is trimmed down, the response times are
faster, the process is transparent and the per unit
processing cost is reduced.
Prior to the Land Use Act of 1979, a dichotomous system
prevailed in country. In Northern Nigeria, the land was
vested to the governor who then apportioned or utilised
it as he deemed fit. One could say it was a form of
controlled socialism, in comparison to the free market
system adopted in the South. In Southern Nigeria, other
than areas selected for public purposes, land was owned
by individuals or clans and passed along from one
generation to the next. Permission however had to be
sought from the governor before land rights could be
assigned to aliens. In the absence of a formal titling and
registration mechanism, the system in the South threw
up endemic problems of multiple sales of the same
parcel of land to various buyers. The South also
experienced land speculation, problems with acquiring
land for public purposes, exorbitant pricing, and the
social malaise resulting from the accumulation of land by
those who had unjustly dispossessed others of their
property. The Land Use Decree was created in 1978
ostensibly to solve these problems and to install one
codified land administration system across the country.
As can be imagined, the decree was not popular in the
South. People accustomed to owning land were
effectively turned to tenants via the wholesale transfer of
land ownership rights to the governor, and compensation
was only paid for developed land or agricultural land.
The decree also empowered governors to issue
Certificates of Occupancy which would allow the
possessor to use a specific piece of land for a pre-
defined period of time. And more importantly, the
consent of the governor had to be given before any
transfer or transaction could be done with the land,
(including mortgages or assignments). This specific
provision is one of the protagonists causing the current
bottleneck in the mass housing industry. The potential
quantum of paperwork that this must necessarily involve
for a country with over 170 million citizens is mind-
boggling. To expect all that paperwork to pass efficiently
through the office of 36 people is unrealistic. It is a
stumbling block to the proliferation of home ownership
and it’s time to make a concerted effort to take the
breaks off. In his essay, The Land Use Act: 11 Years
After, Dr A. Nnamani, who was the Attorney-General of
the Federation in 1978, said, “It seems to me that it is
not healthy for the economy that the Governor’s Office
should be flooded with these applications for consent.”
We should not sacrifice efficiency on the altar of control.
The Land Use Decree was inserted into the 1979 and
1999 constitutions, to make it difficult for it to be revised
or repealed. In 2009, President Umaru Yar’Adua
established the Presidential Technical Committee on
Land Reform and gave them the task of finding a better
way for the country to handle the administration and
recording of land ownership, the issuance of titles and
the process for registration, as well as other land-related
matters. Professor Akin Mabogunje, the 2009-2011
Chairman of the Committee, described the Land Use Act
as “a clog in the wheel of development”. The Mabogunje
Report states that, “Although the decree has made it
easy for governments to acquire land for public
purposes, drastically minimised the burden of land
compensation and considerably reduced court litigations
over land, it has, since its inception…created a new
genre of serious problems for land management in the
country.” The report goes on to list at least nine of these
problems and in 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan
directed the committee to look into the practicalities of
reforming the Land Use Act.
According to the Managing Director of Crusader Sterling
Pensions, Niyi Falade, “the Nigerian housing sector is
currently valued at N6.5 trillion with an annual growth
estimation of 10 per cent over the next few years.”
Trying to benefit from the untapped potential in the real
estate and construction industry without reforming the
Land Use Act is like trying to drive a Ferrari with the
hand brakes on. Yes, the vehicle will move but its
progress will be hampered. Reforming (or some would
say repealing) the Land Use Act would be a catalyst for
housing development on a mass scale.
However, let’s not throw the baby out with the bath
water. There are some redeeming features of the Act.
Let’s hold on to those while revising the ones that need
revising. Updating the Land Use Act will certainly assist
in taking us from where we are to where we want to be.
It is one of several tipping points available to us as a
country for moving millions of people out of poverty.
Currently, close to 85 per cent of urbanites live in rented
accommodation which swallows up as much as 40 per
cent of their salary, if not more. The need for affordable
housing is further compounded by urban migration.
People, mainly young adults, are moving out from rural
areas into the cities. The population in Abuja is
estimated as growing by nine per cent every year. In
Lagos, the estimate is three per cent each year. Where
will they live? Where will they work?
At a real estate forum recently, the CEO of Lead Capital,
Abimbola Olashore, estimated that the production of just
75,000 homes per year would create “at least 300,000
direct jobs and 488,000 indirect jobs.” Assuming the
housing deficit is 17 million units, we would need to build
850,000 units per year for the next 20 years, ceteris
paribus. Overhaul the Land Use Act of 1978. Unleash the
real estate sector. Let the multiplier effect go to work on
the economy.
www.punchng.com/opinion/imperatives-of-reforming-the-land-use-act/

Ok

nice reminder punch

Hm, quite a long write up.

Advantages and disadvantages of Nigeria land use act www.landforsale.ng/land-use-act-advantages-disadvantages-land-use