Remember Hernando De Soto’s assertion in The Mystery of Capital that success in capitalism is tied to the structure of property and property rights? Seems like someone in the Nigerian government has been reading the book.
In ThisDay of today:
The Federal Government yesterday said the ongoing land reforms process is intended to launch the large majority of Nigerians into economic empowerment by providing them with access to land titles which can easily be traded for money.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works, Housing and Urban Development reform, Dr. Tukur Ingawa, speaking at the national workshop of the National Technical Development Forum on Land Administration:
“As operators in the field, you must be aware of the advantages of modernising the processes of land administration. The procedure for obtaining title to land must not be allowed to remain slow and irritatingly inefficient. The security of title documents and other defers that impede transactions in land must be given due considerations”
And
In his remarks, Chairman, Presidential Committee on Land Reform, Professor Akin Maboguje said the land reform agenda was borne out of very deep conviction by President Umaru Yar’Adua that a very critical and potent factor in alleviating the poverty of the large majority of Nigerians especially those living in the rural areas is to determine, validate and register the property right they own in their land assets.
The reform is aimed at removing the hitherto slow, frustrating and cumbersome process of land administration and pay the way for modernisation processes of land administration in the country.
According to the current land laws – the Land Use Act of 1990 – land in the urban areas of each state is held by the state governor, in trust for the people; the right to land in non-urban areas is held by the local government authorities. The governor and the local government authority issue certificates of occupancy. From the reports and the terms of reference from the president it does’t seem like this is going to change….
Let’s wait and see the outcome/recommendations of the committee.
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I hope your wait won’t be too long.
There have been series of talks on the Land Use Act. I remember vividly my excitement when the then Housing Minister, Dr Segun Mimiko, working with the same Professor Akin Mabogunje, first hinted of an imminent amendment to the act. That was in early 2006, during during Obasanjo’s tenure.
Three years later, we are still talking about the same issue…
I hope your wait won’t be too long.
There have been series of talks on the Land Use Act. I remember vividly my excitement when the then Housing Minister, Dr Segun Mimiko, working with the same Professor Akin Mabogunje, first hinted of an imminent amendment to the act. That was in early 2006, during during Obasanjo’s tenure.
Three years later, we are still talking about the same issue…