Implementing the Nigeria Land Use Act by Systematic Land Titling and Registration: Opportunities and Challenges for Improving the Business Environment and Achieving Shared Prosperity
Henry Freeman & Sean Johnson
Intended as a major reform, the Land Use Act of 1978, instead brought great confusion and controversy particularly to southern Nigeria. The Act, which is part of the Constitution of the Federation of Nigeria, has been described as both a blessing and a curse by various commentators. Its intendment included, amongst other things, making land available to all Nigerians in all parts of the country and to enable the government to better manage and plan land use and to acquire land for development. The Act was less contentious in its operation in the states of the former Northern Nigeria where similar legislation existed from 1916 and where land tenure was traditionally based on state or religious authority. In the south, however, there existed many indigenous land tenure arrangements often based on kinship. In recent times many of these tenure arrangements evolved into the absolute ownership of land by an extended family. The controversy stems from the imposition of state ownership of land by the Act and that citizens merely hold a use or right of occupancy.
Event: Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2015
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