Speech by Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President, Nigeria, at the National Stakeholder Dialogue on Land Reform In Nigeria, At Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, On Monday, 4th June, 2018.
I am delighted to be present at this National Stakeholders Dialogue on Land Reform in Nigeria. Over the course of the next few days, this gathering will be discussing approaches to reforming and improving land governance systems in Nigeria.
But building a consensus around the necessity for land reform is the easy part. Exactly what these reforms should be, and how best to proceed in implementing them, has always been more complicated, yet more important part. Everyone, governments, corporations, citizens, academics – tend to have their own strongly-held opinion, which is of course not surprising, considering that land is and has always been, an integral part of who we are and how we define ourselves.
In many cases, land is not just land, it represents everything from ethnic and cultural capital and legitimacy, to economic potential. Which explains why families, neighbours, communities and even nations, resort so easily to war over land. History is replete with accounts of how land and the resources in, and on it, have decided the fate of nations and kingdoms.
Indeed, a good number of the security issues facing us today as a nation – whether they are clashes between herdsman and farmers, or boundary and border disputes, or the debates around resource control and fiscal federalism – are firmly rooted in the land.
For this reason, it is essential, that we pay full attention to how we maintain, use, allocate and deploy land, to ensure that we derive maximum value from it, and that it serves as a catalyst, not for anguish and tension, but instead, for lasting prosperity and abundance.
In any event, if there is one thing we cannot afford to do, that is to bury our heads in the sand and hope that somehow, our land issues will on their own, inevitably find resolution. We cannot equally afford to act unilaterally, without regard to the wide range of views and opinions held by various stakeholders, as well as the experiences of various countries and peoples who have attempted land reform.
Regardless of whatever ideological position may be, whether we take the view that ownership of land should be centrally controlled or privately owned, the role of the State is indisputable. We can debate the scope of this role, but not the fundamental principle of the presence of the State as the primary guarantor and enforcer of the integrity of the land and property rights that are created from it.
Consequently, to maximise its potential, land requires the consistent operation or implementation of considered policies and laws. And when at any point in the life of a nation or a people, the administration of land no longer meets their aspirations, it becomes incumbent upon the State, to take the lead in initiating and overseeing some form of improvement or reform to the system. Even if that reform is one that will ultimately end in less State control.
The issues around land tenure, titling, management and access in Nigeria, of course we know date back to colonial times – a lot of this has been well covered by Prof. Idowu. At the time, the colonial administration introduced various reforms, largely importing English land tenure and administration systems, and imposing some entirely novel land policies and laws, operating side-by-side with our customary systems.
The post-independence era saw the introduction of the Land Use Act in 1978, which has been entrenched in all of our Constitution since then. Despite all of these efforts, however, only about 3% of Nigeria’s land area of over 923,768 square kilometres is documented in land registries, a century and a half after the Colony of Lagos, took the lead in introducing land registration in Nigeria.
With so much unregistered land, it should not be a surprise therefore, that the benefits of land titling and registration have continued to elude us. The Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform (PTCLR), was set up by the Federal Government in 2009 to spearhead the government’s intervention in land governance and reform. The Committee has since been working on finding innovative approaches that would radically improve land administration in the country. In this regard, the Committee made a presentation to State Governors and other members of the National Economic Council (NEC) on September 22, 2016, highlighting the benefits of adopting a Systematic Land Titling and Registration (SLTR) system in the country.
Since the absence of regulations to guide the implementation of the Land Use Act (LUA), which was also identified as one of the major shortcomings of the legislation, the Committee prepared some regulations which were submitted to NEC for further consideration and approval. This led to the establishment of a subcommittee of NEC, consisting of seven State Governors, which further reviewed and revised the recommendations.
I am pleased to announce that NEC eventually endorsed a number of those regulations including: (i) Systematic Land Titling and Registration (SLTR) Regulations; (ii) Regulations on Registries, (iii) Regulations on Mortgages; and (iv) Regulations on Sectional Titles.
I understand that the Committee has since refined these regulations further, in line with NEC directives, and have now submitted them to the Cabinet Secretariat for the consideration and approval of the National Council of State. I believe the National Council of State will expeditiously endorse all of these regulations.
Given its mandate, I believe that the Committee ought to be commended for their resilience and hard work so far. There is, however, much more to do if we are to fully unlock the potential of land in Nigeria.
That is why this National Dialogue is both timely and necessary, and why I would like to urge every stakeholder, to take very seriously the task before you, of identifying and addressing every imaginable problem that has hindered land administration and management in this country so far.
Over the last three years the Buhari administration has worked consistently to revamp Nigeria’s economy, and set it on the path of sustainable growth and true prosperity. Our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), sets out the vision in very clear terms, as well as the path that we intend to take to achieve that vision.
Central to that plan, is the diversification of the Nigerian economy, by which we specifically mean, diversification of our revenue sources, manufacturing and our export base.
In line with prioritising agriculture and solid minerals, investments in transport and power infrastructure, and the creation of an enabling environment for business and investment, all of which are impacted by security of, and access to land, and land management and reform systems we are trying to put in place, all of these are bound to be the major issues we must confront in order to attain our own economic objectives. Take the example of the Ease of Doing Business Index, on which Nigeria climbed an unprecedented 24 places in 2017.
One of the key issues that the World Bank assesses, is the ease and cost of registration of property, of which land is a major component; and also the ease of dispute resolution. In fact, one of the sub-components of the overall index is a Quality of Land Administration Index. These critical issues explain our own strong commitment to ensuring that not just the Federal Government but all State Governments and other stakeholders cooperate with the Committee to ensure the adoption and implementation of Systematic Land Titling and Registration (SLTR) in all of the 36 States and FCT.
The land reform conversation is far from being unique to Nigeria. There is so much that we can learn from the experiences of other African countries, such as Rwanda, Kenya and South Africa, in this regard. I am glad to see that the African Land Reform Advisory Group has sent a very powerful delegation to this meeting.
I understand that we have in attendance here, experts from these countries, who will be sharing their experiences. This comparative knowledge, as well as the varied experiences of our own local land administrators, will certainly be helpful in devising the most effective solutions to some of our challenges.
As I conclude, I think it was the German-born economist, E. F. Schumacher, who said and I quote: “among material resources, the greatest, unquestionably, is the land. Study how a society uses its land, and you can come to a pretty reliable conclusions as to what its future will be.”
Also both Profs Akin Mabogunje and Peter O. Adeniyi, have referred to Hernando De Soto’s seminal conclusion, that we cannot resolve rural poverty without titling dead assets to enable them produce capital. De Soto’s description of untitled land as dead assets is both intuitive and practical. To create wealth, land must be fungible, almost like money, it must be a medium of exchange, especially in its role as collateral. This is the only sure pathway to sustainable economic empowerment for all, especially the rural poor, where so much of our land is, and much of it untitled.
Our economic policy as a government, is strongly influenced by the notion, that given the size of the bottom of the pyramid in our country, we must focus policies, especially credit and land ownership, on that segment of the populace. This is the path of economic and ultimately social reformation of our country.
Indeed the committee’s motto, is absolutely right – ‘Reform Land; Transform Nigeria’. May I enjoin all stakeholders present here today, to work towards using land reform, as a tool for the creation of a better and more prosperous future for our country. Let this dialogue mark a milestone on the road to that future.
On this note, it is now my special pleasure and privilege, to declare the National Stakeholders Dialogue on Land Reform in Nigeria open.
