LHF promoters flay govt over access to land

Access to land and the upheavals it presents to housing delivery have been traced to the poor and uncoordinated policies of government on land management and administration. Promoters of the Lagos Housing Fair (LHF) said that the issue of access to land had remained intractable  since 1978 when the draconian Land Use Act was promulgated.

Since the promulgation of this decree, Nigerians are yet to begin to reap the benefits, if any, thereby rendering many who hope to own their own homes incapable of doing so while homelessness remains prevalent as efforts to access land are beclouded by numerous problems.

The Chairman of LHF, Mr. Moses Ogunleye, who stated this, blamed federal, state and local governments for the problems experienced in the land system in the country, saying that government policies were uncoor-dinated just as the land management system was weak and poor.

“In addition, the operation of the Land Use Act of 1978 has defeated the purpose of the law. Rather than use the act as a facilitator of access to land, most state governments have, through bureaucratic bottlenecks and the need for enhanced revenue, denied many Nigerians, including investors, access to lands.

“Indeed, many lands or property have had their values locked up due to the process involved in procuring Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) and governors’ consent,” Ogunleye stated.

Ogunleye raised questions that have to do with the efficiency of government agencies charged with the responsibility of land administration as well as the level of physical planning in Nigerian cities and rural settlements to ensure proper classification of lands.

He stated that Nigerian cities were generally deficient in these areas as less than 20 per cent of state capitals had any form of physical development plan to guide their growth. These cities, according to him, include Awka, Port-Harcourt and Owerri, while the metropolitan Lagos has no composite or broad based plan.

“It is even pathetic to observe that at present none of the towns or cities in the south western Nigeria has a development plan to guide its growth. If we do not plan how to use our land, which is a vital resource, how do we promote land ownership and housing development? Apart from individuals, the experience of private estate developers vis a vis land access or ownership has been most discouraging.

This has also affected the number of houses that could be delivered by the private investors,” he said.

But Lagos Housing Fair, an organisation sponsored by Radio Lagos/Eko FM and Beachland Resources Limited, says that its 11th annual housing fair is aimed at finding solutions to this intractable problem.

Mr. Ogunleye said that the decision to tackle access to land and housing delivery was borne out of the resolve of the organisation to always seeks solution to critical areas that affected the Nigerian housing sector.

He observed that land was core to housing provisions and remained a primary issue to be properly addressed to make way for housing provision.

He stated that with the searchlight focused on access to land this time round, the fair  would be able to examine the hindrances to access to land by individuals, corporate bodies and the three tiers of government.

He recalled that the issue of the review of the Land Use Act had been worrisome to stakeholders in the industry which gave rise to intense agitation for its review prior to its inclusion in the 1999 Constitution.
Ogunleye, who is the immediate past chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, noted that the Land Use Act in its present context, required major review to make it a realistic rather than a retrogressive law.

source : Tribune

One Comment

1. 

   Jumade0745

   September 27, 2011 at 11:14 am

   What plan does the LHF have for Invsetors?
   How can the lot of SMEs be bettered by a proper land access programme?