CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Background Of The Study

Rapid urbanisation has placed urban land in African countries under pressure.In many of these countries, access to urban residential land by households islimited and thus an issue of public concern. Africa and Asia are the fastesturbanising continents and Nigeria together with India and China expected toaccount for 37% of the projected growth of the world’s urban populationbetween 2014 and 2050 (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2014). In most African countries, houses are in short supply and thel and market appears to be moribund (Tibaijuka, 2004). In Nigeria, access tourban land is such a sensitive matter that the security of land rights can be precarious. This is reflected in the difficulty in searching for information forland transactions and the inefficient production of formal land title documents by the government (Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, African Real Estate Research. The result is that in many cases, urban land purchasers find it difficult to confirm the validity of land titles they want to acquire. Indeed, households’ access to urban land with secure tenure, especially for the low and middle income groups, has become an important factor in governance. One way to achieve security of land rights is through land registration. Land title registration, with formal evidence of ownership such as a Certificate of Occupancy and formal documentation of land transactions in public land registries, are essential to the efficient functioning of the land markets. For instance, land titling stimulated land markets in Thailand where titling project increased the number of households engaged in land transaction and in Davao, Jakarta, Indonesia where tenure security such as having a registered title strongly affected land prices (Feder & Nishio, 1999). Title documents provide confidence to market operators and are important aspectsof security of tenure. This can be seen in the example of China in which Maet al. (2013) found that Chinese households that consider land certificates important to the protection of land rights make significant investments on agricultural land. Land registration is vital to the security of tenure and security of tenure plays an important role in enhancing investments in land. In particular, access to land with secure tenure is significant to urban housing delivery. This is important to Nigeria as it faces a severe urban housingshortage. The overall housing deficit is estimated at 17 million units as of2014 (The Nigeria Housing Finance Programme, 2014).

Land registration was introduced in Nigeria by the British Colonial Administration in 1863 (Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, 2006). However, despite this relatively long history of land registration and the importance of land registration to land market operations, the level of land title registration is low (Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, 2006). Estimates indicate that in all of Africa, less than15% of the land has been officially registered with title deeds, and for the sub-Saharan Africa it is just 1% (Tibaijuka, 2004). However, the reason behind why registration rarely occurs is where this research emerges. The study conducts empirical investigations into the challenges to land registration in the Nigerian context.

There are studies in Nigeria’s land markets which have either investigatedland registration or have alluded to it. They include Babatunde et al.’s (2014)research on the activities of land administration machinery in Abuja, and Minna, Olanrele and Agbato’s (2014) study which dealt with land rights registration and property development for poverty eradication and slum clearance in Nigeria. Further, Ojo (2014) researched end-users’ satisfaction on land title registration process in Akure, Ondo State. In addition, Nuhu(2009) investigated approaches to enhance land titling and registration in the Kongilan eighbourhood of Minna, Niger State. Some of these studies foundconstraints to land registration. Babatunde et al. (2014) and Olanlere andAgbato (2014) found ignorance, high processing costs, delays and lengthy processes, extortion of money by officials, and government insensitivity to beob stacles to land registration. Ojo (2014) found end-users’ dissatisfaction as a significant factor that make the title registration process difficult .African Real Estate Research Volume (2018)Interestingly, Nuhu (2009) found a high level of compliance with land registration by landowners with 82% of the 40 respondents having their land registered. Nuhu (2009) however questioned whether the land owners had complied with what he called contemporary registration. While these studies assess the land registration processes within Nigerian context none focus on identifying the challenges to land registration in Nigeria. Furthermore, the above studies fail to look at the issue from a holistic perspective, or from the perception of a diverse sample of households, public land administration agencies, and key consultants in Nigerian land transactions such as law firms and estatesurveying and valuation firms. These are a clear gap in the literature and as such this research is essential to addressing the lingering problems of land registration in the country.

Existing research on Nigeria’s land markets does not study landregistration issues with respect to Kaduna State. Land administration inNigeria is the responsibility of individual states in accordance with the Land Use Act, 1978. The Act vests all land within the territory of each state in the Governor of that state to hold in trust and administer it for the use and benefit of all Nigerians (Section 1, Land Use Act, 1978). Each state prescribes its own system according to its needs. Kaduna State is the second largest state(by population) in northern Nigeria (NPC, 2009). Its capital, Kaduna, was the capital of the defunct Northern Region, the largest of the three regions at independence. It is today regarded as the political capital of the region.

Consequently, land tenure rights, especially in urban areas, are issues of significant public concern in the state. The state, therefore, deserves to be covered in land registration studies. Thus, the study investigates the challenges to land registration in Kaduna State. The objective is to ascertain, through a robust method of mixing

quantitative and qualitative studies with a triangulation of results, the land registration programmers in the state, the frequency of land registration, and the factors that constitute challenges to land registration. This is analysed from the perspectives of households, consultants in land transactions, and the Kaduna Geographic Information System (KADGIS) given its responsibility for land administration in the state. Mixed method studies integrate the components of qualitative and quantitative methods and enable a better and fuller understanding of research problems (Creswell, 2014). The mixed method and triangulation of results, therefore, enhance the validity of there sults.

Nigeria is a developing country in the West African sub-region. Kaduna State belongs to its Northwest geopolitical zone. Land markets in the state are dominated by the private sector; especially individuals and households. In Nigeria, rapid urban population growth and city expansion exist amid in efficient urban management, poor urban planning, high poverty rates, weak institutions, inefficient infrastructure and poor governance. These aspects have continually heightened urban land management problems. Access tourb an land by low and middle-income households is particularly difficult in African Real Estate Research Volume (2018) the state. However, perhaps even more challenging still, is the task of recording land titles due to low land titling and registration. Obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), which is the formal evidence of land title, involves a costly and lengthy process. The Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (2016) notes that the process could take upwards of five years. Similarly, the World Bank (2009) states that the costs for formalizing land transactions in Nigeria are cumulatively the highest in the world. In addition, Doing Business (2012) ranked Nigeria 180 out of 183 economies inefficiently registering properties. Registration typically comprises 13 procedures, 82 days and 20.8% of property value (The World Bank, 2012).Nigeria’s Land Use Act, 1978, broadly regulates land administration in the country. The law established two formal land titles; the Statutory Right of Occupancy granted by a State Governor and the Customary Right of Occupancy granted by a Local Government Chairman. The evidence of the setitles is a Certificate of Occupancy, commonly referred to as C of O. The national law that regulates land registration in Nigeria is the Land Registration Act No. 36 of 1924. The law is adapted by the states. Some states have gone further to enact new laws on land registration. In Kaduna State, relevant laws include the Kaduna State Land Registration Law of 1982, the Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS) Law of 2015 and the Kaduna Land Use Regulations of 2017. The Kaduna Geographic Information Service Law of 2015 established the KADGIS and charged it with the responsibility of the ‘management of land matters in the state including allissues relating to title, registration, searches and such other responsibilities’ (Section 15(1) Kaduna Geographic Information Law 2015, p.5). The enactment of the two later laws and the establishment of the KADGIS are significant steps in the state’s land administration reform. The KADGIS took over the responsibilities of the former Ministry of Land and Survey. On the other hand, the Kaduna Land Use Regulations of 2017 sets general guidelines for land use and administration in the state. It sets out the procedures form obtaining a Right of Occupancy and the processes for applying for the direct allocation of land from the government and different forms of land registration and formalization programmers.

Statement Of Research Problem

Considering the long history of land registration and recertification in Nigeria which can be traced back to the era of British in 1863 (FMHUD, 2006), the system has been confronted by many challenges, therefore making the exercise always a very difficult task marked by low rate of success in many urban centers. On the broader level, estimates shows that in all of Africa, below 15% of land has been marked and registered officially with title deeds, while a look at the Sub-Saharan region of the continent registered land accounted for an estimated 1% (Tibaijuka, 2004).

In addition, the geographical information System (GIS)which is consider as the technology that deals with the acquisition, storage processing, presentation and dissemination of spatial information (Burrough, 1986)remain a vital tool that help in the registration and recertification of land by various agencies or organization that are in charge of this exercises. However, over the theirs the lack of qualify technical and administrative staff that are good in the GIS has further compounded to the problem of land registration in many urban area of Nigeria.

The high level of information land market in third world cites like Kaduna make the effectiveness of land registration and recertification very difficult, considering the fact that the informal land market often resulted to unorganized urban development which is associated with breach of development regulations (Lamonedet al., 2015)therefore, majority of the land owners through the informal land market give little or no attention on the issue of land registration and recertification. In addition, to this the high rate of ignorance from urban land owners and the Bureaucratic process associated with land registration and recertification has made the process very challenging and frustrated by intended land owners.

Aim

The research aim at evaluating the land registration and re-certification by the current administration in view to improve the Kaduna land titles.

Objectives

1.      Examine the process for the registration and recertification of land in Kaduna

2.      Identify the challenges of registration and recertification by the applicants.

3.      Examine the reasons why governments embark on both the registration and recertification of land.

Research Questions

1.      What are the process for the land registration and recertification of land?

2.      What are the challenges of registration and recertification by the applicants?

3.      What is the reason why governments embark on both the registration and recertification of land?

Significance of Study

This study evaluates the reasons for registration and recertification of land in Kaduna.

The outcome of this research will be of immense importance to the policy makers and also academic purpose.

The research will go a long way in ensuring the reaping of maximum benefit from land by government and also boosting the revenue base of various tier of government, through ground rent, land registration and titling.

It will also help to create awareness so as to prevent unnecessary duplication of land certificates and to monitor development project and the impact they create on the environment. More so it will also student who intend to use it as literature review to a related topic.

Scope of the Research

The scope of the study cover the process of land registration and recertification by land owner within Kaduna urban area that comprises Kaduna North, Kaduna South and parts of Igabi and Chikun. The study covers a period of three years i.e2015-2018.

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