Exploiting land potential for economic recovery
Though there are projections and assurances by managers of Nigerian economy that the recession in the country will end soon, it remains to be seen what those managers are doing to make that happen.
Besides prejudiced and skewed crusade against corruption which, unfortunately, is being equated to governance; faulty monetary policies, and uncoordinated loot recovery drive, Nigerians are yet to see serious and observable government commitment to pulling the economy out of the woods.
Nigeria, unarguably, is endowed with both human and material resources, but rather leveraging those endowments for economic recovery, the government is busy milling round oil wells whose contents and their value can no longer guarantee adequate revenue capable of bringing back the country to its former position as a formidable economic power bloc in Africa.
Like most African countries, Nigeria has large expanse of land which is a very important factor of production. As a factor of production, land is the most unique and most strategic of all the other factors including capital, labour and enterprise. Its availability plays a pivotal role in the development of any economy and the increase in investment inflow.
With its present state and ownership structure, there isn’t much that could be done on land in Nigeria which is why we join the clan of advocates of land reform for industrialisation, housing development, agriculture, mining, oil exploration and other economic and productive activities that lead to improved standard of living, job creation, economic growth etc which are possible only when land is available and harnessed for such purposes.
We were excited when the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in the immediate past administration planned to carry out an audit and inventory of government’s landed property to free same for both housing and other economic activities. Unfortunately, that never happened, but we see much sense in the present government revisiting that plan and carrying it through.
A World Bank Report on ‘How Africa Can Transform Land Tenure, Revolutionise Agriculture, and End Poverty’ notes that Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nearly half of the world’s usable, uncultivated land but so far the continent has not been able to develop these unused tracts, estimated at more than 202 million hectares, to dramatically reduce poverty and boost growth, jobs, and shared prosperity.
Another report by the World Bank titled ‘Securing Africa’s Land for Shared Prosperity’ suggests that African countries and their communities could effectively end ‘land grabs,’ grow significantly more food across the region, and transform their development prospects if they can modernize the complex governance procedures that govern land ownership and management over the next decade.
We agree totally with these, just as we also align with the view that Nigeria’s Land Use Act, which is today a constitutional issue, should be excised from the constitution for thorough review and the time to so is today when the economy is bleeding from self-inflicted injuries.
It is saddening that despite abundant land and mineral wealth, Nigeria remains poor and we share the World Bank view that improving land governance is vital for achieving rapid economic growth and translating it into significantly less poverty and more opportunity for the people.
We are in agreement with the suggestion that by ‘Securing Africa’s Land for Shared Prosperity’, there should be an action plan by governments to revolutionize agricultural production, end land grabbing, and eradicate extreme poverty. Here, Lagos State’s property protection law should be a model for all.
In our opinion, the present economic recession which has sent hunger into many homes would not have been as grave as it is if land were available in the right size and in the right place at the right price for industrialization, agriculture and food production.
Therefore, time is now for the government to tackle weak governance and corruption endemic to the land administration system in the country which often favours the status quo and harm the interests of poor people. We advise that government should muster political will to carry out comprehensive land reforms and attract the political and financial buy-in of the international development community.