Search results

This chapter appraised customary tenancy and Post COVID-19 agricultural development in Nigeria. In doing this, it discussed customary tenancy as an incident of customary tenure and the impact of Land Use Act 1978 in its evolutionary trend as a sustainable means of accessing land for long term agricultural business in Nigeria. The study made use of socio-legal research methodology involving doctrinal research method and an analysis of social context for information gathering. The primary source of law included the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered); the Land Use Act 1978 and related statutes as well as judicial precedents. The secondary sources included books, journal articles, conference proceedings, magazines, newspapers and the internet. The outcome of the study indicated that customary tenancy was a recognized method of accessing land for agriculture on long term basis among many ethnic groups in Nigeria, including but are not limited to Yoruba of Southwest and the Igbo of Southwest, Nigeria. That the method was predominantly used for agricultural purposes, and in agricultural communities. Third, that the Land Use Act 1978 did not stop the customary land practice, but rather recognized and encouraged its use through customary right of occupancy. Fourth, customary tenancy was found to have promoted access to land resources and reduction of tension and bitter acrimonies which could have been attendant to request for land resources in rural communities. It was recommended that efforts should be made by Governors who are trustees under the LUA to use their powers in the interest of the people and that reforms be undertaken to resolve latent contradictions in the Act. It was concluded that customary tenancy should be harnessed for sustainable Post COVID – 19 land use in Nigeria.

Property is considered paramount to one’s existence, as a natural, absolute and inalienable right. Occupancy is required for man to secure what his thoughts have already made his. Property is realized in use but the right of occupancy and the status of res nullius are not established by the absence of use only, but in addition there must be also the absence of will of original owners. Arguing that appropriation precedes production dismisses the assertion that property is the fruit of labour. In contrast to the followers of the “state of nature” point of view, it is argued that common property is not natural and as such it is only transitory. Private property is at the root of man’s universality because it is common to all and individuals recognize each other only as owners. To base the origin of property in a social contract is erroneous because any contract must be based on the mutual recognition of parties involved who are already property owners. It is necessary that everybody have property not only in his or her persons but also to provide for subsistence. This would be regarded by natural law as just. Justice does not require the equality of property. Perpetual inequalities in property rights are not natural but the result of man‐made institutions which would not in themselves be right and would not have the obligatory power in virtue of their rightness. As such they would not be morally binding. Society that systematically consigns whole classes to conditions of poverty undermines the rationality of the ethical order and as such heads towards self‐destruction. Today, people are generally convinced that a person’s happiness depends on the satisfaction of that person’s actual desires. Property in things and enjoyment of one’s possessions, is often perceived as prerequisites for happiness. Individual happiness as an outcome derived from the distribution of property rights should be demoted from its status as the final good in preference to freedom.

The Land Use Act of 1978 is a promoter of land occupation regardless of gender. However, the marginalisation of women in the occupation of land remains a serious concern. Hence, this study explored the inhibitors to women's right to occupy land in the Ajebamidele Community in Ile-Ife with a view to supporting the need for the proper implementation of land regulations.

The data for the study were elicited from 13 women who were purposively selected. With the aid of Atlas.ti software, the study took a phenomenological approach to the analysis of the data obtained during structured interviews with the respondents.

The results revealed the factors inhibiting women's right to occupy land were unavailability of finance, education status/awareness, intrapersonal factor, custom and tradition, mode of acquisition and socio-economic characteristics.

Like their male counterparts, the role that women play in national development are significant. As such, the findings of this study will assist the government in the formulation of policy for the proper implementation of the current land policies and regulations.

Only a few attempts have been made to study the inhibitors to women's right to occupy land using the qualitative approach in emerging economies.

The paper seeks to describe the historical development, current status, and operation of real estate law and policy in Nigeria in the context of global requirements for sustainable development.

The paper takes the form of a literature and legislative review. It examines the existing real estate law and policy (Land Use Act No. 6 of 1978) in Nigeria. The relevance of sustainable development to real estate laws and policy is highlighted. A brief comparative study of land issues in Nigeria and some developing nations is also included.

The existing real estate law and policy in Nigeria is inadequate to meet the aspirations for sustainable development.

The paper makes recommendations geared towards appropriate real estate laws and policies for sustainable development in Nigeria.

The paper contributes to the critique on the existing real estate laws and policies in Nigeria. Based on tenets of sustainable development, it offers useful guidance on future formulation of real estate law and policy, in particular community participation, setting of different time periods, and the targets that each period must realize.

Valuation for compensation on land and buildings compulsorily acquired for public purposes is statutory. The Land Use Act (LUA) of 1978 now cited as Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, CAP l5 LFN 2007, stipulates the use of Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC) Method in the valuation for compensation purposes for building and installation. The purpose of this paper is to criticize the application of the DRC technique in the valuation by acquiring authority as it does not arrive at fair market value and adequate compensation in Nigeria.

The method adopted for the study was a case study of real world valuation for compensation. Data used in the study were gathered mainly from government ministries and agencies responsible for land acquisition and compensation purposes. They included the Ministry of Lands and Housing, Land Use and Allocation Committee, and Ministry of Works and Transport. Market data on rental value, sales prices and other relevant data were collected from firms of professional that deal in real property.

The result of the study reveals that valuation by acquiring authority using DRC methods as prescribed by the LUA does not reflect market value and it is inadequate to put the claimants in the position they were before the acquisition. As such, most victims expressed dissatisfaction with the amount paid to them, which sometimes result to crisis, conflict and prolonged litigation, resulting in delay in executing or abandonment of the intended project.

The study is limited to only one case study on acquisition and compensation for land and buildings with particular reference to Akwa Ibom State. This limitation does not invalidate the result as the law is applicable to the whole country.

The implication is that the LUA needs to be review to fair market value as basis of valuation and payment for site value as well as the constitution to add “adequate” to Section 44 (1a). This will reduce the incidence of many communities and land owners protest against the decision of government or its agents to acquire their land for public purposes.

The methodology meets the requirement of the law regarding compulsory land acquisition and compensation in Nigeria: The LUA of 1978. Using three scenarios: the valuation by acquiring authority, claimant’s valuers and independent valuers to illustrate the critique of the methodology, the result shows the inadequacy of compensation.

This paper aims to examine current land administration practices (LA) in Tanzania to pinpoint divergences and convergences from past experiences that necessitated the 1990s reforms.

Literature review was carried out to understand historical practices which were then matched with current regulatory framework and observable LA practices captured through in-depth individual and group interviews of LA professionals in the public and private sectors, as well as LA customers in Dodoma Region Tanzania.

The current practices and government’s responses through land law reforms is largely a replica of what happened in the pre- and post-independence eras until just before the 1990s reform and is still characterised by corruption, inefficiency in service delivery and poor coordination among LA actors. It introduces superficial land governance structure over customary land as it was during colonialism; induces a temporary hikes in title delivery without any sustainability prospects just as it was immediately after independence; and induces more uncertainties for local land holders/investors than it addresses as it was during the implementation of the 1982 agricultural policy. Furthermore, the current awareness education during rural land titling programmes is inadequate to address the perceived risk of land alienation and dispossession among the poor.

A uniform LA system and tenure type throughout Tanzania that cater for the need of the time rather than a fragmented system of LA, which fuels maladministration and inefficiency in LA, is dearly needed.

Convergence of current LA practices with some of the worst past experiences explains some failures in land policy reform in Tanzania and the developing world in general.

The purpose of this paper is to outline and examine the growing corpus of housing rights and assess their relevance and applicability to complex contemporary housing systems across the world.

The paper sets out the principal instruments and commentaries on housing rights developed by the United Nations, regional and other bodies. It assesses their relevance in the context of contemporary analysis of housing systems, organized and directed by networks of legal and other professionals within particular domains.

Housing rights instruments are accepted by all States across the world at the level of international law, national constitutions and laws. The findings suggest that there are significant gaps in the international law conception and framework of housing rights, and indeed, human rights generally, which create major obstacles for the effective implementation of these rights. There is a preoccupation with one element of housing systems, that of subsidized or social housing. However, effective housing rights implementation requires application at meso‐, micro‐ and macro‐levels of modern, dynamic housing systems as a whole. Epistemic communities of professionals develop and shape housing law and policy within these domains. The housing rights paradigm must be further fashioned for effective translation into contemporary housing systems.

The development of housing rights precedents, both within international and national law, is leading to a wide and diffuse corpus of legislation and case law. More research is needed on specific examples of effective coupling between housing rights and elements of housing systems.

This paper offers housing policy makers and lawyers an avenue into the extensive jurisprudence and writings on housing rights, which will inevitably become part of the lexicon of housing law across the world. It also highlights the limitations of housing rights implementation, but offers some new perspectives on more effective application of these rights.

Notwithstanding heightened awareness of the issues faced by homeless people, the notion that homelessness is the result of individual failings and weaknesses persists. The purpose of this paper is to challenge that perception by giving voice to this marginalised group and exploring the mechanisms through which they made and remade as homeless and may be protected.

Semi-structured interviews (n=23) were carried out with a sample of homeless people who had accessed a range of homelessness services in the study area.

It is argued that largely deprived of the private sphere, which arguably renders them in most need of public space, homeless people find themselves most subject to scrutiny, surveillance, social disapprobation and exclusion.

The authors reiterate that rather than simply being associated with rooflessness, homelessness is as a function of ongoing geographical marginalisation and social alienation.

The authors suggest that dedicated spaces for homeless people to occupy during the day continue to be in need of development because, whilst not unproblematic, they can disrupt processes associated with homelessness.

Further resources should be directed towards homelessness and the issues that arise during daytime for homeless people.

The paper supports the literature which highlights the spatial practices by which stigmatised groups come to be separated from mainstream society.

This paper aims to explore the role of participatory governance to actors’ participation in land use planning for tenure security in rural Tanzania. Three case studies where land use planning project implemented were selected to make assessment on how local actors were involved in the process.

This paper uses qualitative research methods, whereby semi-structured interviews with village landholders and key informants were conducted to get their perspectives on land use decisions and land tenure (in)security. Besides, focus group discussions with the village landholders were also used.

The research findings indicate low participation of local actors in land use planning process. Decisions on land use by the local actors were very minimal. Further, communication between the involved actors was also difficult.

The study offers insights on participatory governance into land use planning for tenure security. The study develops a framework to improve land use planning process toward tenure security outcome. A tri-partite strategy consisting of enabling mechanisms of governance capacity, institutional capacity and converging discourses articulates a framework for the evolution in the degree of local actors’ participation to improve security of land rights through land use planning process in rural Tanzania.

This study aims at identifying the consequences of adopting statutory rather than market basis in assessing damages due to contamination to land. Most valuations undertaken to assess compensation for damages due to contamination on land are done with valuation methods prescribed by law for the compulsory acquisition of land.

A total of 80 registered valuation firms with experience in both compulsory acquisition and damage assessment participated in a questionnaire survey to ascertain the methods adopted in valuing when determining the compensation payable as damages due to land contamination and the need for a framework for such valuations, in addition to some archival documents relating to the relevant laws and some purposively selected valuation reports, which were reviewed.

The results of the analysis indicate that the use of compulsory acquisition valuation methods results in inadequate damages, which engenders conflicts among the stakeholders. The absence of any framework for damage assessment is responsible for the current practice in the Niger Delta, and it is recommended that international best practices utilising market basis of valuation be adopted.

Most valuation methods available are useful for valuing commercial properties regularly traded in the market and not applicable to the Niger Delta, which is mostly rural with very few market transactions. It is expected that this study will enable oil and gas industry operators, professional valuers advising the land owners or operators in the industry and the government to differentiate compensation paid for compulsory acquisition and compensation required to placate those suffering losses due to contamination.

The findings will assist professional valuers to be more professional in valuing contaminated land devastated by oil spills.

Adopting the findings will engender a greater acceptability of the results of valuations undertaken in the wake of an oil spillage disaster and ensure a peaceful environment for the oil operators and the entire populace.

The findings of this study are expected to assist policymakers in emerging economies and professional valuers acting in these environments to avoid precipitating crises by adopting inappropriate valuation techniques when assessing damages due to contamination. This study is original and has not been published elsewhere.