The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Land

  • ‘Let’s relish the mores of our land’

    ‘Let’s relish the mores of our land’

    Ndigbo in the Diaspora, especially those indigenous to Imo State, have been urged to be patriotic Nigerians. They were also advised to embrace their cultural beliefs in order to ensure continuity of the mores of the land.

    Chief David Mbamara gave these pieces of advice at the 30th anniversary of the Imo State Towns Development Association (ISTDAL), in Lagos.

    Chief Mbamara urged all citizens of Imo State resident in Lagos and other cities to think homeward, adding that it is a patriotic call for service to their home state.

    He noted that citizens of Imo State are carried away by the quest to acquire wealth, landed properties and leadership positions, especially in the states where they reside at the detriment of their home state.

    He advised them to embrace the leadership qualities of their past leaders such as the former Governor of Old Imo State, Chief Sam Onunaka Mbakwe.

    In a chat with Southwest Report, Mbamara told the people that Igbo ideology loathes financial recklessness in government, arrogance and visionless leadership in all its ramifications. He insisted they should imbibe the virtues of brotherliness, adding that there is need for all to maintain close affinity with their home land.

    He said: “Let’s therefore think Imo and act like true citizens of Imo State. Imo has a divine mandate with the Creator; all hands must be on deck to ensure its actualisation.”

    President of the association, Okechukwu Anorue also stressed the need for them to show their true identity by putting on the traditional attire for which the people are known as well as consumption of their native food.

    He said: “Most of our people tend to forget our culture as soon as they get to another land; they allow our own culture to die and their children suffer as a result because most of them find it very difficult to understand their language and to trace their root.” This, he said, has posed a lot of challenges to the Igbo community.

    He maintained that African cultures must be celebrated at all times and promoted as well. He appealed to the people to stop living what he described as “life of borrowed cultures.”

    Commenting on unity of people of Imo State, Don Ezugha said the rich culture of the Eastern Heartland must be showcased. He noted that the forum offered them the opportunity to know one another. Again, it presents the platform to solve issues harmoniously.

    He said: “What we are showcasing is unity and it is important in nation-building and development. He maintained that unity was one of the key factors for any relationship to work. Where there is unity, every other thing would be in place.

    “The Igbo are identified anywhere they entered either by the way they dress or the food they eat. That is why we should continue to showcase our cultural values so that our young ones will not deviate from the way of our forefathers. We should not allow any form of civilisation that would erode our cultural value system.

  • Descendants warn trespassers on Madam Tinubu’s land

    Descendants of the first Iyalode Egbaland, the late Madam Iyalode Efunyose Tinubu (Osuntinubuwa), have issued a red card to trespassers on their matriarch’s land in Lagos.

    They gave 42 Families in the state seven days to vacate the land or face litigation.

    After a prayer meeting marking 129 years of the Iyalode’s death in Lagos, at the weekend, the descendants, led by the Head of the Shobowale extended family, Mr. Lasisi Odedairo (aka Baba Oniburedi), told reporters that successive judgments have declared that the 42 families are not the owners of the land.

    With him were his deputy, Alhaja Iyabo Shodimu, Board of Trustees Secretary Rev Musliu Adio Ola Bakare, a youth leader, Waliu Bakare and their lawyer Akinfolabi Akindele.

    Odedairo said the Iyalode, who died in December 1887, did not sell the land to those “families.”

    The land, he said, covered Ewe-Agbigbo, Mushin, Odi-Olowo/ Idi-Oro, Obanikoro, Isolo, Shomolu, Bariga, Igbobi-Sabe, Yaba, Anthony, Itire, Ikate, Surulere, Iddo-Oto, Opebi-Allen, Ebute-Meta, Makoko, Ikeja, Fadeyi, Ojota, Maryland, Ketu, Ikosi, Onigbogbo, Alapere, Iyana-Oworo, Magodo-Shangisha, Magodo Isheri, Oshodi, Abule-Ijesha, Akoka, Ikorodu Road, Agege Motor Road, Isolo Road, Ojodu Berger, Ogba, Lawanson, Alausa, Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, Bank Anthony Way, Idiroko and Ijeshatedo.

    It also stretches to Amuwo Odofin, Mile 2, Festac Town, Ilasamaja, Ishaga, Ijora, Apapa, Amukoko, Onitiri, Onike, Iwaya, Shasha, Ejigbo, Yaba, Alagomeji, Ikotun, Ayobo, Alagbado, Lagos Island, Ibeju Lekki, Alimosho, Badagry and Agbado Ijaiye

    Odedairo claimed that the land was granted to their  matriarch by the Oloto Chieftaincy Family as represented by Oloto Baalo Oriagbaya in 1834.

    He said when the late Madam Tinubu, retired to Abeokuta in 1856, she left Eyisha on the land as the head of her domestic workers to be collecting tributes from the natives, farmers and others.

    According to him, the late Iyalode did not give Eyisha permission to sell the land.

    Many families in Lagos and Ogun States, he said, had appropriated the land and were fleecing the descendants.

    Lawyer Akindele said: “Herbert Macaulay surveyed the areas in 1912 and tendered the survey as Exhibit “A” in suit No. 124 of 1912 between Fafunmi Vs Osu Apena and Iwaya Farmland covered by the plan with a registered title No. 45 Page 45 Vol. 2212.

    Akindele said there were over 50 cases in courts over the land, adding that the descendants were ready to pursue the cares to logical conclusions.

    Those with genuine documents have been asked to come forward for verification  “else, the descendants will be left with no other option than to recover the land”.

    Akindele said the descendants were now acting after clearing a lot of issue left by Madam Tinubu who died without a will or a child.

    He said the Lagos State government did not compensate his clients for the land it took over for public good.

    The descendants explained that their action was to set the records straight and not for traditional or political advantage.

  • Kano rejigs land registration, targets N1b

    The Kano State government has kicked off a new process of land registration.

    The initiative, known as the Systemic Land Title Registration (SLTR), is geared towards   seamless collection of certificate of occupancy (C of O).

    Anchored by the Growth and Empowerment in State (GEMS3) office and funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), it involves the demographic data mapping of valuable property.

    The project is expected to generate N1 billion from the issuance of   Cs of O in three councils.

    At a forum for journalists, GEMS3 Media Adviser, Hajia Hadiza Abdullahi, said the SLTR was initiated to simplify the C of O process.

    The new systemic certificate, she  explained, offers alot of economic and investment merits at low-cost charges.

    Abdullahi described the new process as valid, possessing the same authority with the traditional C of O. She said the SLTR has security of tenure, guarantees inheritance right and assured investment opportunity.

    She called on land and property owners to avail themselves of the  opportunities in the scheme to guarantee investment opportunity on their valuables.

    “Before the recent extension of its demographic data mapping to Tarauni Local Government, a pilot scheme of SLTR was launched in Dala and Fagge local government areas with 30,000 certificates  issued to land owners.

    ‘’The SLTR C of O, being issued at the cost of N5, 000, was targeted at creating alternative means to the cumbersome process of the sporadic approach required for the collection of traditional certificate of Occupancy,” she added.

  • Painter wins N42m land in promo

    Fortune smiled on Mr. Saheed Lawal, a house painter in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, last week, when he was handed a plot of land worth N42 million in the Imperial International Business City (IIBC), an exclusive island at Lekki Phase 1, Ikate Elegushi, Ajah in Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.

    Lawal, who bought a N500 lotto ticket to participate in the ongoing Imperial City Promo by Channeldrill Resources Limited,  emerged as the winner in the first of the seven raffle draws last week. The draw ends on December 31.

    Other winners were two persons with N1 million each; four won N500,000; 10 won N100, 000 each while 20 others won consolation prize of N50,000 each.

    Winners have also emerged in the second draw held during the presentation to Lawal. They will be presented to the public today.

    The Elegushi of Ikateland, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, felicitated with Lawal and his family, advising them to make the best use of the rare opportunity to own a property. The traditional ruler also urged the family to be grateful to God always and remain steadfast in God, because He will certainly perfect the good work he has begun in their lives.

    “When we embarked on this promo, our prayer was that people like Saheed should win, because we know such would empower them and change their life story,” the monarch said.

    ChannelDrill Managing Director, Mr. Femi Akioye, said the status of the first winner makes him happy because such people are the real ones in dire need of shelter.

    Akioye said the promo would help his firm touch lives of the poor in the society. “It is part of our Corporate Social Responsibility which the Elegushi family and our firm have been used to doing over the years,” he said.

    Lawal told The Nation: “There is nothing I can say than to thank God. I cannot believe this is happening to me.”

    He however said he would sell the land and use the proceeds to establish a business, including setting aside certain amount as endowment for his children’s education.

    Channeldrill Resources Limited, is an infrastructure and city developer; the firm is partnering   the Elegushi Royal Family of of Ikate Elegushi Lagos, in the IIBC project,

  • Can Abuja secure the land and property rights of its teeming residents?

    Can Abuja secure the land and property rights of its teeming residents?

    The recent attacks by Fulani herdsmen in different parts of Nigeria has brought the issue of land reforms to the spotlight. The process of registering land and property in Nigeria is still very much opaque and the means to do so, much more outdated. Information is very vital for securing land and property rights. But are the government agencies responsible for land management performing their statutory roles?

    By Kolawole Talabi

     “It has been over five years since the [federal] government began work on that bridge,” Umar the Uber driver in whose car I sat on the way to my hotel complains bitterly. “Yet they are still allowing Arab Contractors to continue work on it. I’m very certain the contractors have been bribing government officials.”

    Umar’s frustration stems from having to take a longer route to our destination in the bustling Utako district of Abuja. Just after the Alfreso market in Utako, the smooth roads for which the purpose-built Nigerian capital is renowned gives way to a dirt one. Street lighting and road signs are also conspicuously absent.

    But Utako is unlike Asokoro, the upscale district where Umar had picked me. Yet both districts face similar challenges.

    Asokoro is the undisputed doyen of the districts in the Federal Capital Territory, and it is widely regarded as the most secure district in Abuja. The head of state of the federation lives and works there in a fortified compound popularly known as Aso Rock Villa. Beyond the walls of the president’s residence, the Asokoro landscape is dotted with other important government buildings. The Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Nigerian Police Force and even the regional body, ECOWAS, all maintain a physical presence in the district. The tree-lined streets, stately mansions, and modern office blocks all add to the charm of the district. Due to such exclusivity, the premium cost of land and property makes Asokoro a district that is out of the reach of most Nigerians. However through lapses in land management by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), some of Abuja’s homeless population are able to share living quarters with the rich and powerful in Asokoro.

    Milton Obote Street is an untarred close that leads to nowhere in Asokoro. Like the dirt road that led to my hotel in Utako, the close is devoid of the least of street furniture. Located off Jimmy Carter Street, Milton Obote Street seem like an afterthought in Abuja’s master plan.

    “Where are you going, sir?” one of the men squatting under the overpass bridge at the end of Milton Obote Street asked loudly. “This road does not lead to any place.” The men appeared nervous as I looked around. They were eager to see me leave.

    As the car drove away, I brought out my smartphone to conduct a search on Google Maps for the street name. The app couldn’t locate Milton Obote Street. But then if Milton Obote Street doesn’t exist on digital maps, would it be found in FCTA’s official records?

    fct-minister-mohmmed-musa-bello

    Land management in Abuja, the federal capital of Nigeria is vested in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), a public institution headed by a cabinet-level minister. Muhammad Musa Bello is the current FCT minister. One of the mandates of the FCTA is “the provision of safe and secure environment” for FCT residents. Through the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), the FCTA carries out this mandate by ensuring “the removal of illegal structures at the expiration of issued notices and the issuance of relevant notices as it regards physical developments” among other statutory tasks. Another department under the FCTA, the Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) is responsible for street naming and house numbering in the FCT. The state of the road on Milton Obote Street, the lack of essential street furniture, and the presence of squatters at the end of the close cast doubt on the efficiency of the public agencies responsible for maintaining land and property rights in Abuja.

    “This new [FCT] minister is only interested in raising money from commercial transporters,” Umar adds. “He wants to be seen as doing his work.”

    A freedom of information (FOI) request was sent to the FCTA, AGIS and AMMC for records of street names approval, house numbering and street signs for Milton Obote Street in Asokoro district as well as certificates of occupancy issued to title owners in the same address.

    Four days later, a letter from the FCTA stating that the request is being processed was received. The official response is a well-worn excuse for non-disclosure of public information.

    The Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC), a civil society organisation based in Abuja, promotes citizen participation in governance through its advocacy work that monitors and reports public finance expenditure. Since 2014, PPDC has curated and published an FOI compliance ranking for public institutions in Nigeria. In the first-ever ranking, the Federal Capital Territory Administration was tied 7th with 11 other state agencies among a total of 67. Two years later, the FCTA had fallen to 95th position together with the Ecological Fund among a record number of 131 public institutions in the latest ranking. It still takes about the same time for the FCTA to respond to FOI requests: more than two weeks. The freedom of information act which former president Goodluck Jonathan signed into law in 2011 mandates public institutions to respond to FOI requests within 7 days. The FCTA hasn’t done well in another key indicator too; on the metric for responsiveness to FOI requests, it had gone from full disclosure to non-disclosure.

    “The FCTA had no proactive disclosure of public finance related information on their website in 2014,” says Ifeoma Onyebuchi, a program support officer at PPDC. “Yet they were able to respond to FOI requests within a short period of time. In 2016, the requested information was not provided, neither was the information disclosed on their official website.”

    Onyebuchi attributes the sharp drop in FCTA’s 2016 ranking due to their lack of response to FOI requests. She reiterates the need for public institutions in Nigeria to comply with the provisions of the law. “It is commendable if information is available to all so that administrative costs are avoided. Some institutions are already doing this in accordance to the FOI Act.”

    As at the time of publication almost eight weeks after the FOI request was made, no correspondence has been received from AGIS and AMMC, agencies under the management of the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

    Kolawole Talabi is an independent journalist who covers the environment, science, culture and development from his native country, Nigeria. This report is the output of a media fellowship from the Institute of War and Peace Reporting.

  • Bureau automates land documentation

    Determined to ease the challenge associated with land processing, the Lagos State Lands’ Bureau has introduced a new procedure. The Integrated Land Administration and Automation System is meant to shorten  procedure for land allocation and administration.

    The new process will allow intending clients of the Bureau to submit applications on-line. This system will take about 18 months to begin after full installation of equipment that will drive the process.

    The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Lands’ Bureau, Governor’s Office, Mr. Bode Agoro, explained that automation of the system  became necessary because of delays caused by manual operation.              ‘’No matter how you structure your administration using manual processes, you cannot have maximum productivity,’’ Agoro said. He explained part of the benefit to include allowing the bureau to create a secondary market whereby titles issued by the lands bureau can be guaranteed, that is, the bureau would partner with insurance companies to guarantee the title and trade with it as if trading in shares. A quality control unit to block all leakages has also been set up; this will help to improve service delivery especially in the area of double allocation.

    On the issue of encroachment on land due to the activities of land grabbers, government, he explained, has responded by enacting a law against the practice and a taskforce has been set up to carry out its implementation. The Act prescribes a jail term for violators of the law. He, therefore, advised interested land buyers to always request for a survey plan before buying any property and come to the office of the Surveyor-General to confirm its authenticity.

    Agoro admitted that the recession affecting the bureau, stating that since the recession the volume of application  has dropped compared to when the country was not in recession, and what the bureau is  doing now is to speed up the processes and make it faster so as to attract more customers.

    The bureau, he further explained, has been carrying out various programmes discreetly, results of which he claimed “speaks for the bureau.”

    ‘’We are doing a lot of work in the background, we are putting a lot of changes and those changes have been yielding positive results. They have been able to weed out a lot of unscrupulous practices and officers that are not able to meet up with the demands have been shown the way out and the remaining ones have been engaged in training and orientation,” he said, adding that he is leading by example.

    Agoro said the orientation of the staff has changed. He charged all staff of the bureau to treat every client politely. For this purpose, he explained that the office of Public Relations & Complain was established.

  • AND TIFF’S PEOPLE’S CHOICE IS ‘LA LA LAND’

    THE closing ceremony of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival celebrated the cast and crew of La La Land directed by Damien Chazelle.

    This did not come as a surprise because after the first two screenings of the film, words of mouth and media reviews had endeared many to the screens for this film which had so much queues that the organisers had to arrange an extra showing at Scotiabank Theatre 4 on Wednesday September 14, 2016. Even then, not only was the film sold, it enjoyed some desperate crowd on the rush line who you’d think were on a last bus to God knows where. Well, we soon knew – La La Land.

    For this year, this film, a tribute to old-school Hollywood musicals, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling was the festival’s people-pleaser. And if the TIFF People’s Choice films is anything to go by, La La Land may land in the Oscars’ good books just like past winners;The King’s Speech, 12 Years a Slave, Argo, Dallas Buyers Club, and Slumdog Millionaire.

  • Court grants woman access to land

    The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has directed a businesswoman, Alhaja Tayibat Adeniji, to enforce a judgment delivered by Justice A. O. Holloway (rtd) on November 20, 2000 over a parcel of land at Soliyi, Ogudu in Kosofe Local Government Area.

    Justice Ganiyu Safari granted the application “in order for the judgment creditor/applicant to be able to reap the benefits of the judgment”.

    Another judge of the court, Justice Okuwobi, on January 25, 2001, granted Adeniji possession of the land. On November 23, 2001, she refused an application by the plaintiffs to set aside the order of execution.

    The plaintiffs, Babantunde Thomas and Anthony Olokodana, sued Adeniji, claiming that they were entitled to be issued with a certificate of occupancy in respect of the land at Soliyi Village, Gbagada.

    They also sought N500,000 as damages, as well as an order restraining the defendant (Adeniji), from committing further trespass on the land.

    Justice Holloway held that the land belonged to Adeniji, who owns an estate in Gbagada. He said: “The defendant has produced receipt of money paid to the Oloto family and testified as to how the land was sold to her under the customary law.

    “She would appear to have equitable interest on the land which is more than could be said of the plaintiffs. The defendant, therefore, has a better title and she is in possession.”

    Adeniji then applied before Justice Okuwobi for a consequential order and warrant of possession, which she granted.

    She held: “The applicant (Adeniji) is entitled to the possession of the land comprised in the judgment of this court delivered on 20th November 2000.

    “I hereby make a consequential order that the plaintiffs give up possession of the said land covered by surveys KESH/2904A and KESH/L/2904B at Ogudu Soliyi, within Kosofe LGA forthwith.”

    Adeniji, on January 8, prayed Justice Safari for an order granting her leave to enforce/execute the judgment outside the statutorily prescribed time.

    She said her inability to fully execute the judgment before six years elapsed was due to financial constraints, adding that she was now prepared to execute the judgment completely.

    Justice Gafari, in his ruling, held: “I find merit in this application and hold that it is necessary to grant same in order for the judgment creditor/applicant to be able to reap the benefits of the judgment and ruing.

    “Leave is hereby granted to the judgment creditor/applicant to enforce and execute the judgment of the Honourable Justice A. O. Holloway (rtd) delivered on the 20th of November 2000 and subsequent ruling by Honourable Justice D. Okuwobi on the 25th day of January, 2001, outside the statutorily prescribed period. This shall be the order of this court.”

  • Osun community alleges plan to annex land

    •It’s not true, says OSCTDA

    The people of Ede in Osun State have alleged a plan by Governor Rauf Aregbesola to annex parts of their land.

    The people, under the aegis of the Federation Council of Ede Descendants, alleged that parts of their community in Ede North and Egbedore Local Governments have been annexed to Osogbo.

    Speaking through their president, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, at a news conference, the community said they would resist “any attempt to encroach on our land in the name of expanding the land of Osogbo, the state capital, through the Osun State Capital Territory Development Authority (OSCTDA)”.

    They urged the governor to have a re-think over the matter, which they warned could lead to violence between the people of Ede and Osogbo communities.

    They said: “Governor Aregbesola has recently directed the General Manager of OSCTDA to rename all government establishments, settlements and communities in areas within the capital territory as belonging to Osogbo.

    “We are calling the attention of the public to the decision of Osun State government to ignite the suppressed tension in the state through its obnoxious and biased decision to annex a large part of Ede North Local Government to Osogbo in disregard of consequence of such volatile policy.

    “Therefore, Ede community views the directive as a slap on our collective integrity and an attempt to personally cause confusion and tension in the state.

    “More so, such a draconian directive has never been implemented since 1991 when Osun was created. It does more harm than good.”

    But the General Manager of OSCTDA and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, Dr. Asani Morufu Afolabi, said it was not true that Aregbesola mandated his agency to rename any government institution in the capital territory after Osogbo.

    He said what some people failed to understand was that there “is a difference between Osogbo as a capital city and other parts of the state recognised by law as capital territory”.

    According to him, there are parts of eight council areas – Osogbo, Olorunda, Boripe, Ifelodun, Obokun, Atakumosa West, Ede North and Egbedore local governments – designated as the capital territory.

    He added that the territory was not limited to parts of only Ede community, assuring that the operation of the OSCTDA was to ensure that people comply with the development principles of the government to avoid future conflict among communities.

  • Bill against land speculators passes second reading in Ogun Assembly

    •Coker Farm settlers lament ordeal

    Hundreds of farmer-settlers at the over 50-year-old Coker Farm Settlement (CFS) in Ifo, Ogun State and others will soon enjoy peace as a Bill against land speculators is enjoying prompt attention in the Ogun State House of Assembly (OGHA).

    The bill, which has passed through first and second readings, is at the Committee Stage.

    Titled:  “A Bill for A Law To Prohibit Forcible Entry and Occupation of a Landed Properties, Violent and Fraudulent Conducts in a Relation To Landed Properties In Ogun State And for Connected Purposes”. It was proposed by Kunle Oluomo (Ifo1).

    Information about the bill came to light yesterday following the protest by farmers at the CFS over their harrowing experiences in the hands of “land grabbers” and “sand diggers”.

    For years, farmers at the CFS established by the first Premier of Old Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, said they have been groaning under what they called routine destruction of their crops and farmlands by “land grabbers” and “sand diggers”.

    The farmers claimed they have lost millions of naira worth of cash crops in addition to funds invested in farming.

    Narrating their ordeals to reporters at a meeting attended by hundreds of the farmers, their wives and children, the CFS’ Secretary, Adediran Babatunde, called on the government “to save this surviving legacy of their forefathers from total destruction”.

    Adediran said the 720 acres at Adegbite and Asani areas of Ifo, which was allocated to 124 farmers, began to witness encroachment during the former Governor Gbenga Daniel administration. He added that the situation got to a peak in 2012 without a respite.

    But assuring the farmers, OGHA’s Deputy Speaker, Kunle Oluomo, said the bill when passed will tackle the problems of farmers at the CFS and other land matters.

    Oluomo, who spoke yesterday with The Nation, said the bill will stop further encroachment, empower the government to demolish illegal structures interfering with the vision of the settlement and compelled others to ratify their properties.

    According to the lawmaker, the bill, when passed into law, would also make it an offence for any person to act or purport to act on behalf of any party to a real property transaction or engage in forceful takeover or sale of a landed property.