In Nigeria, land underpins every aspect of development—housing, food production, industry, infrastructure, and urban planning. Yet the systems governing land ownership, use, transfer, and management are often antiquated, inefficient, and inequitable. Many Nigerians struggle to legally access land or prove ownership, facing protracted delays, overlapping claims, and frequent disputes. These problems constrain national progress. Land reform must therefore be central to our development agenda.

This analysis explains why urgent land administration reforms are needed—and how such reforms can unlock prosperity, reduce conflict, and ensure equitable access to Nigeria’s most fundamental asset.

Land Administration: The Bedrock of Development

1. Tenure Security Unlocks Investment: Millions of Nigerians lack formal Certificates of Occupancy or deeds, which discourages investment across various sectors. When land rights are unclear or unregistered, it deters productive use. By contrast, secure tenure gives owners confidence to invest in and improve their land, unlocking its value.

2. Enabling Credit Access: In advanced economies, land is a key asset for securing loans. In Nigeria, however, over 97% of the land is not formally titled. Most rural land—and a large share of urban property—cannot be used as collateral. Bringing these assets into the formal registry (especially for women and youth) would unlock access to credit and spur entrepreneurship, drawing millions into the formal economy.

3. Boosting Government Revenue: A modern land registry enables equitable property taxation. Lagos State’s experience shows that land-based taxes (such as the Land Use Charge) can greatly increase internally generated revenue when property records are updated and enforced. Other states can expand their tax base by adopting similar measures.
   

4. Reducing Land Conflicts: Land-related disputes fuel conflicts across Nigeria. Overlapping claims, poor records, and the duality of statutory vs. customary systems often ignite violence and lengthy court cases. Providing clear titles and effective adjudication of land claims would address a root cause of communal clashes, reducing injustice and instability.

5. Managing Urban Growth: Nigeria is projected to become the world’s third most populous country by 2050. Rapid urbanisation is inevitable, but without effective land administration, it will lead to chaotic sprawl, slums, and infrastructure failures. Strengthening land governance (through proper zoning, planning, and enforcement) is critical for sustainable cities.

Nigeria’s Land Governance Crisis: Key Failures

Despite various initiatives, meaningful reform has been elusive. Key systemic failures include:

• Outdated laws: The Land Use Act of 1978 gives state governors control of all land. Intended to streamline access, it instead created centralised bottlenecks, deterring private investment and ignoring customary land rights.

• Fragmented institutions: Land administration duties are spread across multiple agencies with overlapping mandates and poor coordination. This fragmentation causes duplication, delays, and confusion.

• Manual records: Many states rely on paper-based records, which are prone to loss or manipulation. Without digital record-keeping, transactions are slow and opaque, enabling fraud.

• Corruption and capture: Informal payments and political patronage heavily influence land allocation and dispute resolution. Well-connected elites often acquire land preferentially, undermining fairness and eroding public trust.

• Exclusion of the vulnerable: Women, youth, and rural communities are poorly served by the formal system. High fees, complex procedures, and discriminatory norms prevent these groups from securing land titles.

A Roadmap for Reform

To place land administration at the centre of national development, Nigeria should pursue reforms in several interconnected areas:

1. Legal and institutional overhaul: Update the Land Use Act to eliminate bottlenecks, enabling more decentralised and flexible land management. Streamline state land agencies into unified one-stop digital platforms (Kaduna’s KADGIS model). Define clear, time-bound procedures and digitise all land transactions (titles, searches, transfers) to improve efficiency and transparency.

2. Fit-for-purpose mapping and titling: Use low-cost methods to rapidly map and register all parcels, prioritising coverage over precision. Pilots have shown this is feasible. Build an integrated digital cadastre linked to other sectors for better planning.

3. Inclusive access and gender equity: Ensure reforms benefit those traditionally left out. Enable joint husband–wife titling and enforce women’s inheritance rights. Recognize communal lands so rural communities can secure titles. Set up schemes (e.g., land banks or credit facilities) for youth and small farmers. Provide legal aid to vulnerable groups and engage community leaders to foster local acceptance.

4. Funding, capacity, and transparency: Allocate sufficient public funds to modernise land administration. Train and incentivise land officials for better service delivery. Promote transparency and citizen oversight by publishing service metrics, establishing anti-corruption hotlines, and conducting public awareness campaigns. Use feedback to drive continuous improvement.

Lessons from Other Countries

Nigeria can learn from peer countries that transformed their land governance:

• Rwanda: Implemented a nationwide land titling program that registered over 10 million parcels within five years. This dramatically reduced land disputes and improved access to land for women.

• Ghana: Merged four different land agencies into a single Lands Commission to create a one-stop shop, and has been digitising land records (starting in Accra) to improve efficiency and transparency.

• Ethiopia: Used community-based methods to issue land certificates for roughly 20 million parcels at very low cost. The result was improved tenure security for millions of farmers, leading to more investment and fewer boundary conflicts.

Why the Time to Act is Now

The urgency for land reform in Nigeria has never been greater. Population growth, urban expansion, and climate change are intensifying pressure on land and exposing the system’s weaknesses. Some states have demonstrated progress, and the federal government is pushing reforms. But without elevating land administration reform to a top national priority, these efforts will remain piecemeal.

Nigeria cannot build its future or achieve its development goals on shaky land governance; land administration reform must be at the heart of the national agenda.