Comparison of Formal and Informal Land Administration Systems in Lagos State: The Case of Epe Local Government Area

Abstract

The efficient harnessing of land resources remains key to unlocking the potential of economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Land administration systems provide a veritable platform for coordinating the efforts aimed at maximising the overall value of a country's land resources. Extant studies, however, provide scanty and unorganised insight into the problems and benefits of the formal and informal land administration systems co-existing in Nigeria and how they affect physical development on land. Using a cross-sectional survey, this study investigated the benefits and problems of formal and informal land administration systems in Epe, Lagos, and ascertained the relationship between the level of land development and land occupants' type of occupancy (which may be formal or informal). A major problem of the formal land administration system is that to be allocated land; one needs to know a government official, while its key benefit is that anyone can be allocated land anywhere irrespective of their state of origin. Under the informal land administration system, the main problem is that additional "settlement(s)" are required before one can build on the land, while its key benefit is that one purchases land in the place of one's choice. Using logistic regression analysis, it was observed that the level of development of land is independent of the type of occupancy held by the occupant. The study concludes that formal land administration system does not necessarily lead to higher land development than informal land administration. Future land formalisation policies should seek to optimise the merits and minimise the challenges of the two systems of land administration.

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“…Nevertheless, hindrances may arise since, in some cases, compensation is only granted for the dispossession of formally owned tenancy land [88]. In many areas, households often use land informally [89]. Energy projects can require water resources leading to serious water stress for agricultural production and human/animal consumption resulting in land dispossession.…”

Challenges and Innovations of Real Estate for Achieving Spatial Balance in Post-Disaster Countries

“…The formal administration can be better secured because title documentation is guaranteed by authorities, thereby automatically fostering the proper layout of urbanization, promoting values of real estate, and stimulating sustainable investment in the real estate sector. Nevertheless, the formal administration form fell into the trap of social discrimination in many areas of Lagos State due to the biased allocation of land for the rich [72].…”

“…Despite that, traditional perspectives consider the communal administration to be safer because real estate disputes are more easily resolved through alternative mechanisms under the power of chiefs of the community. Moreover, the informal system is still decentralized, meaning that the land issue can be solved separately, which promotes social integration and preserves customs that make people feel safer [72]. To sum up, there are two main aspects of disputes in Lagos: the substantial proportion of land rights, which still follow customary tenure systems, and the government's desire to formalize the ownership to ensure well-planned urban expansions with the intention of encouraging new investment.…”

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“…These unjust land access pattern "has led to feminisation of poverty and the disempowerment of women from society to national level" (Thobejane & Murisa, 2015, p.44). The customary system in Ile-Ife, southwest Nigeria grants equal land access to both men and women, and women are allowed to inherit land from their husbands (Ogbu & Iruobe, 2018). However, there is no evidence on the status of women's land rights in the study area's customary land allocation process.…”