CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Land
is the basis for every form of physical development and constitutes the Primary
medium for shelter and food production, for the provision of sheets and
utilities, for the manufacture of goods and the establishment of institutions
to support the basic needs of modern communities (Lanus and Olufemi, 2006).
Hence, it’s the builder’s most important asset and plays essential role in
increasing as well as sustaining the housing development. (Ukaejiofor, 2009)
noted that land at the heart of social, political and economic life of the most
African countries. He stressed further that, it is the key factor for economic
growth and development of every nation and the foundation for shelter in the
urban areas as well as the source of livelihood in the rural areas. Therefore,
it is an indisputable source of employment and wealth (Idoma and Muhammed,
2014). However, ownership of land often interferes with its use as housing
asset. The right of people to own, use and control land and its resources are
known as Land Use Act.
Land use regulations and controls are
used to restrict the rights of private land holders in the use of land. The
regulations are used to protect public interest in the use of private land. The
regulations stem from the need to provide public amenities, to increase the
efficiency of land-use, to limit urban sprawl and unnecessary encroachment on
agricultural land, and to achieve economies of scale and least-cost production
of public services (Courtney, 1983). The regulations are also used to ensure
the availability of land to all groups, and to ensure that the benefits of
development go to the community as a whole.
Several controversies that were created by the Act have been well documented
in different reactions and write-ups. Mabogunje (2007; 2011) and Aluko (2007;
2009; 2010) dealt excessively on the sorry state of affairs about the housing
situations in Nigeria in general and how it could be sustained. Since one of
the major areas of the Act is to control future uses and open new land for the
needs of Nigeria’s growing population especially in urban areas, yet there is
still the outcry of the people to affordable housing provision. In Delta State
for example, the municipalities (local governments) have no say in the issue of
Certificate of Occupancy as all lands in the State has been declared urban and
are all under the control of the governor. Whereas in the commencement of the Land
Use Act 1978 No. 6 on 29th March, 1978, it was stated that “whereas it is in
the public interest that the rights of all Nigerians to the land of Nigeria be
asserted and preserved by law”. And that all lands comprised in the territory
of each State in the Federation are hereby vested in the Governor of the State.
The Act also provides that “all land in urban areas shall be under the control
and management of the Governor of each State”.
Housing plays a very important role in
human society. It has tremendous social and economic impact on the total living
environment of the world. It’s direct
and immediate influence on health, education, economy, environment, political
and social life of any society cannot be
overemphasized (Mantell,
2015). In recent decades, there has
been
an increasing emphasis on the housing sector by
different governments of the developing countries. Yet the adequate provision of this
basic need eludes a high proportion of the
population of (these countries) (Midgley, 2005). Although rural housing conditions are generally far from
satisfactory, the problem attains its most acute proportion in the urban centres of the less Developed Countries (LCDs). A number of factors account for this,
including the
accelerated rate of urbanization since 1950, occasioned primarily by
rural-urban migration and secondly by natural increases within the urban centres themselves, non-renewal of dilapidated structures, poor facilities in
existing houses, poor environmental conditions of dwellings and insufficient supply of new housing units (Auchazi, 2015).
Aroni (2012)
pointed out that Shortage of housing is a problem which has become an enduring feature of the urbanization process in developing countries and it appears to raise increasing alarm, particularly from urban administrators and policy makers. This situation is due, not only to the high
birth rates that swell urban numbers but the rural poor flow into the metropolitan areas in search of better jobs and
other facilities.
Dwyer (2015)
argues that today’s urban problems are
reaching such dimensions on the
world scale as to
place them third in
importance to
the
threat of nuclear warfare and famine.
Housing of course is not the
only urban problems as urban areas everywhere suffer a variety of housing, hygienic and management problem
including housing inadequacy and congestion, limited water supplies and sanitation; inadequate social services; poor land management etcetera, but housing problem is clearly in the
burgeoning cities of the Third World
(Charles, 2014).
Traditionally, housing problems have been addressed from limited view point
such as site selection and construction. Modern urban studies now extend such analysis to
the
areas of hygiene, infrastructural facilities and management.
Even the
increasing allocation of funds for the housing sector in the already
strained economy are unable to cope with pace outside the
institutionalized housing to attempt to solve the housing problem as it demands pooling of all the
available resources and concerted efforts by all (Dwyer
(2015).
In Nigeria especially in Delta State, the housing problem is becoming increasingly desperate as the average citizen lives in what could hardly be described as decent housing condition (Mabogunje, 1980). The situation highlighted above describes the daily living condition
of millions
of
Nigerians either in the rural or urban areas. The sad thing note here is that
the
situation is not the same everywhere. It is basically different in more privileged areas occupied by highly placed public servants and private
employees as well as the
“well to-do” in the
Nigerian society (Gree,
2011).
From the above it obvious that a lot of
studies, have mainly focused on effective, sustainable and quality housing delivery across the globe
and Nigeria in particular, but none has taken time to look at its attendant
problems
caused by Land Use Act. It is
against this background that this study is carried out to the
effect of Land Use Act on sustainable housing development in Nigeria
particularly in Delta State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It has been discovered over the decades that there has been numerous problems
encountered in acquisition of land and subsequently in obtaining the approval
of certificate of occupancy and property development in Nigeria (Oduniyi,
1981). In the commencement of the Land
Use Act 1978, it was stated that whereas it is in the public interest that the
rights of all Nigerians to the land of Nigeria be asserted and preserved by law
(Chigbu, 2016).
Nigeria like other developing
countries has been witnessing “Urban explosion” since the past four decades,
and a number of environmental problems associated with urbanization have arisen
(Atubi and Oriero, 2002; 2006). This rapid urbanization has not only
deteriorated the natural environment, but also posed serious problem to quality
housing delivery in urban areas. Over the years, the attendant problems of
rapid population expansion and uncontrollable rate of urbanization of most
Nigerian cities called for increased utilization of consultancy services
(Abotutu, 2006)
The concern of the researcher in this
study is not really to criticize the Act but to carry-out an in-depth
evaluation of how it has achieved its aim in the mass provision of housing to
the people. However the hope of the Nigerian masses lies in the Act with the
current wave of high cost of acquisition of land. It should be noted that one
of the cogent reasons why the Act came into existence was because of the nature
of trusteeship of land in the past (Oduniyi, 1981). It was difficult for anyone
to get access to land. It is important for the researcher to examine if the Act
has made it easy for Nigerians to get land for housing development. Ownership
of a house starts from the acquisition of a piece of land. That is to say the
intending house owner must first of all have access to land. In urban areas
access to land is not quite easy and that is why one of the objectives of the Land
Use Act is to ensure that land is made available promptly to all those who need
it in the interest of the economy (Tobi, 1997). Having regards to the fact that
housing is one of the best indicators of a person’s standard of living and of
his place in the society, it also serves as a place in which man seeks shelter,
comfort, security and dignity among other things, it is important to examine
the effect of Land Use Act on sustainable housing development in Nigeria
especially in Delta State.
Today, if you buy land in Nigeria and
you do not have the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) from the government, it
is not yours, all you have is a lease, that is, you never have a freehold. You
cannot even have access to any loan or do anything tangible if you do not have
fund of your own, not even the National Housing Fund which was set up by the
government to render such assistance (Udo, 1990). Yet the Certificate of
Occupancy is even more difficult than getting the land itself. All efforts by
some State Governments especially the Delta State government to ease the
procedure and collection have been described as mere gimmicks. We have heard
series of cases where Governors wield their powers to revoke legally acquired
rights of occupancy in the interest of the public, whereas it was obvious that
they were done on political reasons especially against oppositions (Lasun and
Olufemi, 2006). The former President of the federation who the author of the
Act when it was promulgated during his first military administration had to
reassure Nigerians on 26th of September 2001 in Abuja that “no government owns
land” and that “land belongs to the people”. This statement was made when he
was condemning the excesses of the Governors. As stated above, since it is a
known philosophy that laws are made by men for men and are operated,
implemented and enforced by human beings through various legal institutions, the
focus of this study is how the Act has affected sustainable housing development
schemes in Nigeria (Lasun and Olufemi, 2006).
Other problems of Land Use Act and hence housing problems that informs the relocation of the
some indigenes
out of Delta State include the difficulty of the Delta State
Government in getting Federal Government establishments to comply with
Land Use Act, housing and town planning regulations which contributed significantly
to the
poor planning system of most cities in Delta State; the city congestion in Delta State makes life extremely difficult for the inhabitant and visitors from within and outside the
country who had business to transact therein and drainage has
been a
problem of immense magnitude (Madhu, 2012; Martin, 2012; Mantell,
2015; Manuel,
2008; Mrgee, 2007; Midgley, 2005; Mitchell, 2007).
Therefore, this study critically
re-examined in-depth the motives behind the act vis-a-vis the present realities
and the implication on housing provision and property development; evaluate the
achievements realized so far in terms of implementation since the promulgation
of the act and ways to facilitate and sustain housing delivery; and review the
areas of bottlenecks and suggest possible ways of ameliorating the identified
problems.
1.3
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of this study is to examine
the effect of Land Use Act on sustainable housing development in Delta State.
The following are the objectives of this study:
i. to assess the impact of Land Use Acts
on sustainable housing development in Delta State.
ii. to investigate the influence of Land
Use Act on access to land by Nigerians.
iii. to identify the factors limiting
sustainable housing development in Nigeria particularly in Delta State.
iv. to examine the ease of accessing land
for housing development in Delta State.
v. to identify constraints associated
with accessing land for housing development in Delta State.
vi. to recommend strategies necessary for
sustainable housing development in Delta State.
1.4 Research
Questions
The following questions will be
answered in this study;
i. What are the impacts of Land Use Acts
on sustainable housing development in Delta State?
ii. How does Land Use Act influence
access to land by Nigerians?
iii. What are the factors limiting
sustainable housing development in Nigeria particularly in Delta State?
iv. How does the ease of accessing land
enhance sustainable housing development in Delta State?
v. What are the constraints associated
with accessing land for housing development in Delta State?
vi. What are the strategies necessary for
sustainable housing development in Delta State?
1.5 Research
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses stated in the
null form were be tested in this study;
H01: Housing development in Delta State is not
significantly influenced by access to
land.
H02: The
operation of the Land Use Act has no significant impact on housing development in Delta State.
1.6 Research Methods
Research method is the procedure or
step adopted in carrying out a research. It involves the procedural technique
followed during data collection. This will be discussed under the following
sub-headings;
1.6.1 Method of Data Collection
The data for this study were obtained
from two sources. The first which is the primary source involve reconnaissance
survey, administration of questionnaire and oral interview which were carried
out to augment the secondary data. The secondary source of information involved
collection of secondary materials already existing which are in the form of
maps, journal, magazine, articles, newspapers, internet, published and
unpublished texts.
1.6.2 Instrument Administration
One hindered and fifty (150)
questionnaires were administered to the people of Delta State. The
questionnaire was the main research instrument used for the study and was
designed and structured to elicit information on the effect of Land Use Act on
sustainable housing development in Delta State. The questionnaires were
administered to respondents by hand to ensure quick response and easy
retrieval. The respondents were approached in a friendly manner.
The questionnaire comprised of two (2)
different sections which were used to obtain information for this study. The
first section of the questionnaire was based solely on the respondents’
personal information. The second section of the questionnaire dealt with the
effect of Land Use Act on sustainable housing development in Delta State.
The researcher adopted the existing
three senatorial districts in the state to administer questionnaire, that is;
two settlements/cities were chosen from each senatorial district. These
selected cities/towns are mentioned below;
Delta South Senatorial
District: Patani and
Ozoro
Delta North Senatorial
District: Agbor and Asaba
Delta Central
Senatorial District: Ughelli and Warri
The settlement/cities mentioned above were
chosen out of the existing three senatorial districts in Delta State because
preliminary field survey indicated that the problem of housing development was
serious in the areas where there is no spatial arrangement of settlements and
also in areas where settlements and buildings were built on clustered streets.
Those areas and settlements that are seriously affected by poor housing
structure were indentified and randomly selected, for the purpose of field
survey and easy administration of questionnaires. In each of these zones/areas,
twenty-five (25) questionnaires were administered using the systematic
techniques.
1.6.3 Method of Data Analysis
The data collected in this study with
the aid of research questionnaire were analyzed using the descriptive and
inferential statistical technique. The descriptive statistical techniques involved
the use of tables, percentages, and simple statistical charts, such as the bar
chart and histogram, etc, while the Person’s Product Moment Correlation
Co-efficient (PPMCC) was used to test if truly there exist a significant
relationship between the dependent and independent variables and the hypotheses
earlier formulated in this research work.
The Pearson’s Product Moment
Correlation Co-efficient was used because it is a parametric statistical tool,
which deals with interval variables, each of which is normally and uniformly distributed.
As used by Erudjakpor and Atubi
(2006), the Pearson’s product Moment Correlation co-efficient (PPMCC) is
presented below;
r = n(∑xy) - (∑x) (∑y)
n(∑x2) –
(∑x)2 x n(∑y2) – (∑y)2
Where;
r = Correlation
co-efficient
x = Dependent variable
y = Independent
variable
n = Number
of samples
1.7 STUDY AREA
The study area (Delta State) is located in the South-South
Geo-political zone of Nigeria.
1.7.1 Location and Size
Delta State is located in the southern part of the Niger
Delta region in Nigeria (see Fig 1 and 2). Delta State lies approximately
within latitude 050001Nand 060 301Nof
the equator and longitude 050001E and 050 451Nof
the Greenwich meridian. It is bounded by Edo State in the North, Bayelsa State
in the South-East, Anambra State in the East and the Atlantic Ocean in the
west. Delta State has experienced rapid increase in size over the years, due to
the presence of various tourist sites such as the River Ethiope Source, shrine,
hotels, bars, beach and restaurant. This attracts people from surrounding area,
to the State, because of its tourist attraction thus resulting to the rapid
development of the area. The Study area covers an area of 1,920km2.
Fig
1: Map of Nigeria Showing the Study Area
1.7.2 Climate and Vegetation
Delta State falls under the equatorial rainforest belt and
rainforest climate. The areas enjoy the tropical environment of tropical
rainforest climate (AF) of Koppen in 1918 and the wet equatorial climate of
Strahler in 1969 classification of climate. The climate of these areas is
influenced by two air masses, the tropical maritime air mass and tropical
continental air mass. These regions are of the humid tropical climate with high
temperature between the months of November and April with variation in temperature
between 250C -300C between April and October.
The regions have an annual temperature of about 30.6oC with a
monthly mean temperature of about 300C from September and 31.10C
in June and July with an annual range in temperature between 30C
and 50C. It is discovered in repeated studies that the average
rainfall distribution in these regions is about 2500mm-3000mm annually. These
regions experience rainfall throughout the year owing to its location in the
Niger Delta zone with the continual monsoon wind blowing from the Atlantic
ocean and also a continuous shift in the Inter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD) due
to the equatorial rainforest which is evergreen forest and consist of three
canopies of trees which are; the upper layer which is about 40m tall and the
lower layer which is about 30m in height.
The three major vegetation types in
Delta State are the tropical rainforest belt, temperate grasslands, and the
grass land. Vegetation remains one of the key factor which affect the climate
of these regions. Vegetation provides lumbering, herbs for medicinal purpose,
food, income and employment to the people of these regions.
1.7.3 Relief and Drainage System
Delta State are drained by two Rivers; River Ethiope and the
Forcados. Delta State and its environ is specifically drained by River Ethiope
and the Atlantic Ocean which empty its water shield into the River Niger Basin
and terminates at the Atlantic Ocean. Most communities in Delta State are
located in the upland in between these rivers the drainage pattern of River
Ethiope, Atlantic Ocean and Forcados is dentritic in nature. These rivers
serves as recreational and tourist centres, major source of water to the
populace, mining sites for sand stones, religious activities and agricultural
activities just to mention but a few.
Delta
State lies within the low land area of Nigeria with 50m above sea level. Also,
it is only about 45km from the coast of Nigeria. These regions have a low
relief of gentle hilly flat surface with an Anticline nature i.e. having an
elevation of less than or equal to 60 which in the north shell can
also be linked in classification with the interior coastal landmass of western
Nigeria.
1.7.4 Geology and Soils
Delta State is predominantly characterized by sedimentary
rock. These regions lie in southern most sedimentary basins in Nigeria. Delta
State have similar soil type, texture and structure since they are both in the
riverine areas of the lowland region. The soil in these region is loamy in
nature with muddy soil which varies from coarse through medium to fine grained
soils. The soils sometimes can be said to be loamy and clayey and greenish and
reddish brown in colour and then to brown. The light grayish colouration
characterizes the entire loamy portion of the soil, while the reddish brown
colouration depicts the presence of iron oxide in the soil. The colouration
depicts the availability of mineral matters and moisture. Delta State is well
structured in relation to its type in terms of grain size, well-spaced which
greatly influences the rate of percolation and capillarity, aeration and the
rate of evaporation.
1.7.5
Socio-Economic Activities
The
socio-economic activities in Delta State varies from trading, fishing, farming
to commercial businesses which have boost the economy of the area through
internally generated revenue. The Delta State tourism region is one of the most
fascinating tourist site in Nigeria where economic activities carried out in
the region is mostly from these tourist sites which is strategically located in
a tourist attraction environment where people from far and near come for
sightseeing thereby creating employment, and boasting the economy of the
regions. It is of no doubt that the tourist site in Delta State have really
improved the economy of the State and the country at large as tourism plays a
key role in the development of any region.