X-raying Gombe’s Land Reform Administration

 Through Development Agenda for Gombe State, otherwise known as DEVAGOM’, Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaha is building durable institutions that will put the state on a pedestal of sustainable socio-economic development, especially with reforms on land administration, Segun Awofadeji reports

 In order to create a better future and desire of the citizens of Gombe State, Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaha is putting necessary measures in place to stimulate and sustain economic growth and human development in the state.
And to ensure that the choices made, the steps taken and the  envisaged outcomes are technically desirable and consistent with his vision and goals, the governor came up with a robust plan, tagged ‘the development agenda for Gombe State, DEVAGOM’ to build durable institutions and put the state on a pedestal of sustainable socio-economic development.
For instance, land administration is one aspect where the administration has made remarkable achievements. Land as a critical factor of production got Inuwa’s best attention. He radically digitalised the land system. The digitalisation was done to aid development of Gombe and to forestall incessant land disputes common in other climes which often disrupt the peace and economic stability of such places. 
Land disputes will never be allowed by a governor who has the future advancement of the state well planned out. Inuwa Yahaya strengthened the Gombe State Geographical Information System (GOGIS) through adequate funding, staffing and equipping to enable the agency deliver on its mandate. 
Land administration involves the process of determining, recording and disseminating information about land acquisition, ownership, its value and land management policies.
Lack of proper land administration can cause land disputes, affect town planning and development in the society. In many communities in the country, there have been cases of conflicts over land ownership as a result of encroachment or dubious land transactions caused by unauthorised brokers.
Many of such cases often lead to litigations or violence among the conflicting parties. More so, improper land administration causes poor town planning, hinders infrastructural development or displacement of people who develop buildings indiscriminately and payment of huge compensation whenever they are touched for the execution of government projects.
To address those problems, federal and states governments established ministries of lands to ensure that they regulate land acquisition and allocation by their citizens.
In Gombe state, the state government went extra mile to establish another parastatal called GOGIS to ensure proper land administration in the state. The idea is to make sure that government knows every land available in the state, identifies land to be reserved for social amenities, for industries and residential areas by having a comprehensive data. Doing so, will help the young but fast growing state in its development planning.
It is on record that the administration of Governor Inuwa Yahaya had since its inception in 2019 embarked on the provision of massive infrastructure such as access roads, schools and hospitals across the state. It is also pertinent to know that the administration has so far provided 114 functional primary health centres in the state. 
In line with its agenda to beautify the state capital with roads and other structures, the government suspended land transactions and buildings at the area designated as ‘Gombe Capital Special Development Zone’ to enable government execute its development projects in the state.
The governor, who holds the traditional title of Dan Majen Gombe, announced the suspension recently while declaring open a two days stakeholders engagement workshop on land administration organised by GOGIS at Custodian hotel, Gombe.
He explained that the decision is part of the reforms initiated by the designation of the Gombe capital special development zone adding that, GOGIS has recently conducted a thorough audit of some of the affected layouts. 
According to him, findings from the exercise have revealed several distortions and illegal activities such as blockage of major access roads, sub-division of the federal secretariat plot into personal and individual plots, conversion of areas meant for public facilities such as hospitals, fire service and religious activities into residential plots, encroachment of building lines, illegal sub-division or merger of plots and irrational use of land titles among others. 
In addition to that, the governor noted that he recently approved the revocation of the 274 hectares piece of land located at the west of Hashidu housing estate previously allocated to NNPC but left undeveloped for decades.
According to him, “This new layout will be used to accommodate the 250-unit NEDC housing project and the 1,000-unit Family Homes Fund project. Government will provide all necessary modern infrastructure such as access roads, street lights, shopping malls, schools, hospitals etc in order to ensure this layout is developed in line with modern real estate development standards. 
“Equally, this new layout will also be used to compensate all people whose land may be affected by the redesign and rectification to be carried out at the Capital Special Development Zone,” he said.
He however promised that as soon as those exercises are completed, the suspension will be lifted to allow individuals proceed with the development of their plots in line with the requirements of the law.
The governor stated that It was in the context of those policies and initiatives that the workshop was organised to explore all issues surrounding effective, efficient and just land administration in the state.
Yahaya said digitisation of land was embarked upon by his administration to improve urban planning and support infrastructural development and other critical areas in the state.
He explained that it is an established fact that a just and efficient land administration system is necessary in order to guarantee ownership and security of tenure, provision of security,  support land and property taxation, monitor land transactions as well as reduced incessant disputes associated with land. 
“A good land administration system is also essential in order to improve urban planning, support infrastructural development and proper environmental management”. 
He observed that Nigeria, like Gombe state, is faced with the challenge of ensuring proper and orderly land administration which his administration is doing everything necessary to change the archaic process of land management. 
“You may wish to recall that while campaigning for election as the governor of this great state, we noted with great concern, some of these challenges which includes poor physical development planning, endemic corruption in land administration and unacceptable bureaucratic bottlenecks which have hampered the overall development of the state. 
“During the campaigns, we stressed the need to correct all irregularities in land administration so as to ensure sustainable use and proper management of our land. 
“Accordingly, one of the promises we made as contained in our manifesto, is that we would ensure the maintenance of accurate database of all lands in the state and ensure speedy acquisition of land title documents.
“To achieve these, we pledged that, if elected, we would strengthen the Gombe State Geographical Information System (GOGIS) through adequate funding, staffing and equipping to enable the agency deliver on its mandate”. He said.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya said his administration has embraced the use of modern technology by awarding the contract for the aerial survey of the entire state using orthophoto technology in order to fast-track the issuance of digital certificates of occupancy as obtained in other states. 
He said when completed, the project will upgrade the existing aerial photographs and geographical maps of the state by producing high resolution imagery which will enable clear identification of property boundary for the ease of application and issuance of digital certificate of Occupancy.
“Furthermore, in accordance with the provisions of the Land Use Act of 1978, we inaugurated the Land Reform Committee and charged it with the responsibility of identifying measures that needs to be taken in order to address all injustices, inconsistencies and corrupt practices encumbering efficient land administration and development in our dear state” 
Governor Inuwa Yahaya remarked that base on the recommendations of the committee, his administration initiated bold reforms in order to right the wrongs. 
“We signed Executive Order 4 in 2020 which seeks to check uncontrolled alienation of communal lands, ensure provision of basic physical and organisational infrastructure and expanded the radius of all existing urban areas, while creating new ones in all the local government areas of the state. 
“Furthermore, following our realisation of the need to align with modern realities in metropolitan development, we initiated the Gombe Capital Special Development Zone project aimed at providing befitting structures, access roads and other facilities while also ensuring strict compliance with development control regulations in and around the state capital,” he pointed out.
According to him, to oversee the successful implementation of the capital development zone, a special project implementation, monitoring and evaluation team has been appointed under the chairmanship of Professor Namala Keptin Amuga and charged with the responsibility of ensuring a proper implementation of this designated areas in conjunction with all relevant ministries, departments and agencies. 
Also speaking, the state commissioner of lands and survey Muhammed Jahun Biri said the workshop would provide an avenue for traditional, religious and community leaders who are stakeholders in land administration to interact with local government council chairmen and officials responsible for the implementation of land administration reforms in the state. 
Speaking on the land issue, the Director-General, Press Affairs,  Government House Gombe,  Ismaila Uba Misilli, in an interview with THISDAY said since assumption of office, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has always been resolute and dedicated to the Gombe Project, including the state’s land administration reform. 
Misilli said while some people are trooping and plotting to quench their thirst for power, Governor Yahaya is busy establishing structures and repositioning different sectors in the state to open up socio-economic activities and create employment opportunities. 
“While others are planning for 2023, the great Dan Maje is making smart moves to establish links and connections with federal ministries and parastatals to explore more ways of collaboration to move Gombe State forward. His aim is to serve his people to the best of his ability and not betray the confidence and trust they reposed in him. 
“It is a fact that Gombe State was at the bottom of the list in terms of revenue allocation from Federation Account, but due to his ingenuity and commitment to fulfilling the dream of the founding fathers of the state, the governor, in a little more than three years in office, made Gombe a model in revenue generation and collection, rubbing shoulders with giant states.
“Gombe will in no distant time, be able to survive even without Federal Allocation,” the governor’s spokesman said.

Quote
“Land administration is one aspect where the administration has made remarkable achievements. Land as a critical factor of production got Inuwa’s best attention. He radically digitalised the land system. The digitalisation was done to aid development of Gombe”