‘Land Use Act: A Failure in Legislative Drafting’

At 90, Alhaji Lateef Olufemi Okunnu, CON, SAN can be described as a privileged nonagenarian. With a sharp retentive memory, undiminished intellect and an uncanny recall of critical events of national import, the Learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing in the General Yakubu Gowon administration, went down memory lane in a rare and interesting interview with Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi, reminiscing about politics of the old days, how, once upon a time, Nigerian politics was devoid of ethnicity and religious biases; that they must not be allowed to divide us now. He also spoke about his expansionary Road Programme as Works Commissioner, and the origins and failings of the Land Use Act 1978, amongst other things

Congratulations on your 90th birthday Learned Silk Sir. You are one of the privileged Nigerians to be called to the Bar in England at the time, February 1960 to be precise. Which of the Inns of Court were you called to? What was the difference between them? Kindly, give us a brief overview of your life and career

I was born in Lagos on 19th February, 1933. I attended Ansar-Ud Deen Primary School, Alakoro (1938-1947) and King’s College Lagos (1948-1953).

I was employed as a Clerk at Posts and Telegraphs (June 1953- September 1953), and at King’s College as Technical Officer (October 1953 – February 1956) where I taught Civics (Forms 1-3), English Language and History in the lower classes.

I attended University College London in the second year, having obtained intermediate LL.B as an external student in Lagos in June, 1955. I attained my LL.B degree from London University in 1958.

I was a member of Gray’s Inn, London, and the most prestigious of the four Inns of Court. The other three are Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Lincoln’s Inn.

The different between them? There were very few foreign students at Gray’s Inn. More non-British people were Inner Temple and Middle Temple. Lincoln Inn was for “every other”, especially those who did not attend any University to obtain a Bar degree.

At the end of the day we all “sit” for the same Bar Examination to be called to the English Bar. I was called to the English Bar at the Gray’s Inn on the 9th February, 1960.

I was enrolled as a Legal Practitioner of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. And I was admitted to the Inner Bar as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria on 20th July, 1992.

Your tenure as Federal Commissioner of Works saw the construction of the iconic Lagos-Ore-Benin Expressway, and it has stood the test of time of over four decades. How did you achieve this feat back then? Are you satisfied with the infrastructural development of Nigeria over the years, or do you think successive governments should have done better?

Your second question deals with Road Programme.

When I was appointed Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing in May 1967, there were less than 7,000 miles of Federal Roads. I left over 20,000 miles at the end of my tenure in December, 1974.

I met two North-South roads in 1967:

(i) Lagos – Ibadan – Jebba – Kaduna – Zaria – Kano 

(ii) Port Harcourt – Enugu – Otukpo – Makurdi – Jos.

When I left office in December 1974, I had added the following: 

(iii) Warri – Benin – Auchi – Koton Karfe – Abuja.

(iv) Calabar – Yola – Maiduguri

There were also West – East Roads:

(v) Shagamu – Ore – Benin, to link up with Asaba – Onitsha – Enugu – Ogoja

(vi) Ilorin – Omuaran – Lokoja

I had the cooperation of the Ministries of Finance and of Economic Development, and the support of the Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon.

I left Government in 1974 with part of my Road Programme newly completed, some like Lagos – Shagamu – Ibadan with construction on-going, some with construction soon to commence.

All that was left for Muritala/Obasanjo Government to do, was to complete the on-going and the new projects.

President Shagari’s administration was largely to see to the maintenance of the Federal roads, in the same way as the Buhari – Idiagbon Government. The rot started with Babangida Administration, and continued with Abacha’s and Obasanjo’s Government. Yar’Adua Government was short lived, and the rot continued with Jonathan’s administration. This is what Mr Tunde Fashola, SAN, has been trying to do, to carry out the back log of the rot. Lagos – Ibadan Expressway is a good example of the neglect of our road network for about 38 years.

In your days, you were Deputy Legal Adviser of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), politics was basically without bitterness or violence in the Second Republic. Today, especially in the recently concluded elections, we saw a lot violence, ethnic and religious based prejudice. What do you think is responsible for this? The alleged reference to Lagos as being ‘No Man’s Land’ also didn’t go down well with many, and contributed to the bitterness. As a Lagosian yourself, kindly, give us a brief history of Lagos. What is your advice to present day politicians? How can harmony be restored amongst Nigerians?

In the 1940’s, when I was in primary school (1938-1945 war years), ethnicity was unknown in Nigerian politics. Lagos was the centre of politics. Let us go back to emergence of political parties in Nigeria.

With the introduction of Clifford Constitution in 1922 which was for the Colony of Lagos and the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria, Herbert Macaulay founded the Democratic Party. The first Constitution in Nigeria, made provision for election of three members from Lagos and one from Calabar.

The Democratic Party swept the polls. Dr. C. C. Adeniyi Jones was one of the three elected members.

In 1932, a group of Nigerian intellectuals founded the Nigerian Youth Movement. They included Professor Eyo Ita (founding father); Dr John Churchill Vaughan; Sir Kofo Abayomi (President); Ernest Ikoli, first Nigerian Editor of the Daily Times; Mr Samuel Akinsanya, the General Secretary (later the Odemo of Ishara). Others who joined later included Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik) (1937), Obafemi Awolowo, H. O. Davies and Samuel Akintola. 

When Sir Kofo Abayomi was awarded a scholarship to pursue a post graduate course in Ophthalmology in the United Kingdom, that created a vacancy in the Legislative Council. The two candidates were: Mr Samuel Akinsanya (Vice President of NYM), supported by Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Ernest Ikoli, one of whose supports was, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. That was Nigeria in the 2nd World War years, with Zik in support of an Ijebu man, and Chief Awolowo from Ikene next door to Ishara, in support of Ernest Ikoli from Brass!

The first ethnic Union according to his autobiography was the Ibibio Union. And, its main purpose was to generate funds to award scholarships to young Ibibios to study abroad. And, Sir Udo Udoma was the first Ibibio youth to enjoy the generosity.

The next ethnic union to surface in Nigeria, was Igbo State Union which encouraged Igbo young men to meet on Sundays for self-help and advancement in life. That started in the late 1940s in Lagos. 

Ęgbę Òmò Oduduwa was founded in London, by Dr Oni Akerele and Chief Obafemi Awolowo after the war, and the Nigerian branch was established in Lagos in 1947/1948. Its main achievement was to set up a scholarship scheme, to purse their education at the University Coillege, Ibadan

 Dr Azikiwe was the first Ibo speaking Nigerian to school educated, whilst the first Ibo speaking Nigerian was Sir Leo Mbanefo who was called to the Bar in the 1940s, the first Nigerians from the colony of Lagos were called to the Bar in later. What Zik did was to encourage young Nigerians to go to the United States for further studies. Two of those students were Lagosians of note – his life long friend who later became his Press Secretary, Mr A.K. Disu, and Professor Babs Fafunwa. Others who blazed the trail included several Ibo speaking Nigerians, like Professor Mbadiwe, Prince Orizu, Daily Service and Dr Ikediani.

On the political scene, following the disagreement snd successor to Dr Kofo Abayomi, Zik left NYM for the Democratic Party of Herbert Macauley. In 1944, the newly established National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC) entered an alliance with the Democratic Party. The emergent Labour movement led by Michael Imoudu after the general strike of 1945, entered into alliance with Democratic Party. 

Following the death of  Herbert Macauley in 1947, Zik assumed the leadership of Democratic Party/NCNC alliance. The battle line was drawn between the Democratic Party/NCNC alliance and NYM. In support of the Demos was Zik’s West African Pilot founded in 1937, and in support of NYM was the Daily Service.

From the declaration of victory of Democratic Party/NCNC alliance at the election in 1947 under the Richards Constitution which Zik, Prince Adeleke Adedoyin and Dr Ibiyinka Olorun-Nimbe won, ‘Demo loni Eko’ rent the air till the imprisonment of Awolowo. The Democratic Party, NCNC alliance won all the elections in Lagos to the Legislative Council, Western House of Assembly and the House of representatives until Awo was jailed in 1963.

Ethnicity played little or no part in the politics of Lagos in those years, and religion was not an issue whatsoever.

I have spoken about the formation of ethnic groups in Nigeria, in the 1940s. From my observations as a young political activist, attending political rallies at Glover Memorial Hall, Bombata Field or Isalę Gangan Square, the newly inaugurated Igbo State Union and Ęgbę Òmò Oduduwa had very little impact during elections under Arthur Richards Constitution (1946 to 1950), Macpherson Constitution (1950-1954), Littleton Constitution (1954- 1960) or even 1963, either in Lagos City or in Western region. As I said earlier, “Demo lo l’Eko”. In spite of the impact of Action Group’s manifesto of free health, free education, elections between the NCNC and Action Group in the West were “toe to toe”. NCNC had a larger following than Action group, in Ibadan Province, Oyo Province, Ondo Province, Benin Province, and even in Abeokuta Province. I say little about “carpet crossing” 

Religion played no role whatsoever in politics, until this last 2023 elections. Chief Awolowo’s running mate in the 1978 Presidential election was Mr Philip Umeadi, my course-mate at the Faculty of Law, University College, London (1956- 1959). Philip was born in Onitsha, but a Lagos boy; and in the 1992 botched presidential election, the winning  party candidate and running mate were Muslims, Chief MKO abiola and Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe. 

But, last year, the leadership of some of the new generation Churches openly declared its opposition to the Muslim- Muslim ticket of APC, and canvassed against it. I hope that, Nigeria will never witness that again.

I come from a background where Muslim and Christian children went to primary and secondary school together, played in the streets and field together, celebrated Eid el Fitr, Easter and Christmas together, and sometimes, inter- married. I speak for Lagos, Kano, Zaria, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Enugu, Ibadan, where in the case of our parents on transfer in the public service to the Northern States, speak fluently at school.

Religion and ethnicity should not divide us as Nigerians, and we must be proud to call ourselves and behave as Nigerians.

The clear answer to Lagos being a no man’s land, is “Gedegbe l’Eko wa”. That slogan won elections by the Democratic/NCNC elections until the 1966 coup. Lagos as the first of the British Colonies in modern day Nigeria, and Lagos as Lagos State today. 

During the 1978 Presidential elections, the motto of one of the parties (I believe it was that of Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim),  was “politics without bitterness”. Violence as we witnessed recently, is a new phenomenon. The life of any Nigerian, is not worth being sacrificed for politics.

How would you rate the performance of INEC in the 2023 elections? With their failure to upload the results of the Presidential election before they announced them, many people have adjudged the elections and INEC’s performance as being way below par, especially the aspect of not transmission the election results electronically in real time. Do you agree with this negative assessment of INEC?

The performance of INEC was fair. In spite of the challenges of INEC to convey the election result electronically successfully, the overall performance is more than average. As long as the results announced at the States’ level certified by political party agents were the same with the results announced at the national collation centre, the fact that the conveyor of the results was manual and not electronic, is not fatal. There is however, room for improvement.

Many believe that the Land Use Act 1978 (LUA) has failed to meet most of the goals it set out to achieve. That there are contradictions, for example, all the land in a State is vested in the Governor of each State, yet, the Federal Government also lays claim to lands within a State; also the issue of the waterways. That for instance, in Lagos, if anything the LUA stands as a deterrent to economic development instead of promoting it, and its implementation has been poor with many abuses and delays in processes caused by Government Officials. What is your view on this? What steps do you think should be taken to make the LUA work better?

The Land Use Act cannot work. The origin of LUA, it started in our time. Ministry of Finance complained about the huge sum of money they paid for compensation for land compulsorily acquired for public purposes. So, how could we bring that down? I started to draft a Bill, because the Ministry of Justice refused to draft one for me. They felt that we wanted to disturb the compensation regime, that they would pay landowners on compulsory acquisition. My Bill is still in the Laws of 1978 or so. Obasanjo took over from me as Commissioner, Ministry of Works, for six months before the coup. He came to my house one day, and said Gowon told him I had a draft Decree. He asked for it and I gave him a copy which he published it later. I had a scale of fees that would be paid, and provision for a five-yearly review of what would be paid. That led to the LUA which took effect in March 1978 or thereabout. 

LUA has its foundation from the Penal Code in the North. The title to every inch of land in the Northern region, was vested in the Government; there were no private holdings, in the whole of the Northern region (Land Tenure Law). If you wanted land in the North, you would apply to Government and they would issue you a certificate of occupancy. More or less, the LUA is a replica of that system. Like in Lagos, there were individual and family holdings. There were Land Certificates that gave freehold titles forever and ever, there were 999 years leases and land belonging to chieftaincy families and ordinary landowning families. So what LUA tried to do was to nationalise land in the Southern States; there was no problem in the North. How do you do that? Some Judges took the view that no, the State did not own the land; so landowners must be given compensation. 

The Land Use Act 1978 (LUA) is a failure in Legislative drafting, and it’s a failure in the legislation itself. It nationalises land holding throughout Nigeria, as this was already in practice in the former Northern region of the country. In so doing, it vests title of land in every State in the Governor of the State, and destroys the customary land holdings in the former Western region, Eastern region and in Lagos. For example, it destroyed freehold titles in Lagos as it was known in England. It destroyed all customary holdings or communal holdings, as they were known generally in the Southern States of the country.

Section 49 of the LUA makes an exception to Federal State land in a State. As the Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing (May 1967 to December 1974) vested with control of Federal State lands, my understanding of Federal State lands today, are all land held by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Federal Prisons and Customs, as well as all Federal parastatals like Nigeria Airways, Airports, Seaports, Nigeria Railway, Nigeria Television Authority and the like. Abuja Federal Territory, is under the full control of the Federal Government.

Section 48 of the LUA deals with registration of titles, which is completely under the full control of the State. Buildings or quarters as in Lagos, belong to State Governments. The management of land in each State is entirely a matter for each State Government. Issuance of certificate of occupancy, is also a matter for each State Government. 

Delay in issuing of certificates of occupancy for upward of five to ten years, is as a result of failure of management by the State Government and serves as deterrent to economic development.

The LUA is only protected by the Constitution – it is not part of the Constitution. Although it claims to be an Act of the National Assembly, it cannot be amended by the National Assembly because it relates to Land. Under Section 4 (7) (a) of the Constitution, 1979 and 1999, land is a residual power. It is not on the Exclusive Legislative list. Therefore, only the House of Assembly of a State “can” legislate on land. Therein lies the conundrum.

In the past few election circles, the Nigerian legal system has been clogged with so many election petitions and a large number of Judges are appointed into these Tribunal, leaving the State Judiciaries short of Judges, the resultant effect being that cases get delayed and are a standstill for many months, in a judicial system which is already slow. Some have suggested the setting up of a constitutional court or special court to tackle election matters strictly. What is your view on this?

 Nigerians have penchant for litigation. If I do not like how you look, I go to court. If I don’t like how you smile or yawn, I go to court. When I know that I have lost an election, I go to court to see how the result can be reversed. We abuse the judicial system with so many election petitions, even though we cannot win the election.

The answer is not by creating any special court for election petitions. We must find ways and means, of curbing these frivolous allegations. 

All election petitions must also be determined, before the President or Governor or members of the National Assembly or State Houses of Assembly are sworn in

Learned Silk Sir, what are your views on the 1999 Constitution and restructuring of Nigeria to reflect true Federalism? Do you think it would make a difference? Having lived through Nigeria’s different Constitutions, would you say the 1963 Constitution is better than what we have today? Some have criticised the Presidential system we are presently operating, saying it is too bogus and expensive, and that we should return to the Parliamentary system, or have only one House as our National Assembly. Kindly, share your views on this 

I have been involved either as student agitator or member of constitutional reviews since 1956. Between 1956 and 1959, as a student agitator. The 1963 Constitution is a carbon copy of 1960 Independence Constitution. The difference is the inclusion of Mid-Western region, and the the substitution of President for Governor-General to show that Nigeria is now a Republic and no longer a dominion of Great Britain. 

Gowon’s government operated within the 1963 Constitution, judging by my experience. Residual functions like “land” and “housing” were left entirely for the States. On housing, my only role was to transform the Nigerian Building Society into Federal Mortgage Bank.

The twelve States were left to manage and control primary and secondary education (with exception of Kings and Queens College, and Federal Government Colleges).

Public health was left entirely in the hands of the States – so was agriculture, and all matters not in the Exclusive Legislative list. They were left for State Governments to pursue and execute since 1954 when Federalism was established as our system of government. 

Even the Judiciary was left intact, as it was in the 1963 Constitution. Appointments of the Chief Judge and all the Judges of the region, was left entirely in the hands of each Regional Government. Salaries of Judges were responsibilities of each Regional Government. As with appointment, the discipline of Judges was also left entirely in the hands of each State Government.

Unfortunately, over the past few years, Federal governments have stolen the functions of Regional/State governments under the 1963 Constitution. They have virtually reduced Nigeria to a Unitary system of government, with some federal features.

With regard to the system of government best suited for Nigeria, the 49 member Constitution Drafting Committee of 1975 recommended the Presidential system of government, in order to avoid concentration of power in the hands of one man. The late General Murtala Muhammed, charged us to look into that problem. People generally do not realise that the Prime Minister of Great Britain for example, concentrates Executive powers and Presidential powers in his hands.

As the Prime Minister is the Head of government, and he is the leader of the majority party in Parliament,  that is an awful lot of concentration of power in one hand. In America, the President is the head of the Executive only. 

The problem with Nigeria is that, the Presidency, over the years, has taken over State functions, regardless of the Constitution.

The women and youths have never really had adequate representation in governance in Nigeria. How do we ensure inclusivity for them. For instance, Kwara State pioneered a gender inclusivity law in which there cannot be more than 65% of one sex in the cabinet. What are your views on this? 

At age 27, I forced almost singlehandedly, the Balewa Government to abrogate the Defence pact which all our political leaders had signed with Great Britain before our independence to station a Force in Kano;  and two or three years later, I denounced in “News talk” on Radio Nigeria, a detention bill being promoted by the Prime Minister to detain any Nigerian without trial. That 15minute talk show on Radio Nigeria, I believe in 1964, was the newspaper headline for weeks. That, with due respect, was youth activism. My, “no pact, no base” agitation at under 30 years of age, and denunciation of detention without trial at age 31, answer my position about youth activism.

When the Nigerian Youth Congress along with a rainbow umbrella of Nigeria Labour under Wahab Goodluck and S.U Bassey alongside Ibadan University Students Union, led by Dapo Falase , carried out a mammoth demonstration in front of the National Assembly in front of Tafawa Balewa Square against the CIA killing of Patrice Lumumba, Ibadan female students and women in Lagos were part and parcel of that demonstration.

I read about that Aba women’s demonstration in 1929, and I was old enough to follow the activism of Mrs Funmilayo Ransome Kuti. That explains my position, about the place of the women and our youth in governance.

How would you rate the outgoing Buhari administration vis-à-vis its 2015 main campaign promises – fighting insecurity and corruption, and revamping Nigeria’s economy? What do you expect from the incoming administration? 

Before the currency crisis,  I could have given Buhari  60%. But, now, with the currency problems not settled, I would give him 40%. A day not long ago, all I had was N3,500 cash. My wife demanded money to buy foodstuffs in the market, I told her to take what she wanted out of the N3,500. She returned N1,500 to me. I have been living with little or no .cash in my wallet, since the change of currency.

And, look at how he handled the interim order of then Supreme court?. He picked and chose what part of the order he will obey, and which part he ignored. It was Lord Denning, the greatest English Jurist in the last two centuries, who once said, and I quote “however high you may be, the law is above you”.

For the President to pick and choose which part of the order of the highest court of our land he will obey and disobey, what message does he send to the common man?