LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA DURING THE COLONIAL RULE
During
Colonial Era, before the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Nigeria in
1914, the Colonial Nigeria was divided into colonies and protectorates where
multiplicity of land tenure system existed. The arrival of the Europeans in
Southern Nigeria in the later part of 19th century drastically
changed the land holding system. The European traders, who were used to
freehold, began to acquire land parcel in Lagos Colony, did so with the concept
that the transaction conferred on them absolute ownership and the right of
alienation. The transaction in land by the European and the introduction of
English Freehold System in 1951 (Elias, 1971) caused deep conflict between the
customary system of land tenure and imported freehold system, which resulted in
endless and bitter litigation.
A
number of different phases may be distinguished in the debate about land. These
phases are marked by the changing relationships between Africans,
administrators and commercial interests. In the early colonial period the
attitude of the administration was one of indifference. However, as the state
and commercial interests began to seek and obtain interests in land, the issue
took on increasing importance, becoming a preoccupation of Nigeria's colonial
administrators. From this period, the ‘land question’ figures repeatedly in
colonial correspondence, memoranda, reports and enquiries. The main concern of
the colonialists was with political stability rather than agricultural
development, their fear being that the extensive alienation of interests in
land to national or expatriate commercial interests would lead to landlessness
and discontent.
In
Northern Nigeria, the Land and Native Rights Ordinance of 1910 vested all lands
in the governor of Northern Nigeria. Similar legislation was proposed in some
quarters for the south of the country, but this was strenuously, and in the end
successfully, resisted by indigenous interests. In southern Nigeria, the system
recognised that land was owned by lineages or extended families. Individuals
have only right of use on such family land. The only land held at the Governor’s disposal
was that which
had been expressly
acquired for public purposes as
Crown land. The only control imposed by law on the lineages and other local
landholders was an obligation to seek the consent of Government when rights are
being conveyed to aliens.
The
colonial administration in southern Nigeria recognised the existing indigenous
system of land management and administration. The Treaty of Cession of 1861 was
signed by Oba Dosunmu of Lagos; but what Oba Dosunmu transferred were sovereign
rights only to the Queen of Great Britain, her heirs and successors forever. However,
the court ruled later that property rights of individuals or inhabitants were
not affected by the treaties. Thus, it was only the management of land that was transferred.
The
Native Lands Acquisition Proclamation of 1st January 1900, provided that with
effect from 1st January, 1900: No person other than a Native shall either directly
or indirectly acquire right in or over land within southern Nigeria from
Natives without the written consent of the High Commissioner. Any such interest
or right over land acquired without such consent from shall become null or
void.
The
crown did not claim beneficial ownership of land by virtue of the declaration
of the protectorate in 1900. The crown however, did inherit certain parcels of
land which were vested in the royal Niger company, its predecessor. These lands
has been acquired from the local chiefs along both sides of the Niger and they
became vested in the government in trust for her majesty absolutely by virtue
of the Niger land Transfer Ordinance 1916.
By
1906, the Crown Lands Management Proclamation was introduced. It was designed to
provide for the management, control and
disposition of Crown Lands in the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. It provided
that the High land Commissioner shall have the management of all that Crown
Lands in the Protectorate; and that he may for 'from time to time sell, lease, exchange or
otherwise dispose of such lands as he may think fit.'
Crown
lands were defined as all lands and all rights in land and over which at any
time or after the commencement of the proclamation are vested in, held in trust
for or otherwise belong to her majesty, her heirs and successors.
Another important land legislation
was the Native Lands Acquisition Ordinance of 1908. This ordinance sought to
regulate the acquisition of land by aliens from the Natives. However, the 1908 Ordinance
was repealed in 1917 by the Native Lands Acquisition Ordinance No 32 of 1917.
This Ordinance provided amongst others that no alien should acquire any
interest or rights in or over any land within the Protectorate from a native
except under an instrument which has received the approval of the Governor. Any
instrument which land did not received the approval of the Governor as required
by the section did null and void. From the foregoing analysis, it is clear that
the colonial lever administration in southern Nigeria was mainly concerned
with, and confined its administrative control that to the alienation of land by
natives to aliens or nonnatives.
PROBLEM
OF THE LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA DURING THE COLONIAL RULE IN THE SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA
This
land tenure system of southern Nigeria created a number of problems for
land management in the country.
First, it encouraged the practice of multiple sales of the same land to
different buyers by landowning families in
the absence of a titling and appropriate registration mechanisms for transactions in land.
Second, The introduction of freehold in the Southern States and the subsequent
economic development resulted in the evolvement of many varied interest or
right in land especially in urban areas. Particularly after
the nation’s political independence, it led to tremendous land speculation and a sharp
rise in the
prices of land for urban and infrastructural development. Poor farming
families were encouraged to part
with their land
for relatively small amount compared
with what the speculators made from
laying the land out for sale. This promoted increasing
inequality in land ownership and increasing landlessness among the poorer
segments of the population. Speculators made it very difficult for other land
users and even various governments and their agencies to acquire land for development
purposes (Atilola and Fajemirokun, 1979). After government had invoked its
rights of eminent domain to compulsorily acquire
and pay compensation for land
for public purposes,
the tendency grew for some
owners of land to refuse to vacate their land. Based on
the open system value of land which
required cash compensation for land compulsorily acquired by government for
public purposes, the increasing intervention of land speculators made the cost
of acquisition to rise phenomenally.
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this is a good work, infact keep it up
ReplyDeleteThank you sir
DeleteWhat is the merit of this law?
ReplyDelete