A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE NATIONALIZATION POLICY UNDER THE LAND USE ACT

Abstract

Land is an indispensable part of every society and constitutes a subject of controversy among persons ofdifferent strata in every society. In Nigeria, the promulgation of the Land Use Act of 1978 has generated a lot ofcontroversies both in juristic and academic circles as it brought about many innovations in the use andenjoyment of land. One seemingly controversial aspect of the Land Use Act has to do with the nationalizationpolicy as well as the practical implications of the said policy. It is settled that by virtue of section 1 of the Act,all land comprised in the territory of each state of the federation is vested in the Governor of that state to beheld in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians in accordance with theprovisions of the Act. This provision of the Act when read in conjunction with other provisions of the Act hasserious implications and land use and administration in Nigeria. In the light of the foregoing, this workundertook a critical examination of the practical and legal implications of the nationalisation policy vis-à-visthe concept of land use and administration under the current Nigerian land law regime. The work found thatthough the nationalization policy was intended to be for the benefit of all Nigerians, it also produced wide andnegative legal and practical implication on individual land rights. In response, the study proposes anamendment to some provisions of the Land Use Act so as to ensure the security of individual land rights asenshrined under Sections 43 and 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as ensure thefurtherance of sustainable development in the area of Nigerian land law.