Illegal occupation generally arises as a result of limited or fixed supply of land. This fixed supply of land leads to the high price of the available ones. It is generally accepted that land is an important and indispensable factor in the production of goods and services, the demand for it by Government, private individuals and corporate bodies is always on the increase. Whilst individuals and corporate bodies meet their land requirement through private treaties in the open market, Governments get theirs through the exercise of their power of eminent domain, which is acquisition.
Governments require land for over-riding public interests such as provision of road, rail, electricity, housing units, site and services schemes, school, hospital, etc. Land for these projects is got mostly through compulsory acquisition. Such acquisitions are usually carried out by the State Government where such projects are to be executed. This is because all land within each State spells out provision for payment of compensation to affected owners. However, such acquired lands are often abandoned and or not put into immediate use due to lack of funds to settle compensation, instability, change in policies, shelving of projects, etc. In many cases such acquired lands are left vacant for a long period of time. This situation gives room to encroachments and illegal occupation. The problem is compounded by the insatiable desire of land owing families who pounce on any available vacant land and sell it to unsuspecting buyers. A striking feature of most squatters is that they develop the land at a very fast rate, thus putting Government into dilemma of deciding whether to accommodate the illegal structures through the process of regularisation or to demolish them out rightly.
Worthy of note is that the bulk of these squatting activities take place on government land especially in areas where land is very scarce. However, such squatting activities are now spreading to other states where villages, the former owners and their tenants put such lands into agricultural use. This type of encroachment however does not pose a serious problem to Government since the structures and farmlands are of a temporary nature and can be removed with ease.
Problems associated with illegal occupation
The problems associated with illegal occupation are many and varied. These include the following:
a. Lack of planned neighbourhood: There is lack of planned neighbourhood because the plots were illegally acquired and occupied. Developments are not subjected to any control and layout plans were never prepared. Even where these are in existence, as in cases where the former land owning families design layouts for sale, such plans might not conform to any acceptable system. Developments on such lands are never submitted to the Town Planning Authorities for scrutiny and approvals. The absence of these lengthy but necessary procedures will invariably result in the growth and development of slums with its attendant social, economic, health and environmental hazards.
b. Lack of basic infrastructure: The necessary services and infrastructures like roads, drains, electricity, hospital, schools, etc that would have been provided by Government for the common benefits of the public are never provided.
c. Spread of environmental hazards: The activities of squatters also bring about degradation and deterioration of land. These may lead to flooding, erosion, and some other hazards like fire outbreak, air pollution, and water pollution.
- Fire outbreak: One of the attendant problems of illegal occupation is fire outbreak. This is because buildings are constructed without conforming to Town Planning Laws and Regulations, such as, provision of adequate setbacks; hence, any outbreak of fire in a building within a squatter settlement will easily spread to adjacent buildings, because they are clustered together. This is often leads to loss of lives and properties.
- Air pollution: Illegal occupation often leads to slums. In such areas, air pollution is very rampant. This causes spread of air borne diseases.
- Water pollution: Due to lack of provision of basic services and infrastructures such as pipe borne water e.g. guinea worm and waste disposal system, the public takes to drinking any type of water available and at the same time disposes wastes inside river from which water is drawn for domestic uses. This aids the spread of water-borne diseases in such neighbourhoods.
- Loss of revenue to government: Squatters occupy and develop acquired lands without making any payment to Government coffers. This result is colossal losses to the Government.
Options available for the management of illegal occupation on government owned land
Massive encroachment leaves the Government with three options, namely:
- Re-acquisition and transfer of the land to the State Government,
- Demolition of illegal structure/developments,
- Retention of the structures by way of regularisation (of stay/tenure).
The following are the available options:
1. Outright demolition of illegal structures: Government or any acquiring Authority adopts this management option when it cannot obtain an alternative land for the project for which land was originally acquired. The same approach can be employed to deal with situations where the illegal occupation has given rise to urban decay, which poses serious safety, and health hazard to the public. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this opinion, namely:
Advantages
- It makes it possible for the government to achieve its original plan without spending extra money on acquisition.
- It creates a clean environment
- It serves as a deterrent to other would-be trespassers.
Disadvantages
- It generates social, economic and political problems with their attendant security implications.
- It tends to portray the government in bad light. Examples of this are the Maroko and Aja cases in Lagos State.
- It attracts unfavourable public reaction.
- It results in financial losses to the illegal occupants, the Government and the entire nation as it depletes the national housing stock and lowers the Gross National Domestic Product (GNDP) and income cum welfare of the citizen.
- In almost all cases, the disadvantages of demolition always outweigh the advantages.
2. Regularisation/ratification of illegal structures: In cases where the acquiring authority is no longer committed to the purpose for which the land was acquired, the illegal structures erected thereon can be accommodated, under a policy of regularisation as it is known in the Federal set-up or ratification as it is called in some states e.g. Lagos. Where the structures and the environment are poor, it is suggested that an upgrading exercise be carried out before regularisation is embarked upon. Upgrading involves improving the area illegally occupied, which is already decaying. This area is improved to meet established physical standard. It may involve introducing or improving important elements that are not available or are inadequate in this area such as the basic infrastructural and community facilities rehabilitation may also be enforced before the illegal structures are regularized or ratified within a squatter and decaying settlements are being improved to meet established building standard.
Advantages
- The regularisation option may be preferred to outright demolition because of the following:
- The social and economic consequences of a massive demolition.
- The revenue generation potential derivable from the payment of land charges.
- It would increase and maintain the housing stock in line with Federal Government objectives.
- Under regularisation as a land management strategy, owners are entitled to title documents, which is a good security to secure loan for further economic developments.
- The land value of the area is further enhanced.
- Haphazard development is stopped because buildings are required to conform to Town Planning Regulations before they are regularised.
Disadvantages
- The main disadvantage is that it may encourage further encroachment.
Procedure for regularisation/ratification
- Submission of survey plan and evidence of ownership: Applicant will be asked to submit to Lands Division of Federal Ministry of Works and Housing the survey plan of the affected piece of land and evidence of ownership after which an application form will be issued to such person. An updated survey plan is required so as to reflect the actual development on the land as well as the actual area being physically occupied.
- Inspection: This will be carried out by Land Officers. The essence, among others, is to ascertain that there is a physical development on the subject land.
- Charting of survey plan: The Federal Surveys Officials will visit the site to check the accuracy of the information contained on the survey plans. Thereafter the survey plans will be charted to confirm that the parcel of land falls within land acquired by Federal Government.
- Building plan approval: Site inspection reports will be required from the Urban and Regional Planning Division of Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to confirm that the various developments can be regularized, being in conformity with Town Planning Rules and Regulations. Such report must also confirm that the subject land does not fall within sites earmarked for Federal Sites and Services Schemes or any other Government’s project.
- Confirmation of ownership: Apart from the documentary evidence submitted, ownership of properties is further confirmed either through attestation by the various Community Development Associations (CDAs), through sworn affidavit or through interview of members of the public in the neighbourhood of the subject plot of land.
- Collection of letter of offer and certificate of occupancy: Names of applicants who meet the above requirements are put in a schedule that is sent to the headquarters for ministerial approval of offer to lease. On approval, letters conveying offer of lease of the applicants are issued requesting them to pay premium and ground rent on the subject plot of land. Provision is made for penalty as part of premium for illegal developments.
- On payment of the land charges, certificate of occupancy is prepared and referred to the Honourable Minister of Works and Housing for signature. This is followed by the stamping of the signed document and its subsequent registration at the Lands Registry, where the certificate is collected by the applicant.
Problems associated with the regularisation
- Multiple claims over title to land and structure thereon.
- Difficulties in getting owners of structures to present their documents and claims during inspection.
- Non-availability of layout plan showing the exiting situation.
- Lack of planned neighbourhood may lead to non-availability of necessary infrastructures is difficult.
- Logistics problem, i.e. problems associated with transportation, documentation, etc.
- Financial constraints of some of the occupiers to meet the required conditions of regularisation.
- Inability of the Government to enforce the payment of charges on the trespassers.
- Regularisation is a costly exercise. Financial constraint hampers the commencement or continuance of the exercise effectively; hence, room is given for more encroachment.
Benefits derivable from regularisation
- Protection of extensive developments or structures erected on the acquired land from demolition together with the economic, social and political consequences.
- Provision of water and action plans for orderly and co-coordinated development of the squatter areas.
- Generating of much needed revenue into Government coffers. Such revenue could be used to defray the cost of the acquisition or even the cost of acquiring an alternative land.
- Issuance of valid title, which is the end product of regularisation. The owner’s tenure is secured and valid documents that can serve as collateral for taking loan from bank or any lending institutions are obtained.
- As Building Plan Approval will be required before the title document is issued to the occupiers, development control is enhanced because it is only the structures that conform to Town Planning Laws and Regulation.
Regularisation of illegal structures on Government land
The regularisation of illegal structures on unutilised Federal Government acquired land is a better land management option. This will save the masses and Government from social and economic consequences of massive demolition. It will also generate revenue to the Government, and at the same time, increase the existing level of housing stock. However, if Government continues to employ this land management strategy, the public may continue to encroach on Government land. Hence, both the Government and the public will partake of the consequences of illegal occupation.
In view of the problems associated with managing government land that has been illegally occupied, the following recommendations are given to avoid future occurrences of illegal occupation.
- Governments should desist from acquiring land far in excess of what it requires.
- Government should try as much as possible, to avoid acquisition that will involve displacement of people; where possible, villages/shrines should be excised. This will not only reduce the burden of compensations but will also minimize resistance tendencies and re-entry into the land by the former owners
- Compensation should be promptly paid to the original land owners for unexhausted improvements on acquired land as delay in the payment may encourage the original land owner to resell the land or violently resist the Government from implementing its development programme.
- Governments should take physical and immediate possession of the acquired land by embarking on the project for which the land was acquired, because delay might facilitate squatting and the development of illegal structures.
- All acquired land should be constantly policed to ward off trespassers. In this case, site offices may be erected at strategic locations within the acquired land.
- Adequate financial and logistic provision should be made to facilitate the regularisation of the existing structures to stop further encroachment.
References
Alawode, S. I. (2001). Regularisation of illegal structures on government land as a land management strategy: A case study of Federal Government acquired land at Isheri-Olofin, Lagos). Being a critical analysis/thesis submitted to the National Council of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in fulfilment of the test of professional competence for admission into corporate membership of the Institution.
Balchin, P.N. & Kieve, J.L. (1979). Urban land economics. London: Macmillan Press Ltd.
Federal Ministry of Works & Housing (1996). Regularisation of squatters’ occupation as a tool of land management. A paper presented by the Lands Division, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing at the 18th Conference of the Heads of Lands Division/Departments (Federal and State) at Akure. Aug. 1996.
Obasa, A.O. (1995). Problems and prospects of site and services scheme: A case study of the Federal Government Scheme at Abesan.
Ojo A. F. (1989). Problems of land acquisition for Federal Government project: A case study of Federal Low Cost Housing Scheme in Ogun State, Sept. 1989.
Onakanmi, I.O. (1985). Execution of Government projects under the Land Use Decree, 1978 No. 6: A case study of Oyo State.
