Resource Utilization and Management: A Case Study Of The Impact Of State Land Use Regulation On Nigeria's Development - Softcover

Ogirri, Dennis Arekpita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1477131248 ISBN 13: 9781477131244

Publisher: Xlibris, Corp., 2012

Synopsis

This book is on the study of resource utilization and management, a case study of the impact of state land ownership and land use regulation on development in Nigeria from 1955-1985. The beginning of the study period, that is 1955, coincides with the end of the ten-year British Colonial Development and Welfare Program (the country s first Development Plan that started in 1946), and the beginning of the Colonial Economic Development Plan of 1955-1960, which ushered in Nigeria s independence on October 1, 1960. The end of the study period, that is 1985, was the final year of the Fourth National Development Plan of 1981-85 formulated by the civilian government of the Second Republic of October 1979-December 1983. In 1966, the military had overthrown the First Republic of the civilian government in a coup d etat. There were five successful military coups after the first one in 1966; and the inter-ethnic conflicts that followed the coups resulted in a civil war of 1967-1970.

In 1978, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria promulgated a Land Use Decree whose objectives were to introduce a uniform land policy for the whole country, control hoarding and speculating in land, and to facilitate the allocation of land to federal, state, and governments for national development purposes. However, critics of the Land Use Decree argued that state land ownership and regulation of land use in Nigeria amounted to nationalization of land in the country, and wondered whether such development strategy was appropriate in the 21st century. The use of land reform as a development strategy has always been a controversial one, relative to other development strategies such as industrialization, reconstruction, rehabilitation, export promotion, import substitution, price control, and population control, among others. Furthermore, the use of land reform as a development strategy is usually subject to ideological controversy, especially between proponents and opponents of capitalist and socialist/communist economic and political systems.

It is in light of the foregoing that this author felt the need to examine the impact of the Land Use Decree of 1978 on development in Nigeria from 1955-1985. This is more so as land is one of the most crucial factors of production in any society, other factors being human resource (or labor), capital (money and equipment), entrepreneurship (skills and risk-taking), and information resources (data and information technology). Also, the Nigerian government s regulation of land ownership and land use is apparently along the lines of the British colonial land policies in the country - a practice which some scholars, development experts, and political analysts consider to be based on socialist or communist principles, rather than on capitalist principles. Some of the critics argue that in capitalist economic systems, ownership of means of production is private, whereas in socialist or communist systems all factors of production are owned and controlled by the state or government. Others observe that Nigeria s economic system falls between these two extremes, as the country has a mixed economy. Here lies the significance of the study in this book, which uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. Among other things, the implementation problems associated with the Land Use Decree of 1978 are highlighted. This author believes that it is also necessary that further research should be undertaken continually in the future, especially with a view to examining the effectiveness of the implementation experiences since the promulgation of the Land Use Law in 1978.

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Edition details

• Publisher: Xlibris, Corp.
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1477131248
• ISBN 13: 9781477131244
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 154