Forms and Organization of Informal Land Delivery

Contents lists available at Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Journal homepage: www.cepajournal.com Forms and organization of informal land delivery system: experience from the gateway city of Karu Nasarawa State, Nigeria Adamu, Daniel1 and *Danladi, Austine Audu2 1Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Nasarawa State University Keffi, 2Town Planning Department, Nasarawa State Urban Development Board Corresponding Author: Danladi Austine Audu - Email: [email protected]; Phone: 07034246100 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history The explosive growth of Karu the gate city to the nation’s Received 28 May 2020 Received in revised form 2 June, 2020 capital territory has made it very tasking for prospective Accepted 4 June 2020 housing developer to access government owned land. This experience has compelled prospective developer to resort to non government owned land for housing development. This paper, therefore, examined the forms and organizational setting of informal land delivery in Karu the gate city. In achieving this, 310 questionnaires were purposively distributed in the five districts of Karu urban area. Consequently, characteristics that define the operation of the informal land delivery in Karu were discerned vis-à-vis their Keywords: attendant policy implications. For instance, the study revealed Form, organization, informal land delivery susceptibility to double sale, involvement of land-brokers (agents) and flexibility of plot sizes as some of the visible characteristics that has over the years, emanated through the activities of informal land transaction generally in the city. The study concludes that informal land access should be tolerated and accommodated while their strengths are recognized and built upon their weaknesses. Hence, the study recommends that land regularization, transparency in the process, and improvement of tenure security and ensuring transparent systems in transferring land right should be enforced copyright @ 2020 cepa Adamu, D. and Danladi A.A./Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Vol. 11, No. 1, (2020) 41 – 55 Introduction: information systems as well as social considerations should create a level of Informal land markets have remained accessibility to land. However, these popular and expanding rapidly throughout expectations are not always met as the developing countries of the world. This mechanisms do not usually bring about phenomenon to certain extent has not the efficiency in the market system where spared some of the developed cities as it access to land can be guaranteed. Yet the has also smeared their urban landscape multifarious land needs of households shaping their peri-urban development have continued to rise consistently contours. The emergence and thriving of inflating the pressure of demand for land. informal land markets has apparently The intensity of demand under this become a feature of the general urban circumstance follows the non-perfect setting and the disparity cause by the substitution and finite nature of land socio-economic inhibitions of the urban unlike other economic goods. Stemming residents. Although it is also a presage from the above market situation, the that is most times blamed widely on increase in demand practically does not public institutions and policies for the equate the supply. This therefore, leaves lacklustre response to emerging changes the price system to dictate solely the in societal land needs. allocation and distribution of land in the The global trend in urban population market among the competing demands. growth particularly among the developing Following that majority of the urban low countries has resulted in a significant income households presents ineffective response to the demand for urban demand, they become vulnerable to residential land by households with supply market segregation hence highlighting the constraints. In addition to the supply pertinence for the state’s intervention. constraints is the demand type itself which Payne, Durand-Lasserve and Rakodi is basically a derived one, and often (2009) also posited that it will be essential ineffective in view of the level of for government intervention if the poor economic inhibitions faced by majority of are to stand a chance of having access to the urban households. The next issue aside land in better locations within the urban from the supply limitation is that of areas. accessibility. Even when there is an ample It is worthy of note here that, despite the supply of residential layouts by the significant contributions in terms of government, access is often marred by access provided by the informal land challenges ranging from bureaucratic channels, transaction here does not come complexity, socio-economic to ethno- on a platter. In fact it is a market where religious bottleneck as revealed by Avav investments in its commodities come with (2002) and Bello (2007). some form of high risks. For instance, in In the urban land markets, the ideal the face of the existing formal land expectation is that mechanisms like the legislations, acquisition of informal rights price system, demand and supply, lacks basic tenure security, hence 42 Adamu, D. and Danladi A.A./Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Vol. 11, No. 1, (2020) 41 – 55 susceptible to expropriation with functioning. For example, government inadequate compensation. Furtherance, land surveyors are sometimes involved in another vital problem of informal land demarcating land for sale in the informal transactions identified by Kwame and market. Similarly, local government Antwi (2004) is that of double sales. councillors or government officials are According to their study findings, this often called upon to witness transactions accounted for 90% of market problems in in this sector. In some cases, these local Tema, Accra and Kumasi. Other state actors also keep informal records of challenges also includes those of insecure ownership in their areas of jurisdiction. tenure rights and property delineations Like the formal urban land market, (Rakodi and Leduka, 2005) informal markets consist of a variety of The irony here is, despite these risks, institutions which support, facilitate, urban households often retain their regulate and arbitrate informal land preferences for the rather precarious transactions. These include state officials, informal transfer and acquisition of rights such as local government councillors, to the much secured states’ sanctioned traditional leaders, chiefs, community channels. This sometimes involves those leaders, and community and family urban households with the willingness and networks. However, these regulatory ability to access land in the formal land bodies can be effective in facilitating markets. It is therefore on this premise exchange by making it less difficult for that this study sought to analyse the (some) poor people to access land. underlying reasons (factors) explaining Moreover, like formal regulations and urban households’ choice of alternative structures, they can collapse in on source of access to residential land in themselves. Nigeria. The informal land market has a large number of socially dominated land market Informal land delivery transactions, where the supply and The word ‘informal’ land delivery is used demand of land are mediated more by to describe several forms urban land social relationships than by a financial transactions, exchanges and transfers that logic. A study in South Africa has shown are not legally recognized by the state, but that although price or cost is still an issue, variety of urban actors who deal with it is of secondary importance in the way urban land transaction, socially and people transact (Marx and Roysten, 2007). legitimately accepted it. Informal land For example, where the right to land is delivery is an offspring of so many conferred by a chief, the beneficiaries will practices and made up of object of offer the leader a gift as a gesture, which customary/civil code law and social is often less than the market value. But practices adapted to suit existing urban research shows that peri-urban land conditions. Although this market is, practices are increasingly becoming according to the law, illegal, the state (or commodity for transactions, like in the some of its agents) is often complicit in its formal sector, hence, becoming more and 43 Adamu, D. and Danladi A.A./Journal of Environmental Management and Safety Vol. 11, No. 1, (2020) 41 – 55 more a financially driven, (Kironde, 2001; Therefore, local officials were identified Syagga et’al, 2002). as key actors in the informal land delivery. Process of Informal Land Delivery Local residents: The process of informal land delivery They are either the original landowners or involves actors and how they manipulate squatters who owned plots through formal rules to claim or contest for land informal subdivision. They are usually property right. In what follows, this perceived as marginal actors once they review will discuss major actors involved have sold their land or secured their own in the informal land delivery system, plot. However, they are active actors who existing institutional arrangements that are involved in the informal land delivery. govern their interaction. Mahiteme (2009) In some cases, they became leaders of the identified six major actors involved in the informal delivery on their own land. They informal land delivery through interviews also play a key role as information centre and extensive field observation in his for the newcomers

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