Absence Of Land Data Hurt Economy, Property Market

LAGOS – As the country strug­gles to birth nation­al land data, its ab­sence has continued to hurt the nation’s economy and its property market.

At the moment, Nigeria’s property market has largely been undeveloped and there­fore its contribution to the nation’s GDP has been neg­ligible.

Although land is consid­ered the primary factor of production, analysts have said that the Nigerian prop­erty market is characterised by a lack of data on which to base investment decisions in comparison to alternative in­vestment markets.

As unique as the property market can be, poor available information distorts its oper­ation.

The analysts said that a na­tion’s economic wealth is di­rectly related to the richness of its natural resources, as land is required to construct factories and industries to carry out the production pro­cess.

In developed economies, land is one of the veritable investment options.

Hence, they said, interac­tions between land and prop­erty markets and the broader economy of cities and nations should be central to any busi­ness-minded government.

To the analysts, good land policy will catalyse function­ing land and property mar­kets.

It will also aid the perfor­mance of financial markets, labour markets, the fiscal af­fairs of state and the Federal Government.

Ultimately, the economic health of both cities and the country aid in understanding the importance of good land policy, monitoring the effects of land policies throughout the economy, and facilitating policy reforms.

The data would be of good use to the national statistical office, ministries, mortgage firms (banks), land registry, estate firms, to mention just a few.

Recognising its place, the Federal Government has been challenging stakehold­ers, particularly land econ­omists, otherwise known as estate surveyors and valuers, to come up with a national land data.

Babatunde Fashola, Min­ister of Works and Housing, had at different times urged the estate surveyors and val­uers to deliver to the nation national land data.

Fashola had said the proj­ect was necessary to correct the imbalance associated with the nation’s land market and land management.

The project, according to Fashola, will also address the controversy over the exact housing deficit the nation has.

While some have said Ni­geria has a 17 million housing deficit, others said that the nation’s housing deficit is far more than that figure.

Land administration is the process of determining, recording and disseminating information about owner­ship, value and use of land when implementing a land management policy.

Speaking on how Nigerian Institution of Estate Survey­ors and Valuers (NIESV) is re­acting to the challenge, Chief Emma Wike, the group’s president, said the institution had already taken on the chal­lenge to deliver the data.

He said while that of Abuja is already completed, NIESV Lagos had been on top of the task, as that of Port Harcourt had also been completed.

He said the institution was now working towards upload­ing the data on its website for the use of the public.

This, according to him, is “necessary to help investors make wise decisions as far as land is concerned”.

He added: “We are trying to work with ICT experts to en­sure delivery of this project.”

Wike said the absence of land data in the country is inimical to the growth of the nation’s financial sector as some investors may never in­ject funds into the sector due to lack of this document.

“As an investor, the first thing you want to know is the profitability of the invest­ment.

“And if you don’t have in­formation about the market, what that means is that inves­tors would be discouraged.

“Having been done with the three major cities, we are working towards cap­turing other cities, although research and development is very costly, hence we have been urging the government to create an enabling environ­ment.”

Bamigbola Adedotun, Chairman, NIESV Lagos, said his institution is work­ing to deliver July to Decem­ber 2020 for Lagos property market.

According to him, data serves as an investment guide for investors.

He lamented a situation where the Nigerian proper­ty market had been more of speculation than actual fact without land data.

He said it was high time the country overcame the challenge so as to get the best of the sector.