Nature and Outcomes of Collaborative Governance in Land Delivery

The Case of Lagos, Nigeria

Authors

  • Daramola Olapade Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
  • Bioye Tajudeen Aluko Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48346/IMIST.PRSM/ajlp-gs.v8i2.51665

Abstract

Context and background

The process through which land is made available for development is facilitated by the land delivery institutions (LDIs) which could be formal or informal. While the two LDIs operate separately in many cities, there are, however, close interactions both vertically and horizontally between them with varying consequences on the land delivery system.

Goal and Objectives:

This paper examines the forms and outcomes of collaboration within and among land delivery institutions in Lagos, Nigeria. This is to provide information capable of improving land governance

Methodology:

Using a descriptive survey design, primary data were collected through interviews of 19 informants from Government Offices Providing Land Delivery Services (GOPLDS) representing the formal LDIs (FLDIs) and 23 purposively selected representatives of Indigenous Landholding Families (ILFs) in Lagos State representing the informal LDIs (ILDIs). Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results:

The study found three forms of collaboration among the LDIs, including institutional, economic and social collaborations. It was also discovered that the collaborations could result in both positive and negative outcomes. The positive outcomes included tenure security, provision of infrastructure, and ease of land accessibility among others while the negative consequence comprised varying forms of land conflicts. While collaborations with positive outcomes could result in improving land accessibility, those with negative outcomes apart from impeding access to land could spiral into social unrest leading to loss of life and properties with the consequence of destabilising the entire society. Therefore, appropriate policies and mechanisms are needed to manage inter and intra-relations among LDIs to improve land accessibility and governance.

Author Biography

Bioye Tajudeen Aluko, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

Prof. Bioye Tajudeen Aluko

Department of Estate Management 

Obafemi Awolowo University 

Ile-Ife

Nigeria 

References

Adeniyi, P. O. (2018). Implementing land reform in Nigeria: The PTCLR’s Experience. Paper presented at the National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Land Reform in Nigeria held at Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Abuja June 4-7, 2018.

Agboola, A. O. (2015a). The commercial real estate investment market in Lagos, Nigeria: An institutional economics analysis. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation submitted to the University of Aberdeen.

Agboola, A., Scofield, D., Amidu, A. (2017). Understanding property market operations from a dual institutional perspective: The case of Lagos, Nigeria. Land Use Policy 68 (2017), 89–96

Arko-Adjei, A. (2011). Adapting land administration to the institutional framework of customary tenure: The case of Peri-Urban Ghana. Delft, The Netherlands: Delft University Press.

Arkofi, E.O., and Whittal, J. (2011). Traditional governance and customary peri-urban land delivery: a case study of Asokore-Mampong in Ghana. Paper delivered at the AfricaGeo conference in Cape Town, South Africa, May 2011

Azizi, M. M. (1998). Evaluation of urban land supply policy in Iran. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 22(1), 95-105

Barbalet, J. (2022). Conceptualising informal institutions: Drawing on the case of Guanxi. The British Journal of Sociology, 74(1), 70-82. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12984

Durand-Lasserve, A., Durand-Lasserve, M. & Selod, H. (2015). Land delivery systems in West African Cities. The example of Bomako, Mali. Africa Development Forum series. Washington, DC: World Bank. DOI:10.1596/978-1-44618-0433-5.

Gbadegesin, J. T. (2018). Towards a new policy direction for an improved housing delivery system in Nigerian cities: Theoretical, Empirical and Comparative Perspectives. PhD Dissertation submitted to Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Agriculture and the built environment, Department of OTB – Research for the Built Environment

Hanafi, A. (2019). Terror Tactics of Lagos, Ogun Notorious Land Grabbers. Punch Newspaper. Available online at https://punchng.com/terror-tactics-of-lagos-ogun-notorious-land-grabbers/

Hazen, J. (2013). Survival at stake: Violent land conflict in Africa. In LeBrun, E., Macdonald, G., Alvazzi del, A., Berman, E., and Krause, K. Small Arm Survey 2013: Everyday Dangers. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. Pp. 103-132.

Helmke, G., and Levitsky, S. (2004). Informal Institutions and Comparative Politics: A Research Agenda. Perspectives on Politics, 2, 725–740.

Huang, C., Yi, H., Chen, T., Xu, X. & Chen, S. (2020): Networked environmental governance: formal and informal collaborative networks in local China, Policy Studies. Available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2020.1758306

Ibrahim, A., Akanbang, B.A., and Laube, W. (2020). Sustaining decentralized collaborative governance arrangements in Africa: A case study of land management committees in the Upper West Region, Ghana. GeoJournal. Available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10276-3(0123456789().,-volV() 0123458697().,-volV)

Kombe, W. J. and Kreibich, V. (2001). Informal land management in Tanzania and the misconception about its illegality. Paper presented at the ESF/N-Aerus Annual Workshop with the theme “Coping with Informality in Human Settlements in Developing Countries” held on May 23-26 in Leuven and Brussels.

Kombe, W. J., and Kreibich, V. (2000). Reconciling informal and formal land management: an agenda for improving tenure security and urban governance in poor countries. Habitat International, 24(2000), 231-240

Kherallah, M. and Kirsten, J. (2001). The new institutional economics: applications for agricultural policy research in developing countries.

Lagos State Government (2020). Lagos State Lands Bureau. Available online at www.landsbureau.lagosstate.gov.ng (Accessed on 30-06-2022)

Malisa, E. T. (2016). Interplay of formal and informal grassroots institutions for land management in the Uluguru Mountains, Morogoro, Tanzania. PhD. Thesis University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.

McInnerney, J., and. Robert, T. S. (2004). Collaborative or cooperative learning? In Online collaborative learning: Theory and practice, ed. Roberts, S., 203–214. Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing

Olapade, D. T. (2021). Effectiveness of Formal Institutional Framework for Land Governance in Lagos, Nigeria. Journal of Property Research & Construction, 5(1), 42-54.

Olapade, D. T. and Aluko, B. T. (2021). Understanding the Nature of Land Delivery Institutions and Channels from a Tripartite Perspective: A Conceptual Framework. Land Use Policy, 100(2021), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104927

Olapade, D. T. and Aluko, B. T. (2022). Tenure Insecurity in Informal Land Delivery System of Lagos State, Nigeria: Causes and Manifestations. Urban Forum. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-022-09463-x.

Olapade, D.T., Ojikutu, O., and Aluko, B.T. (2022). Forestalling conflicts in compensation of compulsory acquired customary land: the intergenerational payment option. Journal of African Real Estate Research, 7(1), 38-55. https: doi.org/10.1007/s12132-022-09463-x

Rakodi, C. (2005). Informal land delivery processes in African cities. Policy Paper R8076. International Development Department, School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Rakodi, C. (2006). Social agency and state authority in land delivery processes in African cities: Compliance, conflict and cooperation. IDPR, 28 (2), 263-285

van Leeuwen, M. (2010). Crisis or continuity? Framing land disputes and local conflict resolution in Burundi. Land Use Policy, 27 (2010) 753–762

Xu, Y., Fu, C., Tu, W and Zhou, F. (2022). Unravelling the influence of formal and informal institutions on the duration of public concessions.

Young, O. R. (2002). The Institutional Dimensions of Environmental Change: Fit

Interplay and Scale. The MIT Press, Cambridge and Massachusetts.

Downloads

Published

28-02-2025 — Updated on 10-03-2025

Versions

How to Cite

Olapade, D., & Aluko, B. T. (2025). Nature and Outcomes of Collaborative Governance in Land Delivery : The Case of Lagos, Nigeria . African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences, 8(2), 364–381. https://doi.org/10.48346/IMIST.PRSM/ajlp-gs.v8i2.51665 (Original work published February 28, 2025)

Issue

Section

Youth, Gender, and Security of Land Tenure /