Nigeria's Legal Instruments for Land and Water Use: Implications for National Development

Background

Land is one of the core factors of production. The generation of wealth and other economic advantages cannot be separated from land use rights. Centuries ago, Smith (1776) in his well cited publication defined wealth as the ‘annual produce of land and labour’. Since all labour is carried out on land, it is therefore evident that the latter dictates the conditions for the execution of the former. That is, labour is dependent on the availability of material resources. Most material resources required for production are recovered from the land. This explains why history is filled with the struggle for the control of land. As far back as 4500 BC, governments of civilizations like Sumer and Egypt reserved the absolute control of land in the monarch or representatives of the people (Cahill, 2010). In modern times, research shows that just 36 monarchs control a third of the entire land on earth, with three of the leading land owning monarchs being Queen Elizabeth II (6.7 billion acres), King Abdallah of Saudi Arabia (580 million acres) and the Pope (117 million acres) (Cahill, 2010). Aside from monarchs, individuals and corporations also struggle to take control of land. These classes of people are often the wealthy elite in society. It is reported that 36, 000 individuals (0.6% of the total population) in England control a third of the land in England and Wales (Cohen, 2010). In USA, it was observed that wealthy individuals from different parts of the globe who were seeking for ways to protect their wealth from inflation and political witch hunting took advantage of the bargain prices of land in Texas and bought vast expanses (Worcester, 2006). These individuals have then held onto ownership of these lands while indigenous farmers who need the land but lack the required capital and land are compelled to pay rent to these investors. These migrant but wealthy land owners have subsequently dictated and inflated the price of land (Worcester, 2006). With most of the land in the world being controlled by a few, the larger population is compelled to labour for subsistence and part with rent on a perpetual basis. In the hope of redressing inequality, some modern governments have attempted to reform land laws with the promise of empowering the less privileged. The fact is that these reforms only tend to tighten the control of few privileged people on the land and on the resources found on them (Worcester, 2006). One such resource of importance is water.