Here is how Soludo is revolutionising land administration in Anambra

As the second smallest state in terms of land area in Nigeria, land is one of Anambra’s most sought-after resources. While submitting his commission’s report to the Anambra State Government, the chairman of Anambra State Truth, Peace and Justice Commission, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, remarked that one of the major findings of the commission was that conflicts and insecurity in Anambra and the South East, by extension, was largely triggered by land-related issues. With the commission’s findings, it is easy to see how the full digitization of land administration in Anambra State by the Governor Chukwuma Soludo-led administration has put Anambra on the path of prosperity.

It is hard to argue against the findings of the Anambra State Truth, Peace and Justice Commission. The conflict between Aguleri and Umuleri over land ownership has been traced to 1933. It took the intervention of President Olusegun Obasanjo for hostilities between these sister communities to be nipped in the bud when it was at its peak. There are also reports of many skirmishes amongst families and individuals bothering on land ownership.

With the aid of technology, Governor Soludo has removed many hustles associated with land ownership and administration in Anambra. (In the case of Aguleri and Umuleri, many scholars and researchers agree that by establishing clear and jointly agreed upon boundaries based on historical records and implementing a transparent land registration system with community involvement, the kind of conflict that was seen in Aguleri and Umuleri will never happen in Anambra again).

Last Thursday, Governor Chukwuma Soludo officially launched the Anambra Geographic Information System (ANAMGIS). ANAMGIS will transform land administration processes in Anambra by improving access to land-related data, ensuring accountability, enhancing public engagement, offering greater security and assurance for title documents.

There were efforts, in the past, to develop a GIS infrastructure for land administration in Anambra but these efforts were not successful.

The newly launched Geographic Information System (GIS) in Anambra is unique in many ways. And since Anambra is one of the most urbanized states in Nigeria, ANAMGIS solves many problems. Anambra’s GIS infrastructure forms the backbone for the rigorous masterplan of Anambra, which is currently being developed. The goal is to make Anambra a well-planned, clean and green state. This goal is on course.

Anambra’s land administration had been characterized by an inefficient manual record keeping and filing system in the past. In fact, one report states that as at 2019, the Legal Department of the Anambra State Ministry of Lands reported that they were inundated with over 100 lawsuits from the year 2006. These legal disputes were on missing documents. The semi-digitization of land administration which was known as Anambra Land Information Management System (ALIMS), which was initiated in 2007, did not fully solve the problem. Today, cadastral data are being migrated from ALIMS to ANAMGIS and over 62,800 files have been scanned and indexed in ANAMGIS in order to aid full digital visualization and enhanced accessibility.

The Ministry of Lands in Anambra can now boast of having a very high-resolution satellite mapping of most parts of the state. Lands in Anambra State now have unique parcel identification systems, which are location based. The state government has invested in a centralized GIS server with basemaps to store these data in order to enhance an effective land administration system. (GIS basemaps provide fundamental cartographic details such as roads, boundaries, waterways, and topographical features as they relate to parcels of lands. It helps for the complete digital identification of a parcel of land).

Together with an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS), ANAMGIS has computerized all the land administration workflows ranging from Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) issuances, recertification processes, Power of Attorney, Deed Documents, payment histories, Assignment and Mortgage records. There is now a truly digital land register system. This means that the era of missing land documents is gone. It also means that any land administration process could be carried out in minutes in Anambra State if potential land owners follow stipulated processes.

The issue of document security is another area that has gotten a boost in the Governor Soludo-led land administration reforms. Today, in Anambra, computer generated Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) have strong security features that cannot be counterfeited. With the security features in new Certificates of Occupancy in Anambra and with the aid of technology, the verification of the authenticity of any C of O can be done in minutes in the Ministry of Lands. (Certificates of Occupancy now have unique QR Codes and other security features for enhanced document security). The proliferation of fake land title documents and forged building approvals have been a big issue in Nigeria. Even issues related to double allocation of lands and the allocation of government-owned lands to individuals, which have plagued land administration in Nigeria, have now been permanently solved in Anambra State.

With the recent technology in Anambra, landowners who re-certify their land titles are rest assured that their properties would not be encumbered with any of the issues that have plagued land ownership in the past in the country.

The land reforms in Anambra will enhance the operation of businesses and make the state more secured. Businesses like certainty and well-established processes. Businesses flourish in jurisdictions where there are standard, fast and technologically driven processes for acquiring land titles.

The future of Anambra is bright under Governor Soludo’s watch.

Nwankwo is the special adviser to Governor Soludo on special projects and he can be reached on [email protected]