CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF LAND REFORMS IN NIGERIA: ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

Abstract

The life of man and that of the society revolve around land and its resources. Thus, it is apposite that man's fulfillment of his potentials in life depends largely on his relationship with land. The importance of land to human existence provoked intellectual excursion to the relationship between land and law, making the Land Use Act of 1978 a point of reference. The use of primary and secondary data sources through doctrinal research methodology was adopted. The paper discovered that 1978 Land Use Act was the first of its kind because for the first time, it unified land administrative system in Nigeria under Government. The paper concluded that the problems experienced in executing the present reform may be grouped under two broad heads, the problem that emanated from traditional land tenure system and the excursion of the Act itself. The paper recommended that the Land Use Act should be removed from the Constitution in the next amendment.