Nigeria to apply Rwanda’s land reform policy

A ten-man Nigerian delegation has praised government for its efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation of the land reform policy, which aims at demarcating, mapping out land and issue out land titles to all land owners by 2013. Under the Nigerian Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reform, the delegation arrived in Kigali, on Thursday, to get information from the National Land Centre that would enable them in implementing the process in Nigeria. The head of delegation, Akin L. Mabogunje, said that the World Bank, which oversees the land reform process in Africa, advised Nigeria to learn from the Rwandan model of implementation. “As Africans, we must learn from each other since we share the same cultural and historical background,” Mabogunje said. “We have reviewed the operations of the Land Centre and discovered that the technical staff here work day and night, using all kinds of technology to enter information from the field, with a commitment to have the whole country mapped by 2013. This is a unique commitment we would like to implement in our country.” He also said that through a well implemented land reform policy; the value of land will be improved, which will benefit especially the farmers and the economy of Rwanda. “By demarcating land and issuing out land titles to every land owner, farmers will be empowered to use their land titles as collateral to access bank loans; this in the long run will increase the country’s GDP,” Mabogunje said. The Registrar of Land Titles, Emmanuel Nkurunziza, said that, so far, 40% of the country has been mapped, and that the process would be finalized in 2013. “By the end of December, the Kigali field exercises will be completed and by June next year, all land owners in the city will be given land titles,” He also said that land is one of the country’s most important natural resources, laying a foundation of the national economy through agriculture, which occupies more than 90% of land in the country. Ends