Obsolete laws clog Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria

An expanding real estate firm C & C Limited bought 100 plots of land in Kaduna State, north-west of Nigeria in November 2012. The firm paid N300 million to the land owners, including compensations to the community.

Through the traditional rulers of the two communities where the plots of land were located, the firm got all the necessary documents and cover, including the survey plan.
Next was to obtain the Certificate of Occupancy, popularly called the C of O.
This required going to the state government’s Ministry of Lands. On getting to the ministry, the firm was mandated to pay several fees.
Payment was also made for the C of O. After meeting the monetary requirements of the government, the firm had to knock on the doors of the ministry every week. Promises after promises were made. ‘Come today, come tomorrow’ became the language of the ministry.
The certificate eventually came out 14 months after, which was exactly in January 2014.
The real estate company, on getting the C of O, began to build houses. The firm had been in existence for almost a decade and so understood the terrain. Its business was simply to build estates and sell.
By the 2015 general election in Nigeria, 37 buildings had already been standing. The firm heaved a sigh of relief that at least it could sell the houses and recoup its expenditure.
Each of the 37 duplexes in the high-brow Kaduna cost N100 million.
However, buying the houses was a long wait. Oil prices had started crashing fast in 2015, so home buyers like oil workers were only willing to pay N50 million or below. Importers, who bought houses, were cash-strapped owing to dollar scarcity.
Eventually, 2016 set in. It was now a housing lull. Occupancy rate was rising. Politicians and oil moguls did not have money any longer. Government spending was low and citizens struggled to eat.
“If we had got the so-called C of O in one week as it is done in other climes, we would have finished the buildings the following year and sold them before this crisis,” said the CEO of the real estate firm.
“The major problem is that the Land Use Act of 1978 still maintains that land belongs to state governments. This is why you go through these endless processes, which vary from state to state,” the CEO told this newspaper.
“Land has become expensive because of Land Use Act. Countries that seek investors repeal laws like that to meet the demands of the modern times,” the CEO added.
The Land Use Act of 1978 is one of the old laws in Africa’s most populous country that hamper investments and development.
Part 1 (Paragraph 1) of the Act states that, “Subject to the provisions of this Act, all land comprised in the territory of each State in the Federation are hereby vested in the Governor of that State and such land shall be held in trust and administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians in accordance with the provisions of this Act.”
Part 11( Paragraph 1) of the Act says that “It shall be lawful for the Governor in respect of land, whether or not in an urban areas:(a) to grant statutory rights of occupancy to any person for all purposes; (b) to grant easements appurtenant to statutory rights occupancy;(c) to demand rental for any such land granted to any person.(d) to revise the said rental -(i) at such intervals as may be specified in the certificate of occupancy; or(ii) where no intervals are specified in the certificate or occupancy at any time during the term of the statutory rights of occupancy.”
This informs why state governments forcefully take away land belonging to farmers without compensating them.
Nigeria ranks 169 out of 190 countries in the 2017 World Bank Doing Business. The country is 174 in terms of dealing with construction permits and 182 in registering a property.
Africa’s biggest economy is rated 139 in terms of enforcing contracts, and 140 in resolving insolvency.
In the 21st Century, Nigeria still operates under the Federal Fire Service Act of 1963. A close look at the document shows that there is no provision for the funding of the Service and the Act does not specify the minister that should be in charge of it.
On the general duties of the Fire Service, Part 1 of the Act says, “The Fire Service shall be employed for the extinguishment, control and prevention of fire, the saving and protection of life and property and for such other humanitarian and other works as may be required of them under the authority of the Minister.”
Lawyers say this Act does not state the relationship between the Fire Service and households and corporate bodies.
Moreover, Nigeria is still operating under the Police Act of 1968 and the Prison Act of 1972. The Customs Act used today in Nigeria is 58 years and it still guides the operations of Nigerian ports.
One of the key attractions of investors into any economy is the laws guiding intellectual property, patent act and copy right. However, Nigeria largely operates the Patent & Designs Act of 1971, which was later amended in 1990.
“In comparing the practice of IP in Nigeria with the practice in other countries of the world, it is imperative to note that Nigeria is still very much reliant on the English Laws. For instance the applicable Trademarks Act of 1965 in Nigeria was fashioned after the English Trademarks Act of 1938. These laws have been overtaken by modern technological and economical advancement. The UK Trademarks Act over the years has been amended and is presently being regulated by the English Trademarks Act 1994,” said Jackson Etti & Edu, in an article entitled ‘Nigeria: Intellectual Property: A Tool For Economic Growth In Nigeria’.
Samuel Oyigbo, lawyer and writer, said almost all the laws in Nigeria need amendment.
“There is a lot of lacuna in those old laws. What the National Assembly does during amendments is just to change the date and leave all the old laws. Most of our laws in the Criminal Code contain amounts such as N5, and, as such, do not reflect the changing trends,” Oyigbo said.
He explained that the Traffic Act, Matrimonial Act and Coroner’s Law are all not reflecting changes in the society and should be amended.
Another lawyer Justin Onwujekwe said some of the laws do not meet the demands of the time. Onwujekwe, however, said most of the laws have been tinkered with and brought under the Laws of the Federal of 2004.
“But as they are, they are still inadequate,” he admitted.
Odinaka Okeke, a lawyer, attributed the challenge to the calibre of representatives at the National Assembly and their intellectual depth.
“Do they know? Again, if you notice such old laws, you can put it forward through your representative as a motion,” Okeke said.