The Enugu State Government has taken a significant step in modernizing land administration by launching the Enugu State Geographic Information System (ENGIS).

The digital platform promises to simplify land title applications, offering a seamless process that can be completed entirely online within 48 hours.

Governor Peter Mbah, in a statement shared on his official X account, described ENGIS as a landmark achievement. The governor noted that the platform would eliminate long-standing issues such as land grabbing, double allocations, unauthorized constructions, and revenue diversion.

He emphasized that the initiative would restore public trust in land management processes while promoting ease of doing business.

“With ENGIS, we are putting an end to the era of land grabbing, double allocations, unauthorized constructions, and revenue diversion. This is not just a win for government – it is a major victory for Ndi Enugu, as trust and transparency now define our land processes,” Mbah stated.

He further highlighted the platform’s convenience, explaining that it allows residents to process land titles, conduct searches, and access results entirely from their homes.

The governor also pointed to ENGIS as a tool to attract investors, enhance efficiency, and drive economic growth. The platform is expected to significantly boost Enugu’s revenue base while aligning with broader federal initiatives like the National Land Digital System (NLDS), by digitizing decades-old land records.

The NLDS seeks to unlock $300 billion in economic potential by improving land registration and formalizing land transactions. Housing Minister Arc. Musa Dangiwa recently noted that efforts to modernize land administration could significantly boost investor confidence, reduce fraud, and enhance clarity in land ownership nationwide.

1978 Land Use Act, A Bigger Issue

While the ENGIS initiative has been lauded for its potential to enhance transparency and efficiency, experts contend that Nigeria’s real estate sector faces deeper structural challenges rooted in the 1978 Land Use Act.

It has been argued that digitalization alone cannot address the systemic issues hindering Nigeria’s real estate sector. The 1978 Land Use Act, which centralizes land ownership under state governors, is said to be the most significant impediment to growth in the sector.

The Land Use Act was enacted to regulate land use and ownership across Nigeria, vesting all land in a state, except those vested in the Federal Government or its agencies, under the control of its governor. While the Act sought to streamline land administration, it has introduced bureaucratic bottlenecks and inefficiencies that continue to stifle real estate development.

One of the primary issues is the centralization of land ownership. Under the Act, landowners receive certificates of occupancy (C of O) rather than outright ownership, leaving them with leasehold rights that create insecurity and discourage long-term investment. Additionally, the requirement for the governor’s consent for all land transactions significantly increases the time and cost of acquiring land titles.

Experts also point to the discretionary powers granted to governors as a source of corruption and inefficiency. Land allocations often lack transparency, making the process uncertain and unappealing to investors. This situation is compounded by high transaction costs, which deter small and medium-scale developers from pursuing real estate projects.

The implications of the Land Use Act extend beyond bureaucratic inefficiencies. It has stymied efforts to address Nigeria’s housing deficit by driving up costs and delaying developments. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the real estate sector has also been limited, as investors remain wary of uncertainties surrounding land rights.

The ENGIS Solution

While ENGIS cannot solve the structural challenges posed by the Land Use Act, it offers a promising solution to some of the inefficiencies in land administration. Its introduction is expected to improve transparency and enhance investor confidence in Enugu’s real estate sector.

However, experts maintain that meaningful progress in Nigeria’s real estate sector requires a repeal or significant amendment of the 1978 Land Use Act. They argue that decentralizing land management, granting full ownership rights to individuals and businesses, and simplifying transaction processes are essential steps to unlocking the sector’s potential.

Although Mbah’s commitment to modernizing land administration is commendable, the journey toward a fully functional and equitable land management system in Nigeria is said to depend on bold policy decisions at the federal level.

Comment: “It’s time for African entrepreneurs to start to figure things out and to stop sitting on the fence waiting for the government to provide solutions. Governments can support later but the momentum and direction must first come from African entrepreneurs.”

My Response:  I will respond by classifying entrepreneurs into two categories – typical entrepreneurs and pioneering entrepreneurs. Typical entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs  we meet daily, and they are common, and run in thousands in economies. Pioneering entrepreneurs are generation-shaping entrepreneurs who transform economies and nations.

Africa has many typical entrepreneurs and those entrepreneurs need platforms to operate. Economic platforms are built by governments and entrepreneurs build companies on them. The platforms include road, clean water, security, postal systems, and amenities which enable companies to grow and thrive. Some countries invest to build those platforms, even at losses, providing ecosystems for their typical entrepreneurs to do their things. 

For example, the US postal service has not recorded profit in two decades, and the US Amtrak rail system has not made a profit since 1971, and America has not shut them down. What is happening is that the postal service and other platforms are foundational platforms which enable businesses to thrive in America. 

But there are also moments when the governments cannot build platforms by themselves. What they then do, is to transfer their rights as governments to pioneering entrepreneurs. When America promulgated the eminent domain ordinance, it helped  railway tycoons like Vanderbilt to build a platform for commerce. In other words, those pioneering entrepreneurs receive special benefits to solve platform-level problems in societies.

When you read about Mellon, Carnegie, Rockefeller, and other men who built America, you will notice that the government assisted in many ways because those men were building platforms. When Bezos started Amazon, a pioneering ecommerce platform, America did not require Amazon to collect sales tax, thereby making Amazon products cheaper than the ones sold in physical stores. Without those benefits, Amazon will not be where it is today.

So, the comment has it both ways: Africa needs pioneering entrepreneurs even as the typical entrepreneurs need platforms to operate.  And someone must build those platforms because they must exist before the typical entrepreneurs can create companies on top of them.

Note this: Across human histories, from the UK to America, companies rise before nations can build strong institutions. In other words, if you expect Nigeria to have the best public institutions before great companies, you would keep waiting. Typically, what happens is that nations have great companies, and then use the taxes paid by those companies to build better public institutions. My thesis is that Nigeria cannot have solid public institutions, from great schools to good public institutions, until Nigeria has created category-leading private companies that would provide resources to build those institutions.”

You can then ask: why must it be that way? It is what it is. What the US Congress did for Amazon would be seen as cronyism in Nigeria, but sometimes, those things are done to seed new platforms.

My summary: it is either your government builds those platforms or it gives goodies to the pioneers to build the platforms, because the platforms must be built for any nation to experience development and prosperity.

Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are on the verge of finalizing their exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a bloc they helped establish nearly five decades ago.

This decision, culminating in the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), represents a significant challenge to the vision of a unified and cooperative West Africa. The departure, scheduled for January 2025, comes after the countries rejected Ecowas’s demands to restore democratic governance.

The AES however, has offered an olive branch to ECOWAS members, allowing its citizens the rights to live and work across AES states, while goods circulate freely under the bloc’s agreements.

While the leaders of the bloc have provided a six-month grace period for the Sahel nations to reconsider their exit, the announcement marks a significant blow to ECOWAS, one of Africa’s most integrated regional organizations.

The departure of these three founding members of ECOWAS, established in 1975 to foster economic and political integration, underlines a major shift in West Africa’s regional politics. Together, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger account for over half of ECOWAS’s geographical land area and 76 million of its 446 million citizens.

While AES leaders frame their exit as a necessary pivot to sovereignty and regional security, many view it as a step backward for West Africa’s collective goals of economic unity and political stability.

However, to allay fears that their exit will harm political and economic growth of the region, the leaders of the three Sahel nations have sought to reassure the bloc of continued goodwill. AES Chairman and Mali’s military ruler, Assimi Goïta, emphasized that visa-free travel, residency rights, and the right of entry for ECOWAS citizens would remain intact within the AES.

The three nations, heavily reliant on neighboring ECOWAS coastal states for trade, risk significant isolation. Most migrants from these Sahel countries move to richer coastal economies, highlighting their dependence on the economic engine of ECOWAS.

The Back story: The Rise of Military Rule

The seeds of discord were sown with a series of military coups that toppled democratic governments across the Sahel. In 2020, a coup in Mali ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, citing corruption and the government’s failure to address a growing jihadist insurgency.

Two years later, Burkina Faso followed suit, with the military overthrowing President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré under similar pretenses. The coup wave reached Niger in 2023, with soldiers seizing power and deposing President Mohamed Bazoum.

In each case, Ecowas swiftly condemned the takeovers, suspended the countries’ memberships, and imposed sanctions in an attempt to restore civilian rule. However, the juntas, buoyed by public support and regional solidarity, resisted. For the new military leaders, the sanctions became a rallying cry against what they perceived as undue interference and a reflection of ECOWAS’s alleged allegiance to Western powers, particularly France and the United States.

The Sahel leaders have accused ECOWAS of aligning too closely with Western powers, particularly France and the United States. This growing rift denotes broader geopolitical competition in the region, as Russia positions itself as an alternative ally for African states seeking to counter jihadist insurgencies.

Russia’s involvement, through private military contractors like the Wagner Group, has deepened, with some Sahel nations attributing military gains against jihadists to Russian support.

In Mali, the military junta expelled French forces and welcomed Russian military contractors, including the Wagner Group, to combat jihadist insurgents. Burkina Faso and Niger soon followed suit, citing the need for more effective security partnerships.

The Birth of the Alliance of Sahel States

In the aftermath of the Niger standoff with ECOWAS, the three nations announced the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in early 2024. The new bloc was founded on principles of security cooperation, political solidarity, and economic integration.

AES leaders framed the alliance as a necessity in the face of what they described as ECOWAS’s failures. Mali’s leader, Assimi Goïta, declared that the new bloc would “chart its own path” to regional stability and development. Burkina Faso’s junta leader, Ibrahim Traoré, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the need for a Sahel-centric approach to the region’s challenges.

ECOWAS Leaders Extend Olive Branch

Despite the Sahel states’ assertion that their exit is “irreversible,” ECOWAS leaders are working to maintain dialogue. Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Togo’s Faure Gnassingbé have been tasked with leading ongoing negotiations.

During the ECOWAS summit in Nigeria, Commission President Omar Touray expressed disappointment at the impending departures but commended mediation efforts. “This is disheartening,” he said, noting the bloc’s commitment to preserving unity.

The January to July 2025 transitional period has been opened by the bloc so that the Sahel nations can rejoin ECOWAS should they reconsider.