PUBLIC LAND OWNERSHIP AND URBAN LAND MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN METROPOLITAN KANO, NIGERIA

Rapid urban population expansion in the developing world has created t he need for effective land management in urban areas. Effective urban land management is important because of its implication in social and economic development. Public intervention and control. of land markets is generally viewed as one of the best means of ensuring the effectiv e management of land. In Nigeria, land was nationalized in 1978 as a m eans of improving equity in access to it and its management. Studies o f the Kano metropolitan area, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, indicate that urban land management is characterized by a lack of effectiveness. This paper reviews the factors contributing t o the current ineffectiveness in land management in the metropolitan a rea. In general, the paper notes the need to link recommendations of p ublic ownership of land with requirements necessary for effective mana gement and to contextual issues in the locality where the policy is to be implemented. The paper concludes by recommending that the Kano sta te government should consider re-evaluating the existing land use cont rol regulations and procedures in the city with a view to introducing a more appropriate and sustainable control system. The paper also reco mmends that Nigeria should consider liberalizing its land markets as a means of improving land management effectiveness. (C) 1997 Elsevier S cience Ltd.