Lagos – A real estate consultant, Chief Dosu Fatokun, on Friday called on Lagos State Government and other states to address the menace of land grabbers popularly called “Omo onile.’’
Fatokun told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that there was the need for government to fight the menace which had become a norm in Lagos and other states of the federation.
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Fatokun, a former President of Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), said that land speculators would insist on payments from land owners before the landlords could develop their property.
He said that there was the need to educate the perpetrators of such acts that it was wrong for any group or individual to lay claim to land that had been allocated by government.
The consultant expressed regret that this act was becoming the trend in Lagos and appealed that it should be discouraged to reduce rents and also encourage more people to develop their projects to address issues of housing deficit.
“Strictly and legally, under the Land Use Decree nobody has any land; it is what the government excise for you.
“And if you got any land after the Land Use Decree you are supposed to apply for Certificate of Occupancy.
“What we now have is old interest in land; there should be no land grabbers.
“Even in Lekki where I live at times, the land grabbers would come and say you should pay them even before you lay the foundation.
“And if you report to the government, they will encourage you that you better go and satisfy them so that your project can take off.
“That is the land that has been acquired by state government and given out to people by way of allocations.
“There is need for the political will. It is only the political will that can solve the problem of land grabbers.
“Every parcel of land is supposed to be regulated by government, so there should not be Omo Onile.
“There should education, political will and serious enforcement to end the menace,’’ he said.
Fatokun advised the Lagos State government and other state governors to educate the masses on the provisions of the Land Use Decree.
Fatokun said that some families were greedy to the extent that after government would have excised some portions of land to them, they would still go ahead to make demands on portions allocated. (NAN)