It must be recognised that productive use of resources as cherished as land cannot be seen to be optimal, until it is keyed into sustainability indicators for proper calibration and assessment. The ease with which land as a resource, especially within the urban milieu, is delivered by various land agencies, in addition to its accessibility to several categories of potential users for varying developmental purposes, are arguably the most paramount of such indicators. Land delivery and accessibility issues predicate on several factors, chief of which is the techno-operational sophistication of the land administration system in the country under focus, especially those found within the stratification of underdeveloped and developing belts of the world. It is against this background that this study was conducted, so as to measure the stamina and level of sophistication of the arsenal of Nigeria's land administration system. This is to ensure prompt and efficient delivery and accessibility of urban lands through formal land market mechanism, by different categories of developers, by benchmarking the assessment of the LAS stamina via the following scorecards , namely: promptness, capacity, reliability, foresight, quality, coverage, discretion, penetration, capability, drive, judgment, flexibility, output, precision and responsibility. Out of the total 189 individuals considered as the sampling frame for the study, 115 individuals qualified for inclusion in the sample that was subjected to a structured questionnaire survey involving career land officers, tenured land advisers, practising land consultants and land developers in the six states of southwestern Nigeria. This was done so as to ensure a spread in the results that have greater breadth and are unbiased on the issues involved in this study. 101 questionnaires were retrieved, out of which 92 questionnaires were valid following data screening, and were used as basis upon which analyses were done. Emphasis was placed on the use of a 5-point Likert scale measurement, combined with both inferential and descriptive statistical tools for further explanations of the results. Findings indicate that the much desired level of sophistication in LAS for proper assessment of both past and present practices and to discern emerging challenges and frontally tackling them is inexplicably low. Hence, the study concludes that this not-so-impressive trend has rendered Nigeria's land administration system (LAS) ineffective, inefficient and less globally competitive. Among the policy implications is that there is a strong need for a virile mechanism through which public systems, including the land administration systems (LASs), will be frequently monitored for continual updating and overhauling of their platforms for buoyed stamina and improved performance. Keywords: inquiry, stamina, Land Administration System, urban lands delivery, Nigeria

Abstract: Developing countries like Nigeria faces the problem of its lands from surveying its amount; recognition and registration of rights to land, making it up to date and proposed future use and so on. To deal with these problems-defining them, assessing their state and need for improvement are necessary in any case. This is because Land has cultural as well as economic importance and its proper management is crucial to the present and future of every society. Land is something that often transcends economic sense as is evidenced by the way that nations and individuals both fight and sometimes die for what they regard as their land. Land is a basic resource for wealth creation, and on it activities of man take place. Efficient information on land is a good foundation for wealth generation and national development Land reform ought to be on the front burner of the Federal Government agenda. Hence, Government must as a matter of fact, place emphasis on improving the technical and institutional infrastructure to ensure that robust land registration and cadastral systems are put in place. Significant and special budget must be made to take care of hardware and software without neglecting ‘people ware’. When the reform shall finally sail through, the long term sustainability of any reform process will depend on the quality of the management team left behind after technical assistance is provided. This paper looks at some of the human issues that are involved in operating an effective land administration. Failure to address capacity building will almost certainly result in the failure of the system. It is the institutional and human issues that will be crucial to the success of any land reform process.

SUMMARY The rising profile of informal settlement and slum in Minna and environs in the last three decades is alarming. This trend has serious aesthetic and functional effects on the landscape and sustainable development of the city. It is believed that, the non-availability of relevant geospatial planning tools and infrastructure, and the perceived difficulty by the land owners in meeting the statutory conditions in the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) as stipulated by the Land Use Act No. 6 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1978, provided the platforms for this phenomenon. This paper therefore attempts an evaluation of the efficiency of the Land Use Act 1978 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and its implications in Minna and Environs, in order to identify the challenges and the way forward in the strategic and speedy land use planning and development in the area. Data collection methods adopted include personal interviews, examination of the existing maps and the Land Use Act 1978, No.6 provision in offer of C of O, and questionnaire administration. The questionnaires were based on four (4) key elements consisting; survey and cadastral information system, adherence to statutory conditions in the C of O, land use/development control, and government housing policy implementation in fifteen (15) selected ward areas. A part of the questionnaires was administered to staff of relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) related to lands, survey, planning and housing, while the second part was administered to sampled land lords in fifteen (15) selected ward Areas. The results of the survey show that, the poor physical development and informal settlement trend in Minna and environs is a combined effect of slow procedures and bureaucracy in obtaining C of O, inconsistency and inefficiency of relevant authorities responsible for land administration, rapid population growth and rural-urban migration, lack of political will and poor implementation of government housing programmes since 1978. The study also revealed that, the fear of being harmed or attacked by property owners and the patriotic will to refuse bribes when offered were parts of the major problems faced by land use inspectors. Also, the government officers' right to enter various premises during inspection is limited by the 'ba-shiga' ('no entry') system; which is a strong socio-cultural barrier to effective development control in some parts of the study area. It is recommended that, the current inefficiency in land administration system be addressed, and where government housing programmes are not realistic, robust cadastre, urban facilities and infrastructure should be provided for all development layouts in order to automatically check informal settlements.

The land use decree number 6 of March 29 1978 was aimed at solving the diversified land policies in Nigeria and ensuring easy accessibility of all Nigerians to land. The decree however classified land to rural and urban and made separate provisions for the management and administration of each. It is a known fact that good rural land tenure is one of the catalysts for rural development and it also stimulates food self-sufficiency and serves as an impetus for economic development of a nation. Ogun State is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, a State with abundant rural land. Having a total land area of 16,409.26km 2 , out of which only 1,003.7km2 (spread through 7 townships) was designated as urban land, indicating that the rest 15,405.56km2 is rural land. Considering the case of Ogun State, has the decree had the expected impact on the rural land and has the provisions of the decree been kept to 26 years after its commencement? What is the attitude of estate surveyors to rural land and what remedial measures can be taken to redress the imperfections of the decree on rural land? These burning questions therefore called for this study.