Dr Kabiru Usman Hassan, the pioneer Director General of the Gombe State Geographic Information System (GOGIS), in this interview, speaks on the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O), sanitising and modernising land administration, and other reforms he is undertaking at the agency.

 

You have been in this office for about five years now; give us an overview of the key activities you have undertaken since assuming this office?

We have brought so many reforms with the help of the Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya. In the last five years, we have undertaken reforms which involve layout auditing and land administration reforms. We introduced two layouts as prototype for future administration. What I mean by that is it comprehensive enough for the next generation and next government to follow.

We have the Shongo Gardens Layout, which is part of our achievement. We have Shehu Abubakar District, which was formerly BAP 4 layout; it is part of what we have done. All the two layouts are contemporary design layouts, which can match any layout in the world.

Apart from that, we have some of our layouts in the state, almost eight layouts. We have GDP 16, GDP 4, GDP 5, GDP 12, etc. We audited all these layouts because there were so many abnormalities in them, which included double allocation, blockage of access roads and change of uses among others.

So, we were able to audit them and bring them back to life. We have also been able to check racketeering and land speculators from doing some of the abnormalities outside the office.

Also, there were some officers who retired 10, 15 years ago, but they were still signing fake documents. But now, with the advent of the GOGIS, with our effective reform of the system, it is no longer business as usual.

With such achievements, there must have been some challenges, especially from plot owners. How was the GOGIS able to overcome the challenges?

Honestly, at the beginning, many people refused to believe that we were sanitising the system for their own good, and for the good of the entire people of Gombe State. But later, after auditing the layouts, people realised that the value of their plots had appreciated as well as the security of the plots.

Before we did the work for the auditing, maybe a particular plot of land was valued at N2 million, after auditing the layout, giving sanity to the layout, the value increased to between N5 million and N6 million and some even N8 million, because of the sanitisation we did on the layouts.

How many Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os) have you issued so far; and take us through the processes?

Since we came on board, we have issued more than 700 C-of-Os. For the procedure of getting the C-of-O, if the applicant has a government layout that is statutory, that is we gave him the allocation letter, then he or she will pay the fees. After paying the fees, the agency will issue a Right of Occupancy (R-of-O).

As we are printing the R-of-O, the certificate is ready for endorsement by the governor. That is the process. However, if it is a customary title, the applicant has to come with the certificate of customary title. Then the GOGIS will do a survey plan and issue the applicant an update form.

There is a form that we issue for updating customary title for conversion which the applicant will fill and submit to us with his or her survey plan. Then we will process the R-of-O, and also process the certificate and forward it to the governor for signing and subsequent issuance of the C-of-O.

There are some challenges when you come to land administration. How is GOGIS coping with them?

Honestly speaking, even presently, there is an issue that I invited both parties to come here so that we can resolve it. Two people are contesting for the ownership of one land. So, we have called them, along with our old staff that retired, and the staff that are currently in service, so that together we will hear from both sides and resolve the matter. These are some of the mechanisms we have put in place to resolve such disputes.

Sometimes, we don’t need to go to court. In fact, even if you ask the judges now, they don’t have many land cases, unlike before. We came on board and we are doing our best to resolve issues by hearing from both sides, and asking for the history from the previous land officers. So, we put  heads together and finalise contending issues.

How much does it cost and how long to get the C-of-O?

Starting from N100,000 to N200,000; it depends on the size of the plot. And one can get his R-of-O within a week. While the C-of-O can be ready within three weeks

But you know, because of the tight schedule of Mr. Governor, there are some delays sometimes. But even now, we have certificates here that we will take to the governor for his signature.

How much has been generated by GOGIS as revenue for the state?

So far, we have generated not less than N3 billion in the last five years. And we hope to generate more in the coming years.