Sam Adeyemi: Land Use Act is a formula for mass poverty…it must go
Sam Adeyemi, senior pastor of Daystar Christian Centre, says Nigeria’s Land Use Act is a formula for mass poverty, and must be removed, for the country to unleash its potentials.
Speaking at The Platform on Saturday, about “unleashing potentials for wealth creation”, Adeyemi said “the elite class makes it difficult, for example, for you to own land, which is the baseline for wealth creation”.
“When it takes you five years to change the ownershipof landed property to your name at the land registry, how do you derive economic value for it?” Adeyemi questioned.
“You own land, they say you cant own what is under it, they sell what is under it and then spend the money on themselves. You deposit money in banks, and the banks won’t loan you the money; why are you putting your money in the banks?.
“If we want to prosper and see Nigeria develop, we must ensure some deep changes in our economic and political institutions. For the potential of the average Nigerian to create wealth to be unleashed, we need to be given property rights more easily.
“The Land Use Act must be removed from our constitution and must be thoroughly reviewed. To buy a landed property and to wait for years for governor’s consent or the certificate of occupancy, is a formula for mass poverty.”
Adeyemi ended his speech with a message of hope, courage, and prophecies for a developed Nigeria.
“I should say that I see a developed Nigeria. Whatever our situation is, it has been so in other parts of the world. In Europe, yes there was underdevelopment. The elite class ensured there were only a small group of people. They frustrated innovation,” he said.
He said the man who first designed a machine that could mass-produce textile was denied patent by Queen Elizabeth I, and was thrown into jail, when he spoke too much.
His offence, according to her, was that “she cannot afford to see him destroy the wealth of her citizens. Innovations can be destructive, they destroy old ways of making money”.
Rev Sam Adeyemi is a very charming man and he speaks to my heart. I totally agree with him that the Land Use Act must be done away with. The Governor’s office must be expanded and fully computerized so that land registrations can be done within a week. Like the Reverend, I see Nigeria leading Africa in development and prosperity even as I personally detest the word development.
Foreign capital is essential to development. And whenever I speak to potential investors abroad, the most important thing they have in mind is the menace of terrorism at the hands of the Boko Haram. The Boko Haram militants, please dont get me wrong, are our brothers who have taken the path of violence and fundamentalism. Every effort must be made to bring them into the mainstream. Their religious sentiments should be respected and accommodated without destroying the secular fabric of the nation-state. Waging a war against Boko Haram is an endless enterprise and the country can ill-afford to do it. But apart from getting them dead, I dont think there is any diplomacy being used to get the militants to give up their gun and violence.
Hello Annu.I agree with you on the 1st part of your comment but would have to disagree with your take on the Boko Haram issue. 1st, it was Boko haram that declared war on Nigeria and not vise versa.They have repeatedly emphasised that their mission is to engage the country in warfare until they turn it to an islamic state. 2nd, the government has repeatedly shown interest in negotiating a truce with them but they have said they weren’t interested in such ( review shekau’s videos).They are not behaving like brothers and as such cannot be treated as such.They rejected all diplomatic approach offered to resolve the situation and leaves the country no choice but to engage them in combat.
Well said!
I don’t agree with you in the aspect of what other countries in Europe have gone through as a result of underdevelopment. pastor adeyemi, that was in the dark age era when development was shut down all over the world cos countries are governed by mornachs…today’s era shows hyper development in all facets of life…as the trend changes so it affects every country. you are a motivational speaker who tells people positive things despite their plight but get this sir. Nigeria will never change when you believe we should keep talking and pushing blames without working or putting it to act. Go around and see the problem of the black race, we know how to talk without taking a step. its high time we start asking questions and getting answers like science students. its high time we start researching… and join the bandwagon of science and technology.
Nice comment, tho you’ve been blindsided by this truncated and abridged post. Your worry was very clearly and elaborately explained by Sam Adeyemi. I was there live when he gave this teaching and you should order the tape online at the Daystar website. It’s worth listening to.