Land information system: Embracing new economic model Andrus Nnaemeka Ukaejiofo Coordinator Federal Land Information System and National Technical Development Forum on Land Administration Lands and Housing Department, Mabushi, Abuja Nigeria u_andrus@yahoo.com  A prominent feature of the new economic model of modern economies in the world is that it substantially de-emphasises large volumes of paper work, extracting essential information which dissemination constitutes "value" and passing them on in near invisible but more functional format to other users. Nigeria has embraced this trend, though more still needs to be done to bring many of the institutions into the 'e-government' system. Land administration issues at different levels of government have undergone some measure of computerisation and could be considered as having joined the "e-service group". This is more prominently expressed through the implementation of the Federal Land Information System (FELIS). Land administration and e-services The starting point for bringing the land sector into modern economy is the reorganisation of discrete data obtainable on the land parcel in a manner that would facilitate the adoption of service-oriented approaches to producing information. The most important revolution in land administration is the development of an integrated digital management system - database management system (DBMS) that adopts geographic information system/land information system (GIS/LIS), to synthesise the spatial details and the attribute information (including incidental bundles of right) over any piece of land in a unitary compact database. The implication is that real life situations are modeled in forms that can be represented digitally in the computers. GIS/LIS GIS allows users to create interactive queries (user created searches), analyse spatial information and edit data to obtain results that aid policy decision. Where this is designed specifically for recording and managing land ownership, tenure and all subsisting rights therein, it is referred to as land information system (LIS). In operation, LIS integrates property rights information with information on the uses, values, and distribution of natural and cultural resources to help records management. The use and application of the system is however still very low in Nigeria although the various tiers of the government are working to implement the computerised land record management systems. Efforts made so far in Nigeria While efforts has been made at the federal level to implement land information management system, only about 20% of the states in Nigeria have commenced the application of ICT in their land administration system. Ironically, among those states that have initiated land records computerisation, the extent, content and compatibility of the programmes are not easily ascertained because there is little or no central coordination and monitoring. Although there is a National Geospatial Data Infrastructure (NGDI) policy document, the implementation and testing is not yet widespread. So far what exist are isolated land record management systems (established by some state governments) and which are yet to be brought into a national network to entrench seamless integration and data sharing/ exchange among the states. The National Air Space Development Agency (NASDA) where the committee on Spatial Data Infrastructure is domiciled is working to produce data that could be shared among various land data users across the country. In addition to the IT infrastructure, the states are also working to ensure appropriate training of staff in the use of new technologies for land records management. This is part of the reason why some of the states have not established computerised land data management system.  Federal Land Information Project (FELIS) FELIS is one of the foremost initiatives of the federal government in its effort to embark on land administration reform in Nigeria. It is domiciled in the now Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and the implementation has taken a gradual approach, mainly because the funding is from budgetary provisions. It is a computerised land record information system with a central database for the administration of federal government lands nationwide. It is designed to link other sites (or field offices of the Ministry in the states) in a network via the Internet. It records federal government land portfolios including leaseholds granted to individuals and corporate organisations over a land parcel. It also aims at improving land administration system by fast-tracking the issuance of title documents - Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and other transactions in lands, e.g. assignments, mortgages, etc. and the process of title registration as well as improving access to land information. It is a transactional system which has been helpful for revenue generation and monitoring of land administration operations. The impetus for establishing FELIS FELIS was born out of the need to enthrone a regime of easy and transparent access to land and land records as well as create and authenticate legitimate title to land. Until its implementation, all land administration and registration process was manual, slow and cumbersome. It took many months to process and register any title document to land. Presently all the C of O being issued by the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development are processed in the system. The primary aim of FELIS is to provide on-line, real-time service to all stakeholders from every part of the country and indeed the world as well as generate revenue for the government using digital LIS. It was also developed with the hope that it would form the nucleus of the central hub that may ultimately transform to the National Land Depository. FELIS provides a flexible system for recording and administering land information against the hitherto the manual system. The first step after the system structure was developed was the digitisation of the cadastral maps. The available maps came in analogue form, requiring that they be converted by digitisation, geo-referencing and transformation to be able to get them in their relative geographic locations in the Nigerian map. The attribute data were thereafter captured including the scanning of all the relevant documents relating to the landed property. The process included:
The system offers:
It is also able to display both attribute and spatial information in a functional manner to supply reliable public information and services to individuals and governments. In addition, it has introduced reliability, standardisation and transparency in the system of recording and managing land information with the aim of generating relevant data to achieve appropriate political, social and economic objectives that ensure stable and sustainable development. Search results from FELIS Although the search process could easily be undertaken in FELIS from the website www.felis.gov.ng, the integration with individual states is yet to be effected because of the low level of IT development in most states. FELIS has become a reliable means of revenue generation for the federal Government. It has also improved transaction time on land matters substantially. It has not however attained the utmost operational level because data build-up is continuing and the system development is continuing. Conclusion The application of modern technology in land administration is helpful to quicken the processes. The fundamental purpose is to provide a transparent, standardised and easily accessible land record information system. Application of LIS in Nigeria is gradually gaining grounds. Although only a few states have gone far in their LIS implementation, FELIS has been established and is operational. It was established to administer land records belonging to the federal government and to form the hub for the envisaged National Land Depository (NLD). It is expected that the computerisation of land records across the states would facilitate the establishment of the NLD and ensure consistency in land data recording in a format that could be shared by all tiers of government. |