Land acquisition and irrigation in Nigeria

With land as Nigeria's most important asset, successive local and central governments have sought to control the acquisition of land so that it may be put to optimal use by the population of 70 million. The author looks into the theory of land acquisition and its history in Nigeria, with special reference to a number of irrigation projects. He examines in depth the actions and attitudes of the developers in several cases and notes a lack of consistency and consideration on their part. The author records the resulting opposition to any irrigation project due to the injustices such schemes have engendered in the past. He suggests a set of guidelines to bring an Improvement in relations between land-owners and the authorities, so that development projects are not held back and finally implemented in an atmosphere of hostility.