Ownership and Acquisition of Land, Land-Grabbers and Land-Grabbing in Lagos and Ogun States

Land is an indispensable natural resource for both the survival and prosperity of mankind. The quest for land keeps increasing every day due to human and capital growth globally. Lands are being forcefully acquired by the government from their owners on the pretext of overriding public interest. High demand for land and its insufficiency have resulted in land grabbing in Lagos and Ogun States, in address the menace, both states passed into law, the Lagos State Property Protection Law, 2016, and Ogun State Prohibition of Forcible Occupation of Landed Properties, Armed Robbery, Kidnapping, Cultism and other Anti-Violent and Related Offences Law, 2016, respectively. At the inception of the laws and their implementation, the inhabitants, and land owners of the states thought that succor came their way and it was the end of land grabbing. Conversely, the laws had achieved nothing in eradicating land grabbing in the states. This study investigated ownership and acquisition of land, land grabbers, and land-grabbing in Lagos and Ogun States. Doctrinal methodology was adopted for the research. The paper revealed that the inadequacy of land, greediness of landowners, compulsory/forceful acquisition of land, poverty, and lack of employment among the youths, the law enforcement agents who are saddled with the responsibility of implementing the anti-land-grabbing laws compromised their standards and that the judiciary has not made any clear pronouncements on the land-grabbing cases pending in the law courts of the two states to serve as deterrent resulted in land-grabbing in both states. The study recommended that compensation be paid to the landowners for the land compulsorily/forcefully acquired, employment be provided for the youths, there should be public enlightenment in the states on the implications of land-grabbers and land-grabbing in the society, the judiciary in both states should brace up in dispensing justice in this critical area of endeavour, by decisively and timely, determining land-grabbing cases before them and that the Nigeria Police and other related law enforcement agencies should stop aiding land grabbers in committing crimes related to land-grabbing in both states. Keywords: Land, land-grabbing, Lagos and Ogun States, ownership and acquisition, Land Use Act DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/135-07 Publication date:August 31st 202

Directors’ Conflict of Interest and Its Implication for the Sustainability of a Company

Events on the Boards of directors in Nigeria have exposed diverse cases of conflict of interest and non-disclosure. Activities of some directors reveal that they do not know the boundaries of their allegiance to the companies that appointed them. This paper examined the role of directors' viz-a-viz conflict of interest and how it affects the sustainability of the companies. The doctrinal method was used to analyze the principles of corporate governance as it is related to the conflict of interest of those who are involved in the management. With the use of primary and secondary sources, the authors discussed the legal provisions addressing issues on conflict of interest, and the impact and implication of conflict of interest related to the organizations, the economy, and corporate sustainability. The paper found that lack of adherence to the provision of corporate governance framework had led to the pervasive cases of non-disclosure, conflict of interest, criminal liability, and extinction of the companies in extreme cases. This paper also offers recommendations for curbing the menace of conflict of interest in order to ensure corporate sustainability

Assessment of cost management practices of civil engineering (project procurement) organisations in Ondo State, Nigeria

Purpose The purpose of the work presented here is to assess the cost management practices of civil engineering organisations in Nigeria, with an overall aim of developing a generic cost management process map. The first objective is to compare existing frameworks theoretically to highlight their strengths and weaknesses. The second objective is to use the findings of the first objective to assess or benchmark the developed process map obtained from the multiple cases. The third objective is to compare the generic process map with the traditional building cost management process map to evaluate the strengths and shortcomings of the generic process map, which resulted in conclusions and recommendations made at the end of the research. Design/methodology/approach Data for the work was collected via semi-structured interviews, review of literature and official documents of the civil engineering organisations visited. To achieve the stated objectives, comparative analysis technique was used to compare existing frameworks on cost management to obtain the basis to benchmark the generic process map. The single case narrative technique was used to present each case; and the cross-case synthesis technique was used to present the multiple cases on each cost management process examined. Then, process maps were deployed to represent the homogeneous sets of civil engineering organisations, out of which the generic process map was developed. Comparative analysis was again deployed to compare the generic process map with the traditional building process map of cost management practice to evaluate the findings. Findings It was found out that the generic civil engineering process map is not as detailed and effective as the building process map in providing best value for money, accurate early cost estimates, accurate cost certainty and post-contract cost control. Originality/value This research study provides an industrial impetus to push for the involvement of more quantity surveyors (QS) as cost management process owners in the procurement of civil engineering projects in Nigeria, hence encouraging government’s efforts in the enforcement of more accurate project cost estimates and promoting the QS’s project-specific advice on capital, operational, maintenance and life cycle costs