By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
An Estate Surveyor and Valuer ( ESV) Arinze Nnachukwu, has
said that the prosperity of any given nation in the world is largely dependent on the quality and quantity of human capital resource it is endowed with.
Speaking while addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, Nnachukwu said the level of education and training attained by the citizens of a country speaks volume about the extent of practical development to be achieved physically, socially, economically and even technologically.
“Developing countries like Africa is blessed with the abundance of natural and human resources. Africa as the second most populous continent after Asia and it is home to intelligent and diligent people whose cultural and religious orientation are well knitted into the fabrics of existing societal structure.
“The attachment of Africans to the age old tradition and customs which through several decades have shaped their belief system, have resulted to institutional problems like the customary tenure system in land administration and management. The customary tenure system which is peculiar to the cultural settings of a particular country have successfully occasioned enduring patterns of controversial land ownership based on norms and tradition. As opposed to developed countries devoid of discrimination on the basis of gender or sex in land ownership and management, developing countries like Nigeria even in contemporary time still grapples with the issue of gender segregation and inequality in matters pertaining to propriety right of land use.
“This situation as commonly found in patriarchal society, places great emphasis on male folks (adult and children) as sole beneficiaries of land and land rights when considering issues of succession or inheritance of land.”
He said despite the provisions of the universal declaration of human right (UDHR) in 1948 and the Nigerian constitution of 1999 which advocated for right to freedom from discrimination and right to dignity of persons, the primogeniture rule actively in force in most rural communities have acted contrariwise.
“The idea of a woman being a chattel to a man have limited their economic and social capacity of fairly participating in land ownership and development despite being industrious and innovative. Land as a means of social and financial empowerment should be made accessible to all based on equity and freedom.
“The burden of economic hardship faced by a vast majority of women in developing countries could be alleviated through social reform programme geared towards facilitating their rights to own, use, dispose, lease, mortgage and make profit from land as a medium of investment. Nigeria, as a leading African country would be better placed on the global scene by making substantial effort towards sensitizing and domesticating international instruments such as treaties and conventions promoting the fundamental rights of women and girl child. The contention in land ownership earlier introduced by the discriminatory treatment of disadvantaged groups in the society particularly women and girl children should be sufficiently addressed by granting justice against customs whose provisions are repugnant to equity, fairness and good conscience. Female professionals in land related field such as Estate Management and Valuation should collaborate with government ministries such as Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to ensure the formulation of policies that are socially, economically and politically inclusive for women. The potential for increased economic prosperity would be realized by recognizing the right of women and providing the enabling environment for them to contribute their quota in the trajectory of national developmesnt.”
