- By Akin Olukiran
Land occupies a unique and paradoxical position in the architecture of wealth creation. Unlike capital, it is not manufactured. Unlike labour, it cannot be expanded.
Yet, despite being one of the most valuable factors of production, land often remains economically dormant until institutional mechanisms unlock its latent value.
Its true worth lies not merely in its physical existence but in the legal, administrative and commercial systems that transform it into a productive asset.
A parcel of land without recognised title is little more than a geographical space. It may possess intrinsic value, but that value remains largely inaccessible and unrealisable.
The moment a government confers secure and legally recognised ownership through a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), however, the economic character of that land changes fundamentally.
What was once a passive asset becomes an active instrument of wealth creation.
The significance of secure title extends far beyond ownership. A Certificate of Occupancy transforms land into bankable collateral.
It enables individuals and businesses to access credit facilities, attract investment and undertake commercial ventures that would otherwise remain beyond their financial reach.
The owner may leverage the property to secure financing for a factory, a retail enterprise, a farm or any number of productive activities.
The resulting investments generate employment, stimulate consumption and create economic opportunities that reverberate throughout the wider economy.
Even where the owner chooses to dispose of the property, the economic benefits remain substantial.
The sale releases capital that can be reinvested into productive ventures, while the purchaser often proceeds to develop the property.
Such development generates demand for architects, engineers, surveyors, artisans, contractors, suppliers of building materials, transport operators and numerous ancillary service providers.
In this manner, a single land transaction can trigger a chain of economic activities whose impact extends far beyond the immediate parties involved.
This is why construction activity is widely regarded as one of the most reliable indicators of economic vitality.
A thriving construction sector is typically associated with confidence, investment and growth.
Conversely, prolonged stagnation in construction often reflects broader economic uncertainty, weak investor confidence and constraints in access to finance.
The relationship between land administration and economic development has been extensively studied by development economists.
The Peruvian economist, Hernando de Soto, famously argued that developing countries possess vast quantities of what he termed “dead capital”.
These are assets whose economic potential remains trapped because they lack formal legal recognition. Without secure title, landowners cannot easily sell, mortgage, transfer or leverage their assets within the formal financial system.
Consequently, enormous reservoirs of wealth remain buried beneath layers of administrative inefficiency and regulatory inertia.
Nowhere is this relationship more evident than in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory.
As one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities, Abuja possesses enormous land-based wealth. Yet for many years, significant portions of this wealth remained locked within bureaucratic bottlenecks that slowed the processing of titles, transfers and other land-related documentation.
The result was a reduced velocity of economic activity and a slower pace of property development than the city’s potential would ordinarily support.
Since assuming office as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike has placed considerable emphasis on reforming land administration and accelerating the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy and related documentation.
While public attention has often focused on the administration’s extensive road construction and infrastructure projects, the more profound economic impact may lie in its efforts to improve the efficiency of Abuja’s land management system.
By facilitating the regularisation and documentation of property rights, Barrister Nyesom Wike has effectively been unlocking dormant capital embedded within thousands of hectares of land across the Federal Capital Territory
. Each Certificate of Occupancy issued represents more than a piece of paper. It is a legal instrument capable of activating investment, enabling access to credit and stimulating economic activity. It converts dormant wealth into productive capital.
The implications for the local economy are significant. Financial institutions are more willing to lend against properties with secure title. Investors are more inclined to commit resources where ownership rights are clear and enforceable.
Developers can undertake projects with greater certainty. Businesses gain access to financing. Employment opportunities emerge across multiple sectors. Government revenues also increase through registration fees, taxes and economic expansion.
The multiplier effects are substantial. Construction workers receive wages. Suppliers sell materials. Transporters move goods. Retail businesses benefit from increased spending. Professional service providers secure new engagements.
Communities experience enhanced commercial activity. In economic terms, land titling serves as a catalyst that mobilises idle assets into productive circulation.
This broader perspective helps explain why land administration should not be viewed merely as a bureaucratic exercise. It is, in reality, a powerful economic development strategy.
Efficient land governance strengthens property rights, deepens capital formation, encourages domestic and foreign investment, and promotes orderly urban expansion. In doing so, it transforms land from a static possession into a dynamic engine of economic growth.
The ongoing experience in Abuja demonstrates a fundamental truth of development economics: wealth is not created solely through the discovery of new resources.
More often, it is generated by unlocking the value of assets that already exist but remain economically dormant. Land has always possessed immense value.
The challenge has never been its existence, but rather the institutional capacity to convert that value into productive economic activity.
In this regard, the acceleration of land documentation and title regularisation within the Federal Capital Territory represents far more than administrative reform.
It reflects a deliberate effort to harness one of the most powerful yet underutilised instruments of wealth creation available to government.
By transforming dormant land into active capital, Wike is demonstrating how effective land governance can stimulate investment, expand access to finance, create employment and drive broad-based economic growth.
The lesson for the rest of the Federation is both clear and compelling. Across the thirty six states of Nigeria lie up to 83 million hectares of untitled land whose economic potential remains trapped outside the formal financial system.
These lands constitute vast reservoirs of dormant wealth, waiting to be activated. States that embrace comprehensive land titling, streamline property registration processes and provide secure ownership documentation will not merely improve administrative efficiency, they will unlock billions of naira in latent economic value.
Lagos has long demonstrated the transformative power of an efficient land administration system, while Abuja under Nyesom Wike is increasingly showing how strategic reforms can mobilise hidden capital and stimulate economic activity on a significant scale. Other states would do well to emulate these examples.
At a time when state governments are searching for pathways to economic growth, job creation and increased internally generated revenue, one of the most effective solutions may already lie beneath their feet.
The wealth is there. The land is there. What is required is the vision, political will and administrative competence to unlock its value for the benefit of present and future generations.
Akin is a social and political analyst and he writes from London.