Kano GIS and recertification of land titles

Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State commenced his second term in office in 2011 by reiterating his commitment to reform land transactions in the state by forming the Kano Geographic Information System (KANGIS).Three months later the governor established a committee under the state’s Ministry of Land and Physical Planning consisting of its Commissioner, that […]

Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State commenced his second term in office in 2011 by reiterating his commitment to reform land transactions in the state by forming the Kano Geographic Information System (KANGIS).
Three months later the governor established a committee under the state’s Ministry of Land and Physical Planning consisting of its Commissioner, that of Projects, Science and Technology, Commerce and that of Budget and Planning, to form the steering committee.
At the end the Ministry of Land was left to handle the technical aspect of KANGIS and this they did by advertising for consultants. They settled for a consortium, Millennium-Agama made up of three companies, in partnership with Jaiz Bank in a 3-year PPP arrangement.
Millenium–Agama comprised of Millennium Integrated Ltd., Agama Environment and Engineering Services Ltd. and Structural Skyline Ltd.
In addition to modernizing and computerizing land administration in Kano State, the idea of establishing KANGIS is to create ‘bankable’ land title documents for urban and rural land in the state.
KANGIS will thus go a long way in unlocking the vast economic potentials that have hitherto been tied up as a result of inability of genuine land owners to obtain valid C of O for their land titles.
Furthermore the KANGIS project will enable the Kano State Ministry of Land and Physical Planning to eliminate sharp practices and other fraudulent activities with respect to land administration in the state.
After a year there was little progress which prompted the Governor to direct some Commissioners to approach Alhaji Magaji Galadima, a Kano Emirate traditional title holder Galadiman Tsidau, a pioneer staff of Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS), who was then on secondment to SURE-P under the Presidency to emerge as the pioneer Director General of KANGIS.
As at 14th February 2013 when he took over the affairs of KANGIS from Millennium-Agama, the DG, Magaji Galadima said he noticed that most of the equipments used by the company was either outdated and not useful hence he requested for a revocation of the contract with the company which the governor approved.
By late December 2013 the state government had said, through its Commissioner for Physical Planning and Budget, Alhaji Yusuf Dambatta, that it will spend N700 million to boost the re-certification of title to landed properties in the state setting January 2, 2014 as the take-off date.
Magaji Galadima however said he assembled a technical team comprising Kano indigenes and sourced for the latest in GIS equipment after obtaining approval and required funds and, according to him “in no time we had established a portal for KANGIS”.
“GIS equipments cost a lot of money for example a single CD plate can cost $20,000 and if we require say 20 pieces how we convince government, coupled with the time consuming procurement process were all major challenges,” the DG said.
The state government’s centralization of the procurement process, he added, was another hindrance to the project at the initial stage.
The DG said they started from a four-room office at the newly created One Stop Shop of the Ministry of Land and Physical Planning while construction work was on-going at the present new head office complex on No. 2 Bala Mohammed Way GRA Kano which was initially a junk yard attached to the ministry just a block away.
He said the governor instructed them to move into the complex in June 2013 despite on-going work and this facilitated the digitalization of the entire system thus the first Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Sheets to cadastral maps were produced for KANGIS directly.
Galadima said after that a satellite imagery of the whole of Kano State was obtained and this was synchronized with the cadastral maps and materials on ground thus completing the process for KANGIS. Also, he added that all data including files on land and houses in the state were obtained from the ministry.
He said though the Ministry of Lands and Kano State Urban Planning and Development Board (KNUPDA) assisted with the provision of the UTM sheets, they had in the beginning expressed skepticism about KANGIS and saw it as if it was taking away their jobs from them.
He added that 10 fresh NYSC members who studied Geography with GIS or System Analysis as areas of specialization were brought into KANGIS and trained with a view to giving them full employment as pioneer staff at the end of their service year.
After customizing the required softwares, a KANGIS network was created with 10 work stations and a server. In addition a 500KVA generator with another back-up generator was procured to ensure stable supply of electricity to KANGIS.
The DG said after all has been done around September and October 2013 KANGIS commenced sensitization of Kano people ahead of the January 2, 2014 agreed date set to commence the actual re-certification of titles in the state.
He said though applications forms were produced en mass and distributed to various ministries, departments and agencies in the state, the number of properties who have not been documented by the ministry then far outnumber those documented.
The DG said that “ the riots in July 1981, followed by the killing of Rimi’s political advisor Dr. Bala Mohammed saw many files destroyed but satellite imagery of such undocumented plots and the so-called ‘awon igiya’ plots could be seen by KANGIS staff but they lack the necessary geometry and survey data.
He said such plots will now be treated on their merit captured in the second phase of the re-certification which started recently though the agency doesn’t have the capacity to handle the glut of applicants in this category.
He said the first re-certified C of O came out of a lot of hard work which paid off because it  has all the attributes of quality, richness, and is contained in a single sheet against the previous 6-page C of O.
In mid April, 2014 Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso made the public presentation of the new Kano State Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), and during the event explained that the government had no option but to initiate land reforms, despite their inconveniences, in the public interest.
He said the state government established the Kano Geographical Information System (KANGIS), to make CofOs easily obtainable, pointing out that one of its benefits is the provision of precise and accurate geographical data.
“As a departure from the past, people can now get their land documents with ease and guaranteed security”, the governor said adding that the technology of KANGIS will be used to sanitise and secure the state capital as well as rid it of ghettos.
“Even petty traders and artisans can be able to obtain loans from financial institutions by using their certificates as collateral to increase their capital and improve their living conditions,” the Governor said.
Kwankwaso advised people in the state to take advantage of the services offered by KANGIS even as he urged property owners to pay their outstanding ground rents and other statutory charges to enable government provide more amenities and services.
He added that, “In this era of resource control, we have to look inward, identify our resources and device modern ways to control our resources. Land undoubtedly is our number one resource and if exploited rightly, it can sustain us in case of any eventuality.”
The new re-certified C of O, was produced by the Nigerian Security and Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC)and contains the photograph of owner, satellite imagery of the plot, a bar code, survey data and hidden security features that cannot be seen by the naked eye.
The Director General, KANGIS said the new C of O is now produced in batches of hundreds and digitally filed after old and new files are merged. A 6-month deadline was earlier given for people to come forward and re-certify but apathy among people and attitude of land speculators didn’t help matters.
This, he said, necessitated the extension of the re-certification to the end of September 2014 as less than 10% of the over 300,000 houses and plots in Kano municipality alone have been covered.
“It will be foolhardy not to re-certify, in FCT AGIS now charges over N500,000 for re-certification therefore Kano landowners should take advantage of this opportunity while it lasts,” Galadima said.
An application fee of N10,000 is the requirement for kick-starting the process of re-certification, then all outstanding payments like ground rent arrears etc. must be fully paid before the new certificate is issued.
Other requirements include an identification document like driver’s license or international passport as well as the old C of O or letter of grant of the property.
A KANGIS number and an acknowledgement are issued to the owner before the verification of documents by the agency before the issuance of a fresh certificate.
A new C of O contains the signature of the Director Deeds Registry, Surveyor General, and the Commissioner of Lands who signs on behalf of the governor who delegated him.
In the event of a change of ownership of a certain property, the details of the new owner could be obtained by KANGIS who will re-issue a fresh C of O.
The DG said those who have not re-certified stand the risk of holding on to illegal documents some few years down the line.
Magaji Galadima said land and houses in other local governments in the state will be regularized instead of re-certification but those who have converted their ownership status are being re-certified.
By way of preventing corruption as experienced in AGIS in the FCT, KANGIS has a bank, Jaiz, on the ground floor of its new building that handles all payments with respect to land transaction.
DG KANGIS said the openness of the system makes chances of hacking into the system by staff slim. KANGIS, he added, could equally produce digital maps in commercial quantities.
He said the agency could also partner with the Nigerian Police as well as INEC and other agencies to produce maps and similar accessories that would aid them in carrying out their functions.
Recently, he said, KANGIS assisted the state’s committee on house numbering and street naming of new Amana and Bandirawo estates in Kano metropolis.
Also, Magaji Galadima said the land surveyor’s work has been greatly minimized by the establishment of KANGIS because now beacons could be placed by individuals themselves using modern GPRS.
Other areas where KANGIS could also assist include mapping out intra-city transportation, refuse collection, establishment of underground sewer and car tracking plus fire service aid.