CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Traditionally the cadastre was created for fiscal purposes. This was already the case in
Antiquity such as Assyria, Egypt, and Rome. In the course of time the cadastre started to be used
also for other purposes. It came to be the basis for establishing land registers and at the same
time was used for the protection of property (Cichocinski, 1999). A system of records or
inventory of ownership and interest in land parcels is called a cadastre or cadastral system. A
land parcel refers to an area of land which may be identified as a unit for information recording
such as residential plot of land. A cadastre is supposed to provide statistics of all issues relating
to ownership, use and status of landed property in a given geographical area. According to Dale
(1976), a cadastre is a general systemic and up-to-date register of information about land parcels
including details of their area, value and ownership. All these definitions point to the fact that
land ownership information is an important mandate of a cadastre.
Computerization of land administration activities, involving the creation of a digital
cadastre as part of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), is considered necessary to improve data
access, useability, and coordination of land related activities (Carter et. al., 2007). Spatial Data
Infrastructure is the technology, policies, standards, human resources, and related activities
necessary to acquire, process, distribute, use, maintain, and preserve spatial data (OMB, 2002).
Thus, digital cadastre is a tool for achieving land administration. Land administration is the
process whereby land and information about its ownership is effectively managed and in the
control of a central authority that regulates the structure and patterns of land ownerships, land
use and environmental and economic perspectives (Usman, 2010). An ideal land administration
must be able to include the provision of information on land in an effective and efficient way to
correctly identify those people who have interest in real estate and providing information about
these interests (such as duration of lease). It must also allow easy access to land for development
where it is needed, increase efficiency in land use management through good planning and
promote greater social equity. It should also allow for revenue generation to the government
(taxation), maintenance of environmental quality and provide security of tenure.
The International Federation of Surveyors (FIG, 1995) defines a cadastre as a parcel-
based and up-to-date land information system containing a record of interests in land (e.g. rights,
restrictions and responsibilities). It usually includes a geometric description of land parcels
linked to other records describing the nature of the interests, ownership or control of those
interests, and often the value of the parcel and its improvements. It may be established for fiscal
purposes (valuation and taxation), legal purposes (conveyancing), to assist in the management of
land and land-use planning (planning and administration), and enables sustainable development
and environmental improvement (Enemark et al., 1999).
The shortcomings of traditional, analogue cadastre, consisting of paper maps and land
register, have forced the improvement and upgrading of the cadastre, which can be observed in
many countries. These processes aimed at developing a fundamental data infrastructure for
future land administration and land management functions. They tend to proceed in two
directions: (1) the expansion of the classical cadastre model to cover new issues; (2) the
construction of land information systems (LIS) and, more generally, geographic information
systems (GIS), to a certain extent based upon the cadastre, which has already been running
(Cichocinski, 1999). The latter solution was adopted for this study involving the process of
conversion of the existing cadastre from the analogue to digital form and creation of the basis of
Land Information System (LIS) for the study area.
Due to increasing population growth in Akure metropolis and environs, arising from
urbanization and industrialization, there is currently high level of pressure on land resources in
the city, which urgently calls for the effective management of the resources. The Ondo State
Ministry of Lands and Housing charged with the allocation and management of lands in the state
is yet to fully incorporate digital method of data management. This makes data storage, update,
retrieval and processing extremely difficult task for the ministry. These issues impede decision
making in land related matters in the state.
The study area is one of the site and service schemes under the of the Governor Mimiko’s
urban renewal programme aimed at making available serviced plot, dwelling houses, commercial
and industrial buildings in the state. In order to pursue the objectives of the programme, the Land
Records Bureau which would facilitate easy processing of certificate of occupancy was
commissioned in 2012 in Akure the state capital (Ondo State Ministry of Information, 2012).
The cadastral block layout plan of the area was prepared by the Ministry of Land and Survey
through the Office of the Survey-General in 2012. After field observation and all other cadastral
survey activities has been completed the same year, it was handed over to the Land Records
Bureau, Oyemekun Road, Akure for parcel allocation to interested indigenes of the state and to
facilitate easy processing of certificate of occupancy (Office of the Surveyor-General, Ondo
State).
This project focuses on the creation of a digital cadastre of the government-owned State
Residential Layout, Oda Road, Akure to demonstrate how its adoption would facilitate land
administration and management in Akure South Local Government Area; State Residential
Layout, Oda Road, Akure, as a case study. The digital cadastre is expected to be a computer-
based land administration system which will force standardization in the collation and processing
of land data; decrease the cost and space required for storing records; prevent unnecessary
duplication, facilitate access to land related data and provide built in mechanism for quality
control.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The data resulting from the classical model of land cadastre are now becoming
insufficient. In the course of economic development the demand for more varied information
items becomes increasingly pressing. Data stored in traditional cadastral systems fail to meet
requirements connected with supervision, management, decision-making, forecasting and
development planning. The most significant problems posed by analogue cadastre include low
precision of geometric data; quality and speed of data access; divergence between the map and
the register; and lack of supervisory tools.
The traditional method of data management has proved to be inefficient and
cumbersome. It is faced with problems such as redundancy (the unnecessary repetition or
duplication of data), high maintenance costs, difficulties in moving from one system to another,
difficulties in data sharing, lack of security and standard, lack of coherent corporate views of
data management among others.
The layout plan and records of State Residential Layout, Oda Road, Akure are in
analogue format. Updating the records of the estate in this analogue format is relatively
expensive and time consuming. There is little or no flexibility in handling the information of the
estate in this analogue format. Therefore the best way to minimize these enormous problems is
the comprehensive application of Geographic Information System (GIS) in plan production and
record keeping in other to facilitate its future updating with modern technique. Hence, the
creation of digital cadastre for State Residential Layout, Oda Road, Akure.
1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
1.3.1 AIM
The aim of the project is to design and create a digital cadastre for State Residential
Layout, Oda Road, Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State.
1.3.2 OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives of the study are as follows:
i. To develop the cadastral database or information system of the State Residential Layout,
Oda Road, Akure.
ii. To ascertain the functionality of the developed system by issuing queries and observing
how the system responds.
iii. To produce thematic maps and the composite map of the study area in GIS environment.
1.4 JUSTIFICATION OF STUDY
A digital cadastre forms the basis for any official activity related to real estate. Moreover,
it may serve the purpose of validating charges and other public obligations, such as legal
processing, the real estate market, land economy, and the completion of any spatial development
plan. A modern cadastral system can be referred to as a multitask or multipurpose cadastre. Its
fundamental importance for the future is the possibility of linkage with other subsystems, leading
to their integration within the frame of LIS/GIS structures.
The justification for creation of a Digital Cadastral Map is to promote the accessibility and
integration of spatial data in relation to land information. Rainsford (2002) claims the benefits of
having the parcel framework in digital form are enormous and include the possibility of plotting
property values or sales information on maps to assist in auditing values or analysing sales to determine rate tables; portrayal of various land uses to assist in urban planning, zoning or for
identifying nonconforming land uses; ability to graphically display state land parcels to assist in
planning, leasing and disposal activities; and land tax declarations are capable of being mapped
to discover properties and check land areas.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
The project involves designing and creation of a digital cadastre for State Residential
Layout Behind Sunshine Estate, Oda Road, Akure South Local Government of Ondo State
comprising of a total 72 plots. It is limited to GIS integration of land ownership records and
maps, land use pattern, status, processing, queries/analysis and retrieval of information from the
cadastral map generated. Apart from developing a comprehensive database based on the exiting
cadastre already running for the developing estate including the judiciously use of multimedia
effort had also been taken to use and consult text books, journals, conference papers and seminar
proceedings in the report as well as cartographic presenting of the results in maps.
1.6 STUDY AREA
1.6.1 LOCATION
The study area is within Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State. Akure is located
within Ondo State in the South Western part of Nigeria (see figures 1a-c). It lies approximately
bounded with latitude 7âÂ�Â� 13’N to 7âÂ�Â� 19’ North of the Equator and longitude 5âÂ�Â� 07’E to 5âÂ�Â� 14’
East of the Greenwich Meridian on a relatively flat plain within the Western Nigerian plain and
is about 250 m above sea level. Akure is a medium-sized urban centre and became the provincial
headquarter of Ondo province in 1939. It also became the capital city of Ondo State and Akure
South Local Government headquarters in 1976. Akure is located approximately 700 kilometers
South West of Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria and about 350 kilometers to Lagos the
former capital of Nigeria. State Residential Layout, Oda Road, Akure was chosen for the study.
The estate covers an approximate area of 11.142 hectares of land bounded with latitude 7âÂ�Â� 11’
15” to 7âÂ�Â� 15’ 44”N and longitude 5âÂ�Â� 31’ 18” to 5âÂ�Â� 33’ 51”E (figure 1d). Akure is one of the 18
Local Government areas of Ondo State bounded by Ifedore, Idanre and Akure North Local
Government Areas to the north, south and east respectively (figure 1b).
Figure 1(a) Map of Nigeria Showing Ondo State; (b) Map of Ondo State showing Akure South
LGA; (c) Map of the Akure South Local Government Area showing the Study Area.
Source: Author, 2014.
1.6.2 POPULATION
Akure’s population as at 2011 was put at 420, 594 (NPC, 2011). Akure as a people speaks Akure
local dialect which is form of “Yoruba” language of the Nigeria’s Yoruba ethnic group. Its
population has increased from 71,006 people in 1963 to 340,021 in 2006 (NPC, 2006), and has
been estimated to increase annually by more than 5%. The increase in annual growth of the
population has been tied to the administrative role of the town and its long standing role as a
centre of economic activities attracting a large spectrum of immigrants into it. Consequently, a
large percentage of the population is civil servants while others are craftsmen.
1.6.3 CLIMATE
Akure has two distinct seasons namely: dry and wet seasons. It has a relatively dry season from
November to March and a rainy season from April to October. Akure is characterized by a warm
humid tropical climate, with an average rainfall of about 1,500 mm per annum. Annual average
temperatures range between 21.4°C and 31.1°C, and its mean annual relative humidity is about
77.1%. Its climate supports variety of crops including yams, cassava, maize, bananas, rice etc.
1.6.4 VEGETATION
The vegetation in this area is of the tropical rainforest type. This is a zone that house vegetation
of green foliage of trees, shrubs and oil palm trees. Although cocoa is by far the most important
local commercial crop, teak, and palm produce are also cultivated for export. In addition to
elephant grass and all kinds of trees growing naturally in thick forests in Akure, arable crops are
cultivated and they include yams, cassava, maize, bananas, rice, okra, pumpkins among others.
1.6.5 WATER RESOURCES
Akure is endowed with few water resources. The major river traversing virtually all part of the
area is Ala River. River Ala as a major cultural heritage of the people is believed to have
traditional and socio-cultural significance. In addition to being a source of water supply all-year-
round for agricultural activities especially of the settlers, it is often visited locally for recreational
purposes. Besides this is a reasonably network of mostly seasonal streams and water bodies like
lakes and ponds. Some of the streams include Osisi stream, Odo-ikoyi stream and Ijapo stream.