By Adamu Abubakar Kumo
In fulfilment of the promise he made upon assumption of Office to revitalize land administration in Gombe State, in June 2020, His Excellency, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya appointed Dr Kabiru Usman Hassan, as a Pioneer Director General of Gombe Geographic Information Systems (GOGIS), an agency saddled with the mandate for the administration and management of land matters in the state.
The appointment of Dr Kabiru Usman, a contemporary town planner and consultant with more than a decade of experience in the profession was not made haphazardly, it was arrived at after due consultations and much consideration to ensure a solid foundation has been laid for successful takeoff and smooth running of the agency.
Within two years of his stewardship as DG of GOGIS, the agency recorded remarkable successes which are unprecedented and cut across many realms of the agency’s mandate.
Dr Kabiru Usman Hassan successfully modernised the process of issuing land titles and other related documents using state-of-the-art facilities which simplified the process and made it more efficient and effective. The traditional C of O has now been transformed into a digital certificate of occupancy with all the security and relevant information needed in consonance with international standards.
GOGIS under Dr Kabiru has also converted the erstwhile analogue land information systems into a digital form where it established a unified geographic database for easy access to information about any piece of land or landed property with a click of a finger. This has drastically reduced duplication, multiple allocations and other forms of malpractices and corruption in land administration.
As an experienced town planner and estate manager, Dr Kabiru was able to block revenue leakages, and fight with great vigour against people’s laxity and apathy towards payment of ground rent and other land-related taxes through his famous “Operation Show Your Land Title Documents” which yielded positive results in many fronts where industries, banks, fuel stations and other commercial institutions were compelled to pay their dues. This singular task helped Gombe State Government in broadening its revenue base to cope with the current economic challenges.
As the Gombe metropolis continues to expand vertically and horizontally which proliferated the need for land for development purposes, government layouts have been greatly distorted which threatens the execution of projects like the establishment of Gombe Capital Special Development Zone of Governor Inuwa Yahaya. GOGIS has been at the forefront in layout auditing, mapping, census of the existing structures etc. to clear the distortions and take the layouts back to their original format as contained in the master plan.
Settling disputes is another aspect where the DG deserves commendation. GOGIS corporate office receives numerous complaints daily regarding distortions of layouts, indiscriminate erection of structures and other complaints related to lands. With prompt intervention from GOGIS, many community clashes and individual disputes have been averted and most at times, these settlements are presided over by DG himself.
Other notable achievements recorded by GOGIS under its pioneer DG include the creation of awareness among members of the public on land-related policies and programs of Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya-led Administration, curbing the menace of corruption in land administration by modernising ways of land acquisition and ownership transfer, Training and capacity building for staff of the agency, Free consultancy services to owners of landed properties and contractors, etc.
These and many more other successes not mentioned here have written Dr Kabiru’s name in gold; GOGIS Under him has become a household name; he elevated the Agency to the position where it rubs shoulders with other sister Agencies like AGIS and KADGIS that are far older than it is. Gombe State has now become a model of land administration in the country.
Thank you Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya (Dan Majen Gombe) for finding this rare gem worthy to head an important Agency like GOGIS and thank you Dr Kabiru for not betraying the confidence reposed in you. Keep making us proud.
Happy two years Aniversary!
Adamu Abubakar Kumo writes from Gombe
