Did You Know You Don't Actually Own Your Land In Nigeria? (see Why)

He holds it in trust. What you and I actually get when we "buy" land is called a Right of Occupancy — basically permission to occupy and use the land, usually for 99 years.

Not outright ownership like most of us assume. This is why documents like Certificate of Occupancy and Governor's Consent matter so much.

A lot of buyers focus only on getting a C of O and stop there, not knowing that even a real C of O still needs proper consent for it to be fully valid when transferred from one person to another. I won't lie, when I first learned this, it changed how I look at every land transaction — because "I paid for it" and "I legally hold it" are not always the same thing in this country.

Has anyone here had an issue with their C of O or Governor's Consent before? I'd like to hear real experiences, this one dey worry me small.