ABSTRACT

Suleja has been witnessing rapid developmental changes in terms of physical landscape, city growth, and urban sprawl since the movement of the Federal Capital Territory in 1991. This study examines the dynamics of urban growth and land consumption rate, and forecasts the future land risk in Suleja. The data source for the research was the documented materials as historical records and a topographic map of Suleja which was collected from the Ministry of Lands and Survey, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria. Satellite imagery of the study (Enhance Thematic Mapper (ETM) 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2018) over a period of 18 years was analyzed to determine land consumption trends. Thus, it was observed that Suleja population is growing steadily, the available land for both vegetation and built-up areas are being consumed gradually, and vegetation land use has grown at 16% in 2018, while built-up grew at 13.6%. This research proposed that to maintain sustainable land management, valuable plots in the major and strategic locations have to be redesigned for “fit-for-purpose,” the existing master plan must be immediately updated, and adoption of computerized land records (GIS) for proper land registration and titling in the Suleja be provided.