Conflicts over Agricultural Land and Indigenous Indigenous Institutions for Conflict Resolution in Rural Yorubaland (Soutwestern Nigeria)

Abstract

"Land constitutes a basic productive resource to the people of Africa and is the only major source of livelihood to many of them including the people in the rural/agricultural Yoruba communities1 of Southwestern Nigeria. An intricate relationship therefore exists between the individual, the family/compound, the larger community on one hand, and land on the other hand. The proper functioning of such a relationship is basic to healthy inter-personal, intra-and inter-family, and intra-and inter-group stability, and for political stability and unhampered economic growth in many parts of developing world. However, growing conflicts over land have led to inter-group fights/violence in many parts of developing world including Yorubaland. The conflicts over land in Yoruba communities along with its escalation and continuation are similar to other kinds of conflicts that exist in much of Africa where small-, medium-, and large-scale conflicts have continued to simmer and sometimes erupt into very serious violence."