Industrialisation, Access to Land Transition and Conflict in Obajana, Nigeria

Abstract

In the erstwhile rural community of Obajana, Kogi State, Nigeria, the emergence of industries and urban expansion exerted impacts on the dominant communal land-use system. These changes or transition manifested as diminished access to land for locals, farmland loss, reduced farm holding and loss of livelihoods, leading to the evolution of multidimensional conflicts of various intensity levels. Given this context, this study examined the nature of land use prior to industrial establishment, assessing the link between industrial expansion and access to farmland, the various levels of manifestations of conflict propelled by the loss of access to land, and the mechanisms for the resolution of land conflicts. The study was non-experimental and adopted a qualitative approach involving a combination of focus group discussions (FGD), key informant interviews (KII) and life story interviews (LSI) across sections of the society. The respondents were drawn from community leaders, the general population, the youth, and ethnic associations. The findings indicated that industrial expansion affected access to farmland, pulled inmigration and stimulated conflicts at three levels: intra-community, intercommunity and inter-group. The mode of conflict resolution encompassed traditional/informal and formal mechanisms, depending on the level of conflict. Given the erosion of access to communally managed land, it is argued that a land policy/law needs to evolve for managing and distributing land in the emerging land economy and land market in the new urban system.