SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF COMMUNAL LAND DISPUTES
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SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF COMMUNAL LAND DISPUTES
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the security consequences of community land conflicts in Tiv-land, utilising four (4) LGAs as case studies: Vandeikya, Ukum, Guma, and Tarka. It reviews relevant literature and administers a questionnaire to a sample of one hundred and forty (140) respondents from all selected LGAs.
The discovery demonstrated that communal land disputes have major security repercussions for the lives and properties of Tiv-land residents, leading to the socio-political and economic breakdown of communities.
As a result, it was recommended that parties involved in disagreements be encouraged to communicate or negotiate on how to resolve their differences,
because the negotiation technique allows each person to express their opinion while also listening to those of others. It also suggests that Nigerian policymakers examine the efficiency of the country’s land laws and their implementation at the regional and municipal levels. Select community leaders must be involved in the process to avoid difficulties.
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background Of The Study
Land is a vital natural resource that feeds all living things, including plants, animals, and humans. Almost all actions that occur on Earth, because it is a fixed socioeconomic asset that hosts and aids in the production of products and services (Magel, 2001).
Savannah land is characterised by grasses, but tropical land is characterised by hardwood forest, among other things, because the nature of land and the types of its components govern what must exist on it.
To some extent, terrain influences climate and dictates the lifestyles of people who live on it all over the world. It also hosts towns and residences where the genesis of man may be traced, resulting in the location of all communities on land defined by their territory.
Similarly, a kingdom’s sovereignty is a function of the area of land it occupies, indicating that territorial defence is used to secure or retain a specific piece of land.
Land disputes are frequently associated with strong economic, spatial, cultural, and emotional values, as there are indications that man’s complex socioeconomic, cultural, and physical attachments to land have placed land in a sensitive and unique position.
The aforementioned arguments reveal that land is central to the continuity of life, indispensable in physical development, and complex in social relations of production in the economic world. In other words, there is a socio-cultural dimension to every region.
Conflicting interests among people to safeguard territory, conserve socioeconomic resources, carry out physical development activities, and practise customs and traditions on land have given rise to uncountable crises throughout history (Abegunde, 2010). In another dimension,
these have resulted in conflicts that have affected millions of people and resulted in missed opportunities in terms of social disorder, economic depression, and destruction of housing and basic infrastructure in community physical development (Gizewski and Homer-Dixon, 1995; Justino, 2004). All sorts of land disputes/conflicts impose considerable private and social costs on the human environment.
Conflicts, disagreements, quarrels, battles, clashes, and wars between individuals, organisations, or countries are referred to as disputes in this study (Angaye, 2003). They may have a short or long tenure,
but they have an impact on occupants and their surroundings, either directly or indirectly. Such confrontations can occasionally be beneficial to an organisation or the parties involved.
However, experiences in African countries have demonstrated that the negative consequences of conflicts far outweigh their benefits (Colletta, Kostner, and Wiederhofer, 1996; Bisnwanger, Klaus, and Gershon, 1996; Shah, 2003; Salim, 2004).
Direct land losses include, among other things, the loss of farmland, the waste of land-based mineral resources, the degradation of urban land during and after conflict, the inability to conserve landed properties with cultural or historical value, and the inaccessibility of urban land for meaningful socioeconomic or physical development programmes (Schock, 1996; Addison, 2001; Abegunde, 2010).
The fact that conflicts over land often result in additional losses on land and its related resources is significant here. In other words, land can become an impediment to development in the built environment. This might be revolting in areas where locals place a high value on land and there are no government regulations.
According to the literature, this is prevalent in African societies (Oyerinde, 2005; Ayo, 2002; Asiyanbola, 2008). To them, land is a road to heaven for dead relatives, a residence of ancestral spirits, and a devouring god for defaulters and abusers (Ayo, 2002).
That could be why Tuladhar (2004) imagined that land belonged to a big family, many of whom are dead, few are alive, and countless are yet to be born.
Dispute is a natural component of human civilization that can occur from distinct individuals or groups pursuing differing interests, aims, and aspirations in defined social and physical surroundings. Competition for finite resources is unavoidable in any civilization, and the Tiv society, despite its homogeneous culture, is no exception.
Dispute has become unavoidable as a result of relatively scarce but attractive resources and people’s desperation to get access to and control over these resources. Those who have been active in dispute resolution in one way or another have been concerned with efforts to understand the core causes of conflict.
The causes of disagreement are so many and complex that some experts think that the uniqueness of each conflict makes it impossible to create clear-cut hypotheses. According to Anifowose, a US Government publication states:
“There is no single cause… that is more or less powerful.” In reality, there are generally several causes and significant contributing factors that are anchored in historical ties and led to violence by a variety of catalysts…. Each struggle has been distinct.”
For decades, the Tiv country has been embroiled in one form or another of conflict, which frequently results in the loss of lives, property, and displacements. These issues have significantly contributed to Tivland’s underdevelopment.
The existence of conflict in Tivland presupposes the existence of interpersonal connections or the organisation of economic, political, or social systems in which the players see a disparity between their valued expectations and their society’s valued capabilities. The majority of the disagreements are related to politics or land issues, all of which have roots in the Tiv nation’s political system.
The Tiv people are culturally homogeneous and have a shared ancestry, with a stateless and divided governmental system. Their governmental setup is structured in such a way that each part is self-governing, relatively independent, and autonomous. However, there are points of contact and links between individuals and groups that span the entire society.
The various nature of the political system explains the people’s connections and disagreements. Tivland’s and Nigeria’s social environments appear to be particularly conducive to the persistence of disagreements. When he laments Nigeria’s social system as a whole, Onigu Otite agrees with this notion. In his own words:
Nigerian society is a social structure characterised by contentious demands for few resources, particularly in the political and economic spheres. It is a civilization marked by natural and man-made divisions.
Natural ethnic group membership or professional specialisations that are challenged by the expanding interests of other multiple users…create the conditions for conflict to occur. The scale and dimensions of disputes vary depending on the issues at stake and the civilizations involved.
The preceding mostly confirms the inevitability of societal conflicts in Tivland. However, the future of the Tiv country, like that of any other nationality, is heavily dependent on how successfully the Tiv people can arrange their political, economic, and social systems, as well as how well the people can have a sense of belonging and fulfilment through effective dispute resolution.
Over the years, successive administrations have established tribunals and commissions of inquiry to investigate and resolve conflicts. Aside from the government, various non-governmental organisations have been involved in the resolution of Tiv land issues. In addition, International Organisations have been active in the resolution of issues in Tivland and elsewhere.
Despite these efforts, the increasing number of disputes in Tivland raises concerns about the effectiveness of the management mechanisms in place (Idyorough, 2002). This study emphasised communities’ reactions to current land management strategies in relation to previous land disputes in the region.
This is done in order to gather information on recurring communal disputes in the area, which will be used to guide policymakers in improving effective land use and administration, harmonious physical development on land, and promoting peace among residents, as well as looking at the security implications of this communal land dispute that is common in Tivland.
1.2 Statemengt of the Problems
Land disputes take numerous shapes. There are single-party disputes (such as border disputes between neighbours), inheritance issues between siblings, and disagreements over the use of a specific piece of land. These disagreements are quite simple to resolve. Those involving several parties, such as gang invasions or evictions of entire towns, are more difficult to deal with.
National security, on the other hand, is the obligation to ensure the continuation of the nation-state by the employment of economic, military, and political power, as well as diplomacy. It is the defence of a country against fear, danger, or injury.
Every state’s security is jeopardised by any change that threatens its peace and stability, whether through external invasion or internal insurrection. Land disputes have posed serious internal challenges to national security, threatening the safety of people, property, and the nation.
Historically, land in Nigeria had little economic value and was stable until the commencement of British authority in the nineteenth century. The blending of the British and indigenous institutions caused difficulty in the transfer of land rights. Land possession has thus become the source of rural and urban resistance and insurgency, resulting in family, community, state, and national conflicts.
Land conflicts are a key source of contention. Land disputes, disagreements, quarrels and conflicts, fights and wars between individuals, groups, and countries are all examples of conflict (Della, 2004). Land disputes are to be expected due to the existence of many groups and individuals with varying interests.
Land disputes are sometimes complex and politically sensitive, and they have the potential to paralyse national security. Land disputes must be controlled as a result of its potential effect. Land disputes must be managed with a knowledge of their security consequences.
This awareness is required in order to avoid these arguments and handle the negative effects that may emerge, threatening the delicate stability and security of the family, community, state, and nation (Sara, 2010).
As a result, the purpose of this research is to look into the security implications of community land disputes and possible solutions to them using Tivland as a base.
1.3 Objectives of The Study
The primary goal of this research is to look into the security implications of communal land conflicts in Tivland. The study is specifically designed to discover;
Possibilities for resolving community land issues in Tivland
The primary causes of Tivland communal land conflicts
To establish community inalienable land rights
tracing the many local patterns and practises for acquiring and securing land rights
To determine how communal land disputes endanger the safety of people and property in Tivland.
To make recommendations for the management and resolution of disputes in Tivland.
1.4 Proposal of the hypothesis
The following hypotheses have been developed for a good and legitimate study, and their validity will be examined in chapter four using relevant statistical data.
Issuance I
In Tiv-land, there is no significant association between population and community land conflicts.
Hello: In Tiv-land, there is a strong correlation between population and communal land disputes.
Hypothesis No. 2
Ho: Communal land issues have not hampered Tiv-land development.
Hello, Tiv-land has been underdeveloped due to communal land disputes.
Third Hypothesis
Ho: Communal land disputes have no security consequences for Tiv-land residents.
Hello: Communal land disputes have security consequences for Tiv-land residents.
IVth Hypothesis
Ho: In Tiv-land, there is no significant association between community boundaries and security of lives and properties.
Hello: In Tiv-land, there is a strong link between communal boundaries and the safety of people and property.
1.5 scope and limitations of The study
This effort is specifically designed to address community land issues in Tivland. The different community upheavals witnessed among the residents, as well as the internal communal land disputes that have previously happened in Tivland, will limit the efforts of this research work due to time, finance, transportation, insufficient information, and materials.
1.6 Significance of Research
The issue of communal conflict has been a fundamental impediment to the establishment of a stable Tivland in which all populations are permitted to coexist peacefully. The problem statement emphasises the urgent necessity to permanently address the issue of communal land conflicts in order to avoid similar disasters that could jeopardise the security of lives and property.
The significance of this paper is that it reveals the security implications of communal land disputes, which are widespread in Tivland. As a result, ownership claims to land rights have pitted brothers against siblings, communities against communities, states against states, and nations against nations.
This effort will also contribute to the many literature, such as journals and textbooks, that have been exposing the dangers of community land disputes and how to deal with them in the end.
It will assist policymakers in the country and around the world in understanding the core causes of community land disputes in order to identify solutions for mitigating the harmful effects of conflicts in the future.
Making long-term measures that will eradicate communalland disputes chauvinism and the resulting security consequences in Tivland.
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