Beyond the loss of lives and properties: Uncovering the impacts of land conflict in Oyo State, Nigeria

Land constitutes man’s identity and a means of livelihood for humanity, especially in rural areas where the customary land tenure system is still practised. Also, land seems to contribute to economic growth and development and reduce poverty in the country. Despite its significance, land is increasingly becoming a source of conflict in Nigeria and Africa. Its usage and demands for various uses by stakeholders lead to competition. These competitions often result in conflicts, and the impacts of the conflicts are beyond the loss of lives and properties. Hence, the study investigates land conflict's impacts on residents and the economy in Oyo state, Nigeria.
The study adopted a mixed method of data collection. Key informant interviews, focus group discussions and questionnaire were used to obtain primary information from the land conflict stakeholders in four selected zones in Oyo state. This is complemented by reports from the Oyo State Technical Committee on Administrative Boundary Conflicts, National Boundary Commission, and Nigeria Watch (IFRA-Nigeria), which served as secondary data. Thematic, narrative, mean ranking and principal component analysis were employed for data analysis.
The findings show the number of lives lost through land conflict in Oyo State over the years. Beyond the loss of lives and properties, the impacts of land conflicts, such as sour relationships among conflicting parties and age-long hostilities/hatred/grievances among individuals/communities, are more grievous, leading to new conflict and reoccurrence of land conflicts. The impacts need to be paid additional attention to while making decisions on the land conflict management strategies for effective land conflict management. The impacts of land conflict are evidenced in individual households, families, communities, and the country's economy. The impacts of land conflicts were grouped into social, economic, cultural, market, land governance impacts. The study provided insights and information to consider when designing a framework for land conflict management in Nigeria. By way of recommendation,
the inputs from the study could be helpful to both government and other land conflict management in making decisions on land conflict management. Also, the insight from the study could be used in designing a framework for land conflict management in Oyo State. Thereby reducing land conflicts, managing land conflicts successfully, and enhancing a good land administration system in Oyo State, Nigeria.