Customary Land Rights and Gender Justice in Eastern Nigeria and Ghana
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CUSTOMARY LAND RIGHTS AND GENDER JUSTICE IN EASTERN NIGERIA AND GHANA NELSON O. MADUMERE A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of East London for the degree of PhD in Law School of Business and Law September 2018 i ABSTRACT Common approaches to the challenges of tenure discrimination and inequitable land administration system in Nigerian centres on the adoption of statutory legal propositions and judicial proscriptions for the achievement of the desired goals. This entails the adoption and elevation of conventional land administration principles as the ultimate standard for evaluating all other tenurial and land administration systems in Nigeria. The continued existence of these challenges and emergence of fresh constraints clearly underscore the ineffectiveness of the policy choices and preferred administrative responses to the achievement of desired goals, and the continued reliance on these approaches alone risk marginalising further the voices of local communities, especially women. In the case of the Igbos of the Eastern Nigeria, this results in failure to address the systemic challenges of tenure insecurity, rural poverty, unsustainable development and continued existence of various outlawed discriminatory customary practices that disinherit and subjugate women. Even the recent Supreme Court’s intervention makes negligible impacts as most of these proscribed practices continue to enjoy social legitimacy and remain operational secretly. Drawing from the outcomes of the recent Ghanaian reform experiences, this thesis looks at the prospects for reformation and statutory recognition of customary tenure system in Eastern Nigeria using the principles of “Responsible Land Management”, “Fit-for- purpose (FFP)”, “Continuum of land-rights” and “Social Tenure Domain Model (STDM)” land tools. These innovative tools are either implemented together or in parallel.1 The paper hopes to make its major contribution to knowledge by developing a novel decentralised and hybrid land administration model reflective of social dynamics, cleavages and peculiarities of the Nigerian state. This will provide for the adoption of more realistic, zone-specific, flexible, affordable and scalable land administration system capable of providing secure and equitable land rights for all Nigerians. 1 Jaap Zevenbergen et al, ‘Designing a Land Records system for the poor: Secure land and property rights for all’. UN-HABITAT Report 2 (2012), P. 3- 4. https://unhabitat.org/books/designing-a-land-records-system-for-the-poor-secure-land- and-property-rights-for-al/>. Accessed 02/09/18 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page ……………………………………………….………………………..… i Abstract ………………...……………………………………………………….…. ii Table of Content ...……….…………………………………………………..….… iii List of Tables and Figures …………….….……………………...………...…....…. vi Abbreviations …………………………………………………………….……...… vii Acknowledgements ……………………………………….……………………........ix Dedication ……………………………………………………….…….……….…….x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………... 1 1.1: Summary …………………………………………………………………….…. 1 1.2: Nigerian State and the Challenges of Diversity ………………………………... 5 1.3: Literature Review …………………………………………...………………….. 8 1.4: Main Argument ……………………………………………………………...… 18 1.5: Research Objective ………………………..………………………………….... 21 1.6: Research Questions.……………………………………………………………..22 1.7: Methodologies …………………………………………………………………. 23 1.8: Scope and Limits of the Research ………….…………………………………...26 CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LAND TENURE ………….... 28 2.1: Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 28 2.2: Land and tenure system defined ………………………………………………..28 2.3: Evaluating Changes to the Processes of Land Acquisition, Ownership and Management ……………..………………………………………………………….31 2.4: Evaluating Changes to the Meaning and Value of Land …………..…….……..41 2.5: The Emergence of Dual Legal and Administrative System …………….……...44 2.6: Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………..46 CHAPTER 3: LEGAL PLURALISM IN NIGERIAN LAND LAW……….………48 3.1: Introduction ……………………………………………………………….……48 3.2: Land Law and Legal Pluralism in Nigeria …………………………..…………48 3.3: Customary Land Law …………………………………………………………..51 3.4: Islamic Land Law ………………………………………………...…………….58 3.5: Received English Laws …………………………………………………………59 3.6: Indigenous Status ……………………………………………………………….63 3.7: Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………68 CHAPTER 4: DISCRIMINATORY TENURIAL RIGHTS, INTESTACY AND…..69 JUDICIAL ACTIVISM IN NIGERIA ………………………………………………69 iii 4.1: Introduction …………………….……………………………………………….69 4.2: Evaluation of the Main Issues and Notions of Intestacy in Nigeria ..……….…. 69 4.3: The Yoruba System of Inheritance ………………………………………….…. 73 4.4: The Hausa/Fulani System of Inheritance ………………………………………. 76 4.5: The Ibo or Igbo System of Inheritance …………………………………………..81 4.6: Possible Reasons for the Nigerian Supreme Court’s Policy Shift ……………….92 4.7: Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….95 CHAPTER 5: REFORM TRENDS AND POLICY DEBATES IN AFRICA PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS……………………………………………….…... 97 5.1: Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 97 5.2. Factors that Necessitate Land Reforms in Africa …………………………..……98 5.3: Land reform in Africa: An Overview of Selected Reform Choices ……….……100 5.3.1: Land registration and titling ………………………………………..…….. 103 5.3.2: Land decentralization ……………………………….……………………. 110 5.3.3: Land nationalization ……………………………………………………… 116 5.4: Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………117 CHAPTER 6: LAND REFORM IN NIGERIA ………………………………… … 119 6.1: Introduction ……………….………………………………………………...…. 119 6.2: The Pre-colonial, Colonial and Post-colonial Tenure System and Reforms in Nigeria ……………………………………………………………………………..... 120 6.3: The Nigerian land Use Act of 1978: A Brief Appraisal ………………………...127 6.4: The Prevailing Nigerian Land Reform Programme: Progress and Prospects …...140 6.5: Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………144 CHAPTER 7: LAND REFORM IN GHANA….…………………………..………...146 7.1: Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 146 7.2: Ghanaian State and the Tenure System ………………………………………….146 7.3: The Pre-colonial, Colonial and Post-colonial Tenure system and Reforms in Ghana ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 150 7.4: Land Administration Project (LAP) ……………………………………………. 166 7.5: Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….167 CHAPTER 8: COMPARISON OF THE NIGERIAN AND GHANAIAN LAND REFORMS ………………………………………………………………..……….... 169 8.1: Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 169 8.2: Why Ghana as a Comparator State ………………………………………………169 8.3: Why Responsible Land Management (RLM) Framework……………………….170 iv 8.4: Understanding the Concept of Responsible Land Management ……….………..172 8.5: Evaluating the Nigerian and Ghanaian land reform programmes using the 8R Matrix Indicators ………………………………………………………………….... 175 8.6: Key Lessons from the Comparative analysis……………………………………179 8.7: Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….185 CHAPTER 9: PROPOSALS FOR REFORM OF NIGERIAN LAND ADMINISTRATION ……………………………………………………...…..……. 187 9.1: Introduction …………………………………………………………………...…187 9.2: Understanding the Fit-for-purpose Land Administration concept ………………188 9.3: Why FFP Approach and the Related Land Tools? ………………………………196 9.4: Emerging Developments that Underscore the Urgent Need for Land Reform in Nigeria ………………………………………………………………………………. 198 9.5: Proposed structural Framework for the decentralisation of Land administration system in Nigeria ………………………………………………...………………….. 205 9.6: Towards Secure and Responsive Land Rights for All in Eastern Nigeria……….211 9.7: Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….212 CHAPTER 10: THE CONCLUSION ………...………………………………….…. 214 LIST OF REFERENCES ….………………………………………...………………. 229 LIST OF CASES ………………………………………………………………....…..248 LIST OF STATUTES ………………………………………………………….……..251 v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES. Fig. i: Map Showing Major Ethnic Groups and Diversities in Nigeria ………… 6 Fig. ii: The Oxford Poverty Development Initiative (2017) ……………………. 73 Fig. iii: Map of Ghana showing the Regions ………………………………..….149 Fig. iv: The 8R Matrix Indicators for Responsible Land Management ………...174 Fig. v: Continuum of Land Rights concept ……………………………………..191 Fig. vi: Components of the FFP Concept ………………………………………..195 Fig. vii: Data from a study covering selected countries, and percentage of women with documented land title …………………………………………………………….201 Fig. viii: Map showing the six geo-political zones of Nigeria…………………....206 Fig. ix: Proposed Structural Framework for Land Administration in Nigeria ……207 Table 1: A Comparative Evaluation Using the 8R Matrix Indicators ……………175 Table 2: The Key Principles of the FFP Approach ……………………………….196 vi ABBREVIATIONS. ACHPR African Charter on Human and People's Rights ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CIDA Canadian International Development Agencies CLA Customary Land Authority CLR Community Land Records CLS Customary Land Secretariats CPA Criminal Procedure Act CPC Criminal Procedure Code DFID Department for International Development (DFID) FBCP Foundation for Building the Capital of the Poor FFP Fit-For Purpose FMV Fair Market Value GDP Gross Domestic Product GLTN Global Land Tool Network ICJ International Court of Justice ICT Information Communication Technology IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute ILD Institute for Liberty and Democracy JAP Justice of Appeal Court JSC Justice of Supreme Court KPI key performance indicators LAP Land Administration Project LC Land Commission LGAF Land Governance Assessment Framework NGOs