Land Encroachment and Banditry as emergent trends in Communal and inter-ethnic conflicts in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper exposes land encroachment and banditry as social phenomenon in Nigeria. Each of the phenomena supplants local cultures and ideologies, creates terror, kills and dispossesses communities of their land and properties. Many communities fight over land for farming space especially during farming seasons. On the order hand, hundreds of people are killed across Nigeria by bandits. Hundreds flee their ancestry homes due to conflicts caused by land encroachers or bandits afraid to return. Factors such as unemployment, land ownership questions, bad governance, poverty, marginalization and social imbalance each play a role in producing land grabbers, bandits and terrorists.  The multiplier effects include food insecurity, unemployment, poverty and marginalization fuelling communal and inter-ethnic crises in Nigeria. The crises have also scared away foreign investments and as a result. The rate of inflation increases creating hunger. This paper adopted the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) as a panacea for communal conflicts and inter-ethnic conflicts in Nigeria. It revealed that through dialogue and mediation, communal land and inter-ethnic issues would be resolved. Good governance, greater tolerance, respect of one another and pro-active approach by States in conflict resolutions are recommended.