SECURITY OF TENURE IN A TRANSITORY FARMING SYSTEM - CASE OF ZARIA VILLAGES IN NIGERIA

The issue of policy alternatives suitable for solving the contemporary problem of insecurity of tenure in Nigeria has traditionally been approached from a perspective that favours individual ownership of land. Critics of customary tenure argue that it inhibits access to credit and capital and does not provide adequate incentives for farmers to produce, invest in and adopt new technology. However, micro-level studies of several Nigerian communities indicate that many elements of freehold are already present. On the basis of a study conducted by the author in three villages (Falladan, Mayere and Rigachikun) in 1975, this paper discusses the problem of security of tenure in Zaria Province in North Central Nigeria, where a trend towards freehold obtains, and suggests that change in the direction of individual private tenure is not necessarily desirable. There are signs that it accentuates inequality and creates multidimensional problems of security for the majority of farmers. © 1979.