The Politics of Contestation for Land-based Resources in the Middle Belt in Contemporary Nigeria
Abstract
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This paper hinges on the politics of contestation for land-based resources in the Middle Belt in contemporary Nigeria. It argues that people contest because of economic, social, and political reasons. The paper views the Middle Belt from diverse perspectives for a lucid understanding of the subject matter. Adducing supportive evidence from statistics, other extant literature, and oral sources of data in tandem with interdisciplinary methods, the paper discusses several land-based resources that are competed for in the focal area ranging from land spaces, pastures, water, forests, and fishponds, among others. In doing so, the aftermaths and challenges resulting from the politics of conflict over land-based resources are also taken into account. The main finding of the paper is that people compete for land-based resources in the Middle Belt because they are essential to their existence. To come out of the quagmire emanating from the politics of contestation, the paper advances some rescue approaches.
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