INHERITANCE RIGHTS, CUSTOMARY LAW AND FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY AMONG RURAL WOMEN IN SOUTH-WEST NIGERIA.

Abstract

  AJIBOYE, Olanrewaju EmmanuelAnd                                                 YUSUFF, Olabisi Succession and inheritance rights are established procedures of transferring economic, social and  political powers in any given human societies. However, the problem in most patriarchal societies such as South-West Nigeria has been the unequal positioning of male and female children to inheritance. This paper examines  the nexus of interaction between inheritance rights, customary law and poverty among rural women in South-West, Nigeria. The paper is anchored on functionalist and Vicious cycle of poverty theories. Multi-stage sampling technique was use to collect information from respondents. Three states from South West Nigeria were purposively selected namely, Ogun, Oyo and Ekiti states. For quantitative data, questionnaires were distributed to 250 respondents across the three states, while three (3) Focus Group Discussions and ten (10) in-depth interviews were equally conducted among the selected individuals across the three selected study areas for qualitative data. The quantitative information was analysed using simple percentage frequency distributions and logistic regression method, while qualitative information was analysed using  content analysis and ethnographic summaries. The study found positive relationship between inheritance denial and the deepening poverty among rural women in the South-West Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that all obnoxious provisions of our customary laws should be expunged to allow for equal right between the male and female children.