Succession in Title and Rights of Women in South West Nigeria: The Realities and Prospects for a Changing Society

Abstract

Generally speaking, succession in Nigeria is patriarchal in nature and it involves the transmission of the rights and obligations of the deceased person in respect of his estate to his heirs and successors. The South West is not an exception. The patriarchal nature has a great influence on the way of life of the people to such extent that many men in marriage, may go to any length to have an heir, a male child who will continue the lineage name after them.

The people and the society generally favour the male child above the female in succession matters assuming that a female child would have her own portion in the husband's house. The contradiction however is that the female as a widow is still regarded as an owned property by the husband's family. Hence, a widow may be hindered from inheriting her dead husband's estate, despite being the man's partner or supporter who contributed immensely to it.

Going by the political arrangement and territorial composition of Nigerian nation, there are over two hundred and fifty (250) ethnic groups in the country. The nature and weight of these ethnic groupings on issues of succession in title with its gender stratification and disenfranchisement of the rights of women under the law and customs therefore calls for an extensive research study to find out how a greater number of customary laws and doctrines of inheritance and succession to property is treated in the most populous Black African nation.