Widowhood And Property Inheritance Among The Awori Of Ogun State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT The subservient position of women and the level of discrimination that accompanies widowhood practices and property sharing is an acknowledged social problem. In many societies, widowhood resulting from sudden death gives no room for a will or other preparations. Thus, property inheritance becomes a big challenge. Most studies on widowhood practices in Nigeria for instance, focus on the Southeast and Northern part of the country. The gap detected in the literature and research on the subject as it relates to the Awori sub-ethnic group of the Yoruba race is what this study intends to fill. Against this background, the study examines the traditional practice of widowhood and property inheritance among the Awori of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. This study was carried out in six selected Awori communities: Agbara, Atan, Iju, Ilogbo, Igbesa and Ota. The study was anchored on two theoretical platforms: Structural Functionalist Theory and the Feminist Political Economic Theory. Using a triangulatory process, both quantitative (survey method) and qualitative (IDIs/KIIs, FGDs and case studies) were used in collecting the primary data. Widows, widowers, married men and women, senior citizens, traditional rulers and religious leaders (in the study area) constituted the study population. The purposive and snowball sampling techniques were adopted using a 65-item questionnaire containing both open and closed ended questions. The personal interview method was utilized to administer the instrument to Awori widows of different age categories and religions. Of the 997 copies administered, 982 were duly completed and returned, representing 98.5 percent viii completion rate. 942 were adjudged usable for analysis, employing frequency distribution, simple percentages, cross tabulations, and linear regression to validate the three hypotheses formulated for the study. For hypothesis 1, the independent variables which include: (age, education, occupation, income and type of marriage(personal attributes of widows)were tested against widowhood practices and property inheritance. The results from the regression analysis reveals that education of widow is significantly and negatively related to widowhood rites at a p value of 0.000. This was reflected by widows with tertiary education who declined from observing widowhood rites compared to their counterparts without schooling. The study found that there exists a positive relationship between will left by widow’s husband and observance of widowhood rites by the widow. However, the presence of a will was not statistically significant (p value of 47.5 percent). Availability of a widow’s husband will shows a negative relationship with property inheritance but not significant. The study reveals that none availability of a will implies negative gender value/orientation. Hypothesis 3 which captures the relationship between lineage-based family reciprocity and widowhood rites/property inheritance shows that a situation in which the widow’s husband inherited property or received support from extended family, such a widow’s husband can be said to have enjoyed lineage-based family reciprocity. If otherwise, lineage-based family reciprocity is absent. Thus, the extended family may not have a stake in widowhood rites performed by the widow and property inheritance issues. A legal document stating the beneficiaries of property inheritance ‘will’ is almost non-existent in the study area. However, the few cases in which the widow’s husband left a will, the content was usually respected. Neither widows nor widowers inherit property in the area. The deceased’s children, irrespective of age, sex and educational attainment inherit property. Equal access/ownership of property by a deceased’s children is informed by equity in bearing financial burdens in addition to the fact that preference for a particular sex of children is not common. Over fifty percent of the Awori widows sampled earned less than N10,000.00 monthly which translates to less than $1 per day (indicating, a high level of poverty). Lineage-based family reciprocity was virtually absent as majority of the widows claimed that neither their husbands (while alive) nor themselves presently enjoy supports/favours from the extended family. ix The study concludes that education influences a widow’s ability to accept and/or reject obnoxious widowhood practices and/or attainment of self-assertiveness, including positive property inheritance outcomes. Therefore, interventions through (formal/informal) education channels by all stakeholders (Government, NGOs and Corporate organizations) to empower widows/widowers is crucial. Education on timely will preparation will minimize associated problems with property inheritance. Establishment of widows’ centre/data bank in accessible locations to enhance the collation of baseline data for direct policy intervention is urgent. In addition, the introduction of user-friendly micro-finance products by relevant banks/finance houses to enable widows to access credit with minimal bottlenecks is recommended for the bulk of the widows currently involved in petty trading in the study area.