SUMMARY
The issue of political control of certain towns, districts, or states is volatile in the Nigerian society. The political system in Nigeria is young and still not fully developed in terms of judiciary capacities. This has had a profound impact on issues of land ownership and subsequent taxations matters. The pattern is in some aspects related to the question of which group was the original inhabitants of the area. This has however been hard to verify, and in some cases the period under British rule drastically altered the power-relationships between different ethnicities. It is hence an infected matter without any clear solution. This situation has led to several recorded conflicts regarding taxation and access to local markets.
The other dyads that belong to the same Political/Land taxation cluster of non-state conflicts are; Hausa – Yoruba, Efik – Ibibio, Ijaw – Urhobo, Izzi – Ukele, Okrika – Ogoni and Urhobo – Bini.
The conflict between Ife and Modakeke, two towns in the south-east state of Osun, was centered on the issue of land and the political control of it. The inhabitants of the towns share the same ethnicity but have differentiating historical narratives, and subsequently different claims on political representation and influence.
As far back as 1882 the Modakeke inhabitants are mentioned in connection with fighting the neighboring town of Ife. The violent past of the two municipalities shaped the relationship and led to a feeling of suspicion and resentment between the towns.
The triggering event that led to the clashes in 1997 was the relocation of the local government headquarters, from Modakeke to Ife. The feud between the towns did however have a longer history than that. As mentioned above the narratives and sense of historical belonging differed between the two towns. The Ife inhabitants regarded the Modakeke town as a recent settlement on land that was already occupied. In light of those facts, the Modakeke should show more respect towards the Ife inhabitants. Those feelings were reversed in Modakeke. This sentiment, combined with the proximity of the towns, generated a volatile situation. The situation was tense as far as twenty years prior to the outbreak of violence. The core issues that were at stake had been voiced as far back as 150 years ago.
The fighting was mostly carried out by youths, armed with shotguns, cutlasses and clubs. Arson was commonplace, and the violence was described as rioting and gang fighting. Although a majority of the violence can be described as riots, there were also reports of violence including more sophisticated weapons.
The rhetoric used by both sides clearly made the other community a legitimate target. This prompted the government, with President Olesgun Obasanjo as its negotiator, to intervene in order to stop the destructive spiral of violence. In 2000, after the conflict had been active for two of the three preceding years the president met with the parties and worked on brokering a deal that would be acceptable to both sides. The intervention by the government led to a decrease in violence but did not stop it completely. The solution to the political power struggle between the two towns was a power-sharing mechanism that would ensure both towns to get proportionally represented in the Area Council. Ife is significantly larger (population of approximately 500 000) than Modakeke (population of approximately 290 000) Ife was allocated 70% of the funds, and Modakeke subsequently 30%. This arrangement was accepted, albeit grudgingly, and managed to halt the violence. Reflecting upon the arrangement in hindsight it is clear that the core issues are not resolved, the people of the different towns do not interact; taxis from one town will not drive into the other, and so on. The reason the violence has succumbed might be more due to a physical separation than the actual political power-sharing deal. This makes the situation very precarious; any rupture in the political administration may endanger the balance that is so fragile and the risk of reoccurrence is overwhelming.
The Ife - Modakeke conflict must also be viewed in the broader spectrum of the ethnic and religious non-state conflicts that have ravaged Nigeria in the past and intensified with the end of military rule, from 1999 and onwards. The conflicts throughout Nigeria have ethnic, political, economic, and religious components, which have become inextricably linked over time, pitting various groups and alliances of groups against each other along different dividing lines.
The fighting in this conflict is limited to Osun state. A majority of the recorded events are in Ife or Modakeke towns, but a few events occurred outside the two contested towns.
The non-state conflict between Ife and Modakeke is first included in UCDP data in 1997. In August of that year, clashes between the two groups had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
