The Federal Republic of Nigeria currently has an estimated population of ~120 million (figure based on the last official census in 1991) and an estimated growth rate of 2.8% per annum (National Population Commission, 2000). Nigeria is the tenth largest (by area) and most populous country on the Africa continent, with an average density of 95.9 people km2. Nigeria has a total land area of 923 773 km2 and is richly endowed with abundant and diverse natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable. Nigeria lies between latitudes 4° 16’ and 13° 53’ north, and between longitudes 2° 40' and 14° 41’ east (POLICY Project/Nigeria, 2002; EC-FAO, 2003; Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2005). The country is in the West African sub-region of the continent. Its borders are contiguous with the Republic of Benin to the west, the Niger Republic to the north, Chad in the northeast, the Republic of Cameroon in the east. The Atlantic Ocean coastline – stretching for ~800 km from Badagry inlet in the west to the Rio del Rey, east of the Cross River estuary – serves as its southern boundary (Figure 4.3).
Figure 4.3 Map of Nigeria showing Ogun State.
(Source: ESRI Data and Maps, 2002)
The geographical location of the country allows it to experience nearly all the many types of weather and climate that exist in the West Africa sub-region. The country has been further classified into two broad zones: the tropical rain forest area (stretching from the coast to ~9°N latitude, covering all the Southern States and parts of Kwara, Benue, Gongola and the Federal Capital Territory); and the savannah zone (covering the rest of the country, up to the Nigeria-Niger boundary).
Currently, Nigeria comprises 36 States and a Federal Capital Territory (FCT), grouped into six geopolitical zones: North Central, North East, North West, South East, South-South, and South-West. This study area lies in the South-West. The States are further sub-divided into local government areas (LGAs) and, currently, there are 774 local government areas in the country.
These LGAs were created to bring the government closer to the people at the grassroots level through the provision of basic infrastructure and services. The country’s population is predominantly rural. It is estimated that 70% of Nigerians live in rural areas and are directly or indirectly dependent on forest resources (Federal Ministry of Environment, 2008). Agriculture provides gainful employment to over 75% of the country’s labour force and satisfactory livelihood to over 90% of the population. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country, with more than 250 different ethnic groups. However, there are three major ethnic groups: the Yoruba – who inhabit most of the South-West; the Hausa in the North, and the Igbo’s in the East. An estimated 68 million hectares of land is used for farming, with an average of two hectares per farming family. Because of the differing vegetation and climatic conditions, as well as socio-cultural lifestyles, each ecological zone has a degree of specialisation in the farming systems, crop types and animals being reared.
Ogun State
Ogun State, otherwise known as the ‘Gateway State’, is one of the thirty-six states in Nigeria.
Created in February 1976, Ogun derives its name from a river that traverses the major part of the
state. Ogun State is entirely within the tropics. Located in the Southwest Zone of Nigeria, with a total land area of 16,409.26 km2 equivalent to ~1.8% of Nigeria’s landmass, it is bounded on the West by the Benin Republic; on the South by Lagos State and the Atlantic Ocean; on the East by Ondo State; and on the North by the Oyo and Osun States. It is situated between Latitude 6.2°N and 7.8°N and Longitude 3.0°E and 5.0°E (Oyesiku, 1992:6). The climate of Ogun State follows a tropical pattern, with the rainy season starting around March and ending in November, followed by the dry season for the months December to February. The mean annual rainfall varies from 128 cm per annum in the southern parts of the Ogun State to 105 cm per annum in the northern areas. The average monthly temperature ranges from 23°C in July to 32°C in February. The northern part of the State is mainly derived Savannah vegetation; the Central part falls within the rain forest belt.
The southern part of Ogun State has mangrove swamps.
It is a homogenous state, with the Yoruba the dominant ethnic group. The Yoruba ethnic groups is comprised of several dialect groups – including the Egbas, Yewas, Aworis, Ijebus and Remos. Administratively, there are twenty local government areas in the State, which have been divided politically into four dialect zones:
Ijebu-speaking people in Ijebu East, Ijebu North, Ijebu North-East, Ijebu-Ode, Odogbolu and Ogun Waterside local government areas;
Egba people in Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Ifo, Obafemi/Owode, Odeda and Ado Odo/Ota local governments;
Yewa (Egbado) speakers in Yewa North, Yewa South, Imeko/Afon and Ipokia local governments;
Remos in Sagamu, Remo North and Ikenne local government areas.
Other dialectical groups exist but these groups are not indigenous to the state because most of them are immigrants from other Yoruba-speaking states in the south-west of the country. This study was conducted in the Ijebu speaking zone across three local government areas.
The population of Ogun State is estimated to be 3.6 million, of whom more than 60% are rural dwellers (NPC-ICF, 2009; NPC-RTI, 2011). The population density is ~140/ km2. The natural vegetation can broadly be grouped into forest and savannah. Ogun is largely a rural and agrarian state, with extensive fertile soil and savannah land suitable for agriculture and cattle rearing (Gbadegesin, 1992; Onakomaiya et al., 1992). The state produces rubber on a large scale, as well as timber of various species. Of the total land area of 16 409 km2, approximately 20% is preserved as forest reserves. The Forest Reserves have 26 352 ha of gmelina, teak and pine – all these species are available as raw materials for pulp and other wood-based industries (Adegbite, 2009).
The Ogun State’s poverty statistics and inequality measures indicated that 81.5% of the population classified themselves as ‘poor’, using self-rated lines. However, in a measure using Gini Coefficient, the inequality for this state was 0.388; the poverty incidence, by relative measurement, was 38.73, placing Ogun in the 14th and 10th positions respectively when compared with other states in the country. When categorised by household dwelling type, 66% live in single rooms, 5.3% in apartments/flats, 26.4% in whole buildings, and 2.1% in other accommodations.
Construction varies, with 31.% of the houses in the state were built with mud bricks; 50% with
cement/concrete blocks; 4.6% with burnt bricks; 2.1% with stone; 0.42% with roofing sheets and 1.9% with other materials. Almost 91% of the structures were roofed with iron/zinc sheets. When assessing the sources of energy available to the people, 59% had access to electricity, 36% use kerosene, 0.7% use gas and 4.4% use other means. For cooking, however, 53% use kerosene; 45%
use firewood (NPC-ICF, 2009; NPC-RTI, 2011; http://ogunstate.gov.ng/).
Three rural communities – Mamu, Isanya-Ogbo and Ajebandele in the Ijebu division of Ogun State – were selected for this study (Figure 4.4).
Study areas Study areas
Figure 4.4 Map showing the study communities in Ogun State, Nigeria.
(Source: http://www.expedia.com)
Mamu
One of the three communities used in the conduct of the research, Mamu is an Ijebu village located 26 km north of Ijebu-Ode, along the Ijebu-Ode/Ibadan road, in the Ijebu-North local government area. Ijebu-North local government is one of the twenty local governments that make up the Ogun State and one of five in the Ijebu Division. The local government area is located at 6°57′N 4°00′E, and occupies an area of about 1 250 km2. The region is partitioned into local wards – Atikori, Oke-Agbo, Ojowo/Japara, Oke-Sopen, Ome, Oru-awa-ilaporu, Osun and Ago-Iwoye urban I, Ago-Iwoye urban II, Ako-Onigbagbo Gelete, and Mamu/Ehin-Etiri
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ijebu_North).
Although the people are of Ijebu extraction of the Yoruba ethnic group (who live in major towns like Ijebu Igbo, Ago-Iwoye, Oru, Awa, Ilaporu), various ethnic groups – such as Hausa, Igbira and Oyo from other parts of the country equally inhabit the Mamu. Agriculture is the economic mainstay of the people of this Area. Also, several ‘indigenes’ of the town engage in timber business and this accounts for the existence of sawmills in the town.
Isanya-Ogbo
Isanya-Ogbo is located in the Odogbolu local government area. The Odogbolu local government is strategically located on a large expanse of land of about 640 km2 at 6°50′N 3°46′E,
with the Ijebu-Ode Local Government; in the west with the Ikenne Local Government; and in the south with the Epe Local Government in Lagos State. According to the 2006 national censure, the local government area has a population of 127 123. The area is characterised by two distinct seasons: Dry (November – March) and Wet (April – October). The region is in the derived savanna vegetation zone, with a mean annual rainfall and temperature of 1 037 mm and 34.7°C respectively.
Inhabitants of Isanya-Ogbo are Yoruba of Ijebu extraction. Like any other Nigerian society, there are a growing number of people from other ethnic groups in the country living in the community – such as the Igbos, Isokos, Urhobos and Hausa. The people are mainly agrarian, engaged in farming, hunting, fishing, lumbering and handicrafts (see website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odogbolu).
Ajebandele
Ajebandele is located in the Ijebu East local government area. Ijebu East is located at 6°44′N 4°10′E. It has an area of 2 34 km² and a population of 110 196 (2006 census figure). Ajabandele is a predominantly rural settlement inhabited by Ijebus, Ikales and Ilajes.
The total number of households and the number of sampled households in these three villages are shown in Table 4.1. The sample size from each location was decided on the basis of the number of households.
Table 4.1 Number of total and sampled households in the villages.
Villages Total households Sampled households %
Mamu 306 100 32.7
Isanya Ogbo 178 100 56.2
Ajebandele 255 100 39.2
Source: Fieldwork, 2004
Language and Ethnic Group
Although there are many languages spoken and different ethnic groups residing in the study area.
The Ijebu dialect of the Yoruba language is the most widely used. The dominant ethnic group is the Yoruba-Ijebu. Other ethnic groups include Hausa, Ilaje and Binis. Pure English and Pidgin English are also used in communication, especially by individuals who do not speak either the Ijebu dialect or the Yoruba language.
Land Use and Occupations
Farming is the dominant economic activity in the study area. Although most of the population is involved in agriculture, not all arable land is cultivated for agriculture. The study area produces a variety of crops. Shifting cultivation is practised in most of the study communities, thus exerting pressure on soil and forest resources. ‘Garri’ is the staple food of the people. It is made from cassava, thus making cassava the dominant crop grown in the area. Other crops include perishables – like plantain and maize; tropical fruits – such as mangoes, pineapples, bananas, oranges, coconuts and lemons; and other crops – such as kola nuts, palm oil, palm-kernels and rubber. Furthermore,
the population exploits forest resources for poles, timber for construction and saw-milling activities, and also for hunting animals. Thus, directly or indirectly, the local population creates pressure on the forestland cover and biodiversity in terms of flora and fauna.
4.3.2 Geographical Setting of the Study Area: South Africa, Mpumalanga Province South Africa is located at the southern tip of Africa, covering an area of 1 219 912 km2. The country is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and by the Indian Ocean on the south and east, with a long coastline stretching more than 2 500 km. Its land neighbours are Namibia in the west and northwest, Zimbabwe and Botswana in the north, and Mozambique and Swaziland in the northeast. South Africa’s population has been estimated to be ~44.8 million (2001 Statistic South Africa census figure) (Statistics South Africa, 2003). Approximately 45% of this population is located in rural areas.
Mpumalanga Province – formerly the Eastern Transvaal Province (Figure 4.5) – is one of the nine provinces in the Republic of South Africa. Mpumalanga is located south of the Limpopo Province, east of Gauteng, north-west of KwaZulu Natal, and west of Swaziland and Mozambique.
The administrative capital is at Nelspruit, which is also the business centre of the province.
Figure 4.5 Map of South Africa showing Mpumalanga Province.
(Source: http://www.expedia.com)
Mpumalanga is one of South Africa’s smaller provinces, covering 79 490 km2, which constitutes only 6.5% of the country landmass, and has a population of ~3.64 million people (Statistic South Africa, 2007). There are extreme levels of poverty in Mpumalanga, and the province has the second lowest literacy rate in the country. Among people aged 20 years and above, more than 28% have had no schooling at all; more than 14% have had some primary education. Only 4.8% of the province’s people have tertiary qualifications. 14% have Matriculated (i.e. graduated from High School), almost 28% have had some secondary education and around 7%
have only completed primary school education.
The population growth rate is higher than the national average. The average household size is 5.9 persons. A large proportion of the population of Mpumalanga has limited participation in economic activity (http://www.mpuleg.gov.za). The population distribution of Mpumalanga is shown in Table 4.2.
Table 4.2 Population distribution of in Mpumalanga.
Population Group Persons % Sex %
Black African 3 303 545 89.2 Male 48.6
Coloured 24 258 0.7 Female 51.4
Indian or Asian 12 244 0.5
White 303 388 9.0
Total Population 3 643 435 100.0
Source: Statistics South Africa, 2007.
Bushbuckridge is located at 31°0–31°35’E; 24°30’–25°0’S, one of five local municipalities in the Ehlanzeni district municipality in Mpumalanga Province. Mpumalanga is in the north-east of South Africa, and Bushbuckridge is situated in the lowveld area in the north-east of the province.
The Kruger National Park provides Bushbuckridge with its eastern boundary, and Limpopo Province borders the northern edge. It lies between the Sabie River to the south and Klaserie-Orpen road to the north. It lies east of and below the Drakensberg escarpment; the Kruger National Park and the Sabi-Sand Game Reserve form its eastern border (Shackleton & Shackleton, 2000).
Administratively, Bushbuckridge is part of the Bohlabela municipal district in Mpumalanga Province. Bushbuckridge has an area of 10.250 km2, including part of the Mnisi tribal authority and the former black township of KwaMsane. Rivers, game reserves, forestry areas and commercial farmland define the boundaries of the municipal district. The population of the Bushbuckridge Municipality, according to Statistics South Africa (2007), is 509 970. Although Bushbuckridge is a predominantly rural area, relatively few individuals are involved in subsistence agriculture. Social and pension grants are the primary source of income for most households. Like most former homelands, the area is densely populated, with between 150—300 people km2.Infrastructure and services are poor and formal employments are limited with unemployment rate put at 23%
(Statistics South Africa (2008). The large centres of employment are located outside the Bushbuckridge area – including Acornhoek, and neighbouring Nelspruit. The major employment opportunities within Bushbuckridge are nature reserves, commercial agriculture and forestry.
Vegetation
Bushbuckridge has a natural vegetation of savanna woodland, or bushveld (Lowveld), dominated by Combretaceae and various acacias of the Mimosaceae family. This low woodland area is densely vegetated. There are also communal grazing woodland areas, which are more open. The natural forest has a canopy of 5 m to 6 m in height and is dominated by Acacias, alongside Combretum apiculatum and Sclerocarya birrea (Marula). Rainfall of the area varies from 1 000 mm in the west to 500 mm in the east (Shackleton & Shackleton, 2000; Shackleton, 2004b).
Language and Ethnic Group
The major ethnic groups are the Shangaan/Tsonga and Sotho. There are many languages spoken in the area, but Tsonga is the most widely used language. It is regarded as the language of communication between the different groups. Literate people can also speak English. The home-language distribution of the people can be classified as follows: Sepedi 57%; Xitsonga 23%;
Tshivenda 15.9% and Afrikaans 2.6%; English home-language speakers constitute less than 0.5%
(www.nationonline.org/oneworld/South Africa). The location of the three rural communities used for the study, Timbavati, Khokhovela (Islington) and Hluvukani are shown in Figure 4.6. The numbers of households studied in each community are listed in Table 4.3.
Table 4.3 Number of total and sampled households in the villages.
Villages Total Households Sample households %
Timbavati Khokhovela
Hluvukani
450 1 100 930
100 100 100
22.2 9.1 10.8 Source: Fieldwork, 2005
Figure 4.6 Location of the study communities in Bushbuckridge, South Africa.