Between spirits and statutes : sacred land, state power, and the politics of urban space in Nigeria

Abstract

Sacred lands are critical biocultural landscapes within Yoruba heritage in south-western Nigeria, functioning not only as sites of spiritual governance and ritual continuity but also as contested urban spaces. Despite their cultural and ecological significance, these sites face increasing pressures from rapid urbanisation, state land-use policies such as the Land Use Act, and competing claims from formal and informal authorities. This study examines how state-led land governance frameworks interact with customary and spiritual custodianship systems, and how these interactions reshape the authority, legitimacy, and survival of sacred sites in an urbanising context. Drawing on 45 in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and non-participant observations conducted across three states, the research reveals that rather than a governance vacuum, sacred land governance in Nigeria is characterised by ‘shared but unequal guardianship’—where state economic imperatives often override indigenous spiritual claims. The findings contribute to debates on sacred natural site governance, urban political anthropology, and the tensions between statutory and customary law, by exposing the power asymmetries, negotiation strategies, and socio-political consequences of this governance arrangement. We argue that the marginalisation of custodians and inadequate statutory protections have transformed sacred lands into sites of negotiation, resistance, and, in some cases, violent contestation, with profound implications for heritage preservation in Nigeria’s rapidly urbanising regions.