Deconstructing Traditional Inheritance System in Nigeria: A Critical Appraisal of Women's Inheritance Rights in Cross River State

The paper examines how most societies have continued to evolve by a process of noticeable disparities whereby increases in capital goods, labour force, and human capital that should naturally contribute to general economic growth is asymmetrical in proportion between males and females. More concerned is that; women who constitute an estimated 43 percent of the agricultural labour force only make up less than 20 percent of landholders. What percentage are occupancy rights to land ownership in Nigeria is female? There exist alarming gender gaps in landownership in Nigeria as it is presently. This has been exacerbating more than ameliorating the widening disparity of wealth distribution and other opportunities that should accrue to men as well as women to improve in the standard of living of both sexes in modern society. We have equally observed that; societal norms and customs appear to have been articulated by men to the detriment of the female gender; hence women are mostly denied inheritance as property is distributed only to sons and not daughters. Hitherto, the socio-demographic configuration of women in Cross River State, Nigeria whose land inheritance rights and belief system appear uprated towards women, are still in a deceptive condition of depravity. Thus, using the quantitative and qualitative method of data collection, the paper adopted the theory of political economy to anchor all the arguments. The highpoint of the paper is centred on recognizing socio-cultural relations in terms of how male and female are differentiated, and most importantly, portraying the female folk as entities in a male dominated society that should equally own land in order to have increased economic empowerment needed for sustainable development of the Nigerian nation.