A History of Land and Labour in Pre-Colonial Afizere Society, Nigeria

The pre-colonial history of land and labour in Afizere society is synonymous to other ethnic groups in Sub-Sahara Africa. Communal mode of production encompasses the policy of land tenure system and labour organization. Their settlement pattern (nucleated and dispersed) defines their mode of production on hills and surrounding plains. That is why the economic history of the people in the pre-colonial times is important to place under scrutiny! Thus, it is on this premise that this paper attempts to examine the history of land and labour in pre-colonial Afizere society. The main objective of this article is to analyse the economic base of the society where land and labour as a factor of production defines their communal social formation. Findings of this study reveal that land was communally owned (absolute interests) and laboured by households using simple tools. It was also found that surplus generated was shared evenly according to household - distributed through gift giving - and also exchange through barter system. The paper adopted historical research as a methodology for qualitative research. Primary source materials adopted for the purpose of this research include: Oral interviews, archival materials, and gazetteer. While Secondary source materials adopted for the purpose of this research work include: Published and unpublished materials, as well as online (internet) materials. The paper concludes by way of examining the agrarian-economy activities of the Afizere people in the pre-colonial period.