GENDER, POVERTY AND INHERITANCE RIGHTS AMONG THE DERA OF NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA: A COMPARATIVE APPRAISAL OF CHRISTIAN AND TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES

Inheritance is not merely the transfer of property after death. In many African societies, it is closely connected with family identity, lineage continuity, social security, access to productive resources and the position of surviving family members. Where inheritance practices discriminate against women and girls, the consequences may extend beyond individual households to the reproduction of poverty across generations. This article examines the relationship between gender, poverty and inheritance rights among the Dera of northeastern Nigeria through a comparative appraisal of African traditional religious perspectives and Christian theology. The study adopts a qualitative, comparative and theological-documentary approach, drawing on relevant literature on African Traditional Religion, gender, widowhood, inheritance, Christianity and African social organisation, together with selected biblical texts. The analysis argues that religious ideas about lineage, family continuity, authority and property can influence the social interpretation of inheritance, although such influences should not be reduced to a single uniform African tradition. The Dera case is situated within this wider African discussion while recognising the limited availability of published Dera-specific scholarship on contemporary inheritance practice. The article further argues that Christianity contains substantial theological resources for challenging discriminatory treatment of widows and daughters, particularly through biblical concerns for justice, human dignity, care for vulnerable persons and the inheritance claims of the daughters of Zelophehad. Nevertheless, conversion does not automatically eliminate customary patterns. Sustainable transformation requires contextual Christian teaching, constructive engagement with traditional authorities, legal literacy, women's economic empowerment, girls' education and community-based mechanisms for resolving inheritance disputes. The article concludes that inheritance justice should be treated as both a theological and a development concern.