Abstract
A sacred site is a place, which is considered holy and is partially or wholly reserved for magico – religious or ceremonial functions. Because of this, compensation valuation upon compulsory acquisition of these places is a complex and specialised one requiring the interpretation of law and our past cultural heritage. Consequently, the chapter, adopting a survey technique and simple descriptive statistics, examines sacred places, the provisions of the enabling compensation laws, the valuation process and the attendant problems in the assessment of compensation that fully equalled the pecuniary detriments faced by owners upon acquisition of these sites in the Yorubaland. This chapter reveals the conflicting provisions in the compensation enactments and the threat of the extinction of the role of traditional worshippers or priests, which is an outcome of the assessment of compensation of the places in the study area. In addition, based on empirical evidence of recent transactions on sacred places in the country the chapter concludes that compensation can hardly be adequate for sacred sites because of their social and cultural importance functions, although a review of the compensation laws, as well as training of curators of shrines and sacred places, may be necessary to ensure reliability of compensation valuation in the Yorubaland portion of Nigeria.
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Aluko, B.T., Omisore, E.O., Amidu, AR. (2008). Valuation of Yoruba Sacred Shrines, Monuments, and Groves for Compensation. In: Simons, R.A., Malmgren, R., Small, G. (eds) Indigenous Peoples and Real Estate Valuation. Research Issues in Real Estate, vol 10. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77938-6_8
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