The politics of forest governance seeks to investigate the tussle for power over forest control between the dominant power of the state/formal actor and a determined army of marginalised informal actor. Forest has been at the centre of innumerable conflicts that have inevitably resulted from power contests over forest control and these have had demonstrable implications for human development and the security of Nigeria. While scholars have focused on the state' control, the informal actors contest and fight-back to regain forest control and this results in conflicts. The battle of supremacy over the forest, hence, becomes the survival of the fittest. The research uses qualitative methodology to collect data in recognised and gazetted forest-reserved areas of Osun, Ogun and Ondo states. The research work shall provide insight into the power nuances and contexts that drive forest conflicts and impede development as a result of the tussle for forest control.