Traditional Government And Administration

Project and Seminar Material for Political Science

Abstract

One of the most researched subjects among contemporary scholars and researchers recently is the subject of traditional government and politics, local administration and community leadership. Before independence, that is, during the pre-colonial and colonial periods, scholars, particularly foreign scholars focused attention on comparative politics, thus seeing Nigeria as a nation, within the context of African political system. Immediately after independence indigenous scholars made spirited efforts to reverse this trend. They started to focus attention on the study of ethic nationalities but on specific areas such as traditional politics and governance leadership and local administration, with a view to exploring the ways people at the grass root conducted their affairs and welfare, using traditionally well established organizational structures that are both historic, self-sustaining and indigenous to achieve social harmony, political stability and economic development. One can say that in the past, various aspects of lgbo Traditional political system have become subject to vigorous intellectual inquiries. For example, Isichei 1976 strenuously studies Igbo history thereby discussing different aspect of Igbo social, political and economic life putting them in their true perspectives, on his part Afigbo 1972, looked into the issue of Warrant chiefs as an element in Igbo traditional system and administration. Nzimiro, 1972 carried out the study of four lgbo communities Onitsha, Aboh, Oguta and Osaimiri in order to see how traditional leadership of a monarchial type of emerged function and how it could be removed. Furthermore Nwachukwu 1993, studied more restricted areas of Umuorji, Awo ldemili, Mgbidi, Ubulu in order to determine the difference between a diffused political system in comparison with a monarchial system of leadership. All these attempts are proven evidence of wide spread interest which contemporary scholar and researchers particularly in the areas of social science have in order to broaden the understanding and only Igbo ethnic nationality but their indigenous political system, leadership and administration and other elements which tend to make these effective. The result of all these efforts has been the publication of various books and literature materials which hitherto were not available for researchers on lgbo traditional political system, thereby limiting the efforts of earlier researchers to carry out different types of inquiries in other areas such as family, marriage, ceremonies, inheritance etc.

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