Nigerian Chieftaincy
The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the
History
Nigerian pre-colonial states tended to be organized as
In the South, the nobles ruled the states on a day-to-day basis on behalf of their monarchs by way of a series of initiatory
As a general rule titles did not always pass from father to son; many royal and noble families did however provide a number of titleholders over several generations.[4] In the south, the titles held by nobles were often not the same ones as those that had been held by others in their lineages. Some chiefs had even been untitled slaves, and therefore had had no titled forebears prior to their eventual ascension to the ranks of the aristocracy.
Although dominated by the titled men mentioned above, several kingdoms also had parallel traditions of exclusively-female title societies that operated in partnership with their male counterparts. Others would reserve specially created titles, such as the Yoruba Iyalode, for their womenfolk.[5]
During the early European forays into Africa, Nigerian chiefs - both monarchs and nobles - came to be divided into two opposing camps: the anti-European chiefs on the one end (who wanted nothing to do with the Europeans and wanted them to leave, by war if necessary) and the pro-European chiefs (who favoured maintaining friendly relations with the Europeans, even if it meant sacrificing certain amounts of political power).
At the point of the increase in British influence in Nigeria during the 19th century, the anti-European chiefs used a variety of tactics to work against foreign influence, utilizing both direct and indirect forms. The colonial government responded by favouring the pro-European chiefs and supporting more amenable claimants to the Nigerian titles in an attempt to frustrate the anti-European chiefs. Minor wars were fought with the anti-European chiefs, while pro-European chiefs prospered through trade with Britain and so were politically safe as a result. During the Scramble for Africa, anti-European chiefs were slowly replaced with pro-European ones, and Colonial Nigeria came to be governed by a system known as indirect rule, which involved native chiefs becoming part of the administrative structure to ease administrative costs. Through this method, the colonial government was able to avoid any rebellions against its authority.[6]
Following Nigeria's independence in 1960, each federated unit of the country had a
Today
Today, many prominent Nigerians aspire to the holding of a title. Both Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, one-time presidents of Nigeria, have belonged to the noble stratum of the Nigerian chieftaincy.[11] Nigerian traditional rulers and their titled subordinates currently derive their powers from various Chiefs' Laws, which are official parts of the body of contemporary Nigerian laws.[12] As a result, the highly ranked amongst them typically receive staffs of office - and by way of them official recognition - from the governors of the states of the Federation as the culminations of their coronation and investiture rites. Thus installed, they then have the power to install inferior chiefs themselves.
Chieftaincy titles are often of differing grades, and are usually ranked according to a variety of diverse factors. Whether or not they are recognized by the government, whether they are traditionally powerful or purely honorary, what the relative positions of the title societies that they belong to (if any) are in the royal
Nigerian titleholders
Monarchs
Pre-colonial
Colonial
Post-colonial
- Nigerian traditional rulers
- Lamido
- Sultan of Sokoto
- Emir of Kano
- Etsu Nupe
- Oba
- Ooni of Ife
- Alaafin of Oyo
- Awujale of Ijebu
- Eze
- Eze Nri
- Obi of Onitsha
- Igwe of Nnewi
- Lamido
Other Chiefs
- Waziri
- Hakimi
- Eso Ikoyi
- Ogboni
- Nze na Ozo
- Ichie
See also
- Social class in Nigeria
- Nigerian heraldry
- Nigerian traditional rulers
- Nigerian traditional states
References and sources
- ^ "In Pictures: Country of Kings, Nigeria's many monarchs". BBC News. 13 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ Ejiogu, E.C. (2011), The Roots Of Political Instability In Nigeria: Political Evolution and Development in the Niger Basin, p. 63.
- ^ Ndeche, Chidirim (16 September 2018). "The Most Prominent Secret Societies In Nigeria". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Samuel (1921), The History of the Yorubas, from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate, p. 70.
- ^ Uchendu, Egodi (22 January 2006). "Gender and Female Chieftaincy in Anioma". Asian Women. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ Egbe, Enyi John (1 January 2014). "Native Authorities and Local Government Reforms in Nigeria Since 1914". Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ Sklar, Richard L. (2004), Nigerian Political Parties: Power In An Emergent African Nation, p. 234.
- ^ Ebenezer Obadare and Wale Adebanwi (2011), Nigeria At Fifty: The Nation In Narration, p. 32.
- ^ "Jeje Oladele and others versus Oba Adekunle Aromolaran II and others". The Supreme Court of Nigeria. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ "Traditional States of Nigeria". worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ Ewokor, Chris (1 August 2007). "Nigerians go crazy for a title". BBC News. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ Abolarin, Oba Adedokun (3 April 2017). "Traditional Institutions and Traditional Rulers in National Development". The Palace of Oke-Ila. Retrieved 17 October 2019.