Traditional Political System and the Development of Democracy in Nigeria. A Study of Lagos State 2010-2019
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives Of Study
The main aim of this study is an attempt to assess traditional political system and the development of democracy in Nigeria, a study of Lagos State 2010-2019. The specific objectives will be to;
- examine the effectiveness of the traditional political system in the modern day Nigeria democratic government
- assess the role of the traditional political system before and after Nigeria independence.
- contribution of the contemporary Nigeria constitution in the support of traditional political system
- investigate factors that mitigate against the effectiveness of the traditional political system in the modern democratic government of Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Traditional Political system In Nigeria: Meaning And Origin
Issues relating to tradition and its institution are handed down or transmitted from the past. Its authority is mostly unquestionably accepted, adhered to and its principles practiced with reverence. Its practice reflects continuity with the past for which its continuity is usually understood to link generations (Heywood, 2006:212). Tradition weave together both social and political system of a collective; the social defines and directs how people of an ethnic group ought to live and relate, the political enforces adherence to traditional norms of a group by exercising authority to secure obedience from the people. This person is linked to African traditional which sees political power as often personalized and that leadership is permanent in the context of self recruited oligarchy (Okolie and Chime, 2008:349). The ordering of traditional authority in Nigeria had an aristocratic flare that was and still is domineering over their subjects. Even the warrant chief arrangement that were established by the British within the Middle-Belt and Eastern region to help collect taxes and maintain law and order at latter metamorphosed into traditional authority took on the aristocratic and domineering aura in order to command respect and obedience.
The power of traditional authority is rooted in tradition; given its deep root in group beliefs and values it powers is not to be underestimated because it is intricately attached to spiritualism or cultural level of giving meaning to people‟s lives, of allowing them to experience a sense of belong (Allison, 2003:545). Hence, traditional authority derives its powers by appealing to customs and tradition (Thomson, 2007:93). Traditional authority is hierarchical ordered and structured on the basis of status; it is a compound of factors such as honour, prestige, standing and power. It is characterized by the person‟s role, rights and duties in relation to the other members of that order (Heywood, 2006:212). Given the distance between the Nigerian state and the people arising from continued government arbitrariness and neglect of the needs of the people Nigerians have strong affiliation to traditional authority for protection.
Traditional authority as used here relates to the system of rulership and it is headed by a traditional ruler. According to the Dasuki Committee (1986), a traditional ruler is a person who by virtue of his ancestry occupies the throne or stool of an area and who has been appointed to it in accordance with the customs and tradition of the area and has suzerainty over the people of the area (MAMSER, 1987:147). Reflecting closely on the definition offered above it is evident that one can only become a traditional ruler only through inheritance. Consequently, only members of the traditional ruling families can legitimately aspire to become traditional rulers. Since, it is a hereditary office those who do not belong to that traditional group or do not have a traditional institution cannot become traditional ruler of a given locality or ethnic group even if he possess better rulership qualities than members of the “ruling” or “royal families”. While this definition assures privileges for some it at the same time results in the exclusion of others.
Determining the exact origin of traditional institution remain elusive but it is certain that most of the nation-state scattered across the then territory now named Nigeria had traditional institution that played a significant role to their growth, influence, development and dominance of other societies. At the head of every traditional institution sits the traditional ruler who exercised sovereign power over the people.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried out to examine the traditional political system and the development of democracy in nigeria. a case study of lagos state 2010-2019. Lagos state form the population of the study.
SAMPLE SIZE DETERMINATION
A study sample is simply a systematic selected part of a population that infers its result on the population. In essence, it is that part of a whole that represents the whole and its members share characteristics in like similitude (Udoyen, 2019). In this study, the researcher adopted the convenient sampling method to determine the sample size.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of hundred and twenty (120) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which 100 were returned. The analysis of this study is based on the number returned.
The table above shows the gender distribution of respondents. 48% of the respondents were male and the remaining 52% were female. Thus, female respondents were slightly higher than their male counterparts.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Introduction
This chapter summarizes the findings on the traditional political system and the development of democracy in nigeria. a case study of lagos state 2010-2019. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.
Summary of the Study
In this study, our focus was on the traditional political system and the development of democracy in nigeria. a case study of lagos state 2010-2019. The study is was specifically focused on examining the effectiveness of the traditional political system in the modern day Nigeria democratic government, assessing the role of the traditional political system before and after Nigeria independence, determining the contribution of the contemporary Nigeria constitution in the support of traditional political system and investigating factors that mitigate against the effectiveness of the traditional political system in the modern democratic government of Nigeria.
The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 120 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent are politicians and residents of Lagos State.
Conclusions
With respect to the analysis and the findings of this study, the following conclusions emerged;
This study has given an historical account of the changing role of traditional rulers and governance in Nigeria. The central argument of the paper is that the continued relevance of the traditional rulers in contemporary Nigerian politics is an indication of the resilience of traditions to the influences of modernity. Essentially, traditional rulers do play active roles in the emergence of political leaders as well as the success of successive governments in contemporary Nigeria at all levels local, state and federal. This is in spite of their lack of constitutional recognition or specific constitutional roles. This study holds that it is fundamentally wrong for people to say that traditional rulers are facing crisis of relevance or recognition in contemporary Nigeria as often emphasized by some scholars because no administration in Nigeria has ever completely overlooked traditional rulers. They have always been relevant and recognized, albeit the study noted that despite the importance of traditional rulers, the institutions has also be inundated with numerous petty problems that has dent the image of the age long institution. These problems includes: tussle for leadership among traditional rulers in the Council of Traditional Rulers, involvement in partisan politics for personal gains and lending support for the reigning governments whether civilian or military. Moreover, traditional rulers in Nigeria are fond of bestowing traditional chieftaincy titles to wealthy and affluent people in the society who have not made any significant contribution to the growth and development of the society for their personal aggrandizement and material benefits. As argued in the paper, all these and other criticisms of the institutions has continued to undermine the traditional institution often respected as the fulcrum of the peoples culture and values.
Recommendation
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were outlined.
- In Nigeria, traditional rulers still record a high degree of legitimacy in the eyes of the people. There remains the need to integrate the institution into the country’s contemporary local government system. Political and economic development would be more successful when rooted in widely shared institutions and cultural values which traditional authorities represent.
- It is recommended that a constitutional role be assigned to the traditional institutions not only because they are the closest to the grassroots but also because traditional chieftaincy institution is a permanent feature of Nigeria’s body polity.
- The middle–path in the continuum between the abolitionists and the political enhancers is the retentionist school of thought, which favours retention of the traditional authorities as participatory local government actors in advisory and non-executive capacities. The adoption of the retentionist strategy it is observed would not only ensure stability and continuity of emergent local government system based on democratic and participatory principles, but would also tap the strength of traditional authorities in the sphere of citizen mobilisation and acceptance of local government policies. This involvement of traditional rulers in local government affairs, in addition to their other ceremonial functions, would reduce potential acrimonies and confrontation between local government actors and traditional authorities.
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