We should look back
at our history and restore the positive impact of the ruling houses, which are
institutions that were built up over time. They command
considerable influence and can be the bridge between the old and the new way. Our
colonial masters understand the greatness of these institutions and have
preserved theirs to strengthen their democracy.
There are more than 200 ethnic groups
in Nigeria. Before the arrival of the British in the late 19th century, the
history of the area was turbulent, with periods when empires such as Oyo,
Kanem-Borno and Sokoto gained control over large areas. It was common for each
town or collection of towns to have a recognized ruler, who might in turn be
subordinate to the ruler of a larger polity. Thus the Sokoto caliphate was
divided into emirates, with the emirs loosely subordinate to the Sultan of
Sokoto.
Europeans traded with the coastal
states, primarily exchanging cotton and other manufactured goods for slaves and
palm oil products at centers such as Calabar, Bonny and Lagos. During the period 1879–1900 the Royal
Niger Company made a concerted effort to take control of the interior, using
disciplined troops armed with the Maxim gun, and making treaties of
"protection" with the local rulers. The company's territory was sold
to the British government in 1900, with the southern region merged with the
Niger Coast Protectorate to become the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and the
Northern Nigeria Protectorate remaining separate. In 1914 the two were merged
into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.
The first British High
Commissioner for Northern Nigeria, Frederick Lugard, tried to rule through the
traditional rulers. Lugard's successor Hugh Clifford left this system in place
in the north, where the emirate system had long traditions, but introduced a
legislative council with some elected members in the south, relegating the
traditional rulers to mainly symbolic roles.
With independence in 1960,
followed by alternating democratic and military governments, the status of the
traditional rulers evolved even further. Where rulers had previously acquired
office strictly through inheritance or through appointment by a council of
elders, the government now increasingly became involved in the succession.
Thus, in May 1994, the military ruler General Sani Abacha deposed Awwal
Ibrahim, Sarkin Zazzau of the Suleja Emirate, although he was subsequently
reinstated in January 2000.
In some cases, the government has
merged or split traditional domains. For example, there had been two rulers of
the Efik people in the area around Calabar, but in December 1970 it was agreed
to combine the office into a single one that was to be held by a ruler known as
the Obong.
Today, although they have no statutory role in
governance. The rulers can award honorary titles for positions in their
"administrations" and wealthy businessmen or politicians often place
great value on acquiring such titles.
The rulers broker communication
between the people and the state, enhancing national identity, resolving minor
conflicts and providing an institutional safety valve for state bureaucracies.
By June 2010, Akwa Ibom State had
116 traditional rulers with official certificates from the state. They had
received new cars on their appointment, among other perks. The chairman of the
Akwa Ibom council of Chiefs said that in return, the traditional fathers were
responsible for preventing robberies and kidnappings in their domains.
Though their bearers maintain the monarchical
titles of their royal ancestors, their relations with the government of the
federation are closer in substance to a servant master relationship.They do the
bidding of their new benefactors instead of keeping them in check through their
communities. They have lost almost all similarity to the high nobility of old.
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