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CONTINUITY AND CHANGE: LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ADMINSITRATION SINCE PRE COLONIAL ERA.
BEING A PAPER PRESENTED
BY
SANNI HABEEB ABIODUN
DEPT. OF HISTORY AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES,
LAGOS STATE UNIVERSITY, OJO – LAGOS
AT
THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE COMMISSION WORKSHOP
HELD ON TUESDAY 14TH DECEMBER 2010 AT THE ELEPHANT
HOUSE, ALAUSA IKEJA
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INTRODUCTION
Local government administration is an important segment of any
nation-state. It has evolved over the years in different forms and
different climes. It is considered to be the closest form of
government to the people.
The United Nations Division for Public Administration defined it: as
….. a political subdivision of a nation or (in a federal system), a
state which is constituted by law and has substantial control of
local affairs, including the power to impose taxes or to exact labour
for prescribed purposes…. The governing body of such an entity is
elected or otherwise locally selected.
This paper therefore looks at local government administration since
pre-colonial period in Nigeria with emphasis on Yorubaland and
Lagos. It consist of four sections. The first deals with local
government administration in the pre-colonial period, while the
second section looks at colonial era and the first republic, the third
section looks at local government administration under military rule
while
the
fourth
section
2
is
the
conclusion
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LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
ADMINISTRATION
2010
IN
THE
PRE-
COLONIAL PERIOD
The idea of local government administration as obtained in modern
political system may not fit perfectly into what was in practice in
the pre-colonial period, yet it should not be misconstrued that prior
to the era of colonialism, the various ethnic nationalities that came
to be known collectively as Nigeria since 1914 have not developed
an intricate system of local administration suitable for their own
environment.
This could be clearly discerned in their political system in the precolonial era which was based on Monarchy or kingship system,
whereby the king or Oba was considered first among equals and
head of national government. He was supported by a council known
as Igbimo which had specific names, in different Yoruba kingdoms,
e.g, Oyo-mesi in old Oyo, Ilamuren in Ijebu Ode, Ogboni in Egba,
Awujo Oloye in Lagos and Iwarefa in Ife and some other kingdoms.
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At the second tier of national government were the Baales, who
were appointed by the Kings to be his eyes and ears in their
respective smaller communities. While the Oloye/Ijoye or Olori-Itun
was the head of wards or quarters (Adugbo).
An Adugbo in Yorubaland could be considered as the modern local
government. It is made up of a number of agbo ile (compounds),
each of which is headed by a baale or Olori – ebi. The baale saw to
the general welfare of the members of the compound, performing
functions such as settlement of disputes, he also helped in
apprehending any outlaw who had committed serious crimes, which
only higher courts could try.
The function of an Oloye / Chief was higher than that of the baale
or Olori-Ebi. Aside from taking interest in the welfare of his ward, he
was also their mouth piece in the central government of the town.
Due to the vastness of his area of jurisdiction, he handled more
complex problems than the baale, he had a formal judicial function
unlike the baale, He could try all civil cases involving members of
his ward and had rights of punishments mostly fines on guilty
persons.
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Revenue generation came largely through fines imposed on the
guilty, and this could be in form of food stuff, livestock and other
essential needs of the community. It could also be in form of gifts
for the upkeep and welfare of the chiefs and the king. The Ajele
System in some parts of Yorubaland could be equated with local
government revenue collectors of modern periods.
In the pre colonial Lagos society, the Oba of Lagos or Eleko could be
seen as the head of national government. He was assisted by four
classes of chiefs, whose functions were clearly delineated. Thus, the
Akarigbere or first class chiefs performed the administrative
function, together with the King. The Aladejo or Idejo were in charge
of economy, because they were the land owing class of chiefs. The
Ogalade dealt with issue of spiritual upliftment of Lagos society,
while the Abagbons took charge of defence.
Each of these chiefs were also local administrators of their
respective domains. All the four classes of chiefs met with the Eleko
at the fortnightly Ose Iga to discuss issues affecting Lagos society at
large and whenever there was the need to feed back the entire Lagos
society, the Ilu meeting could be called.
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From the foregoing analysis, it could be seen that the Yoruba
society
had
developed
its
own
form
of
local
government
administration prior to the introduction of colonial rule.
Colonialism however brought with it, a clearly defined system of
Local Government Administration, while it tried to retain some of
the existing traditional structures before its advent. It is imperative
at this point to look at the main feature of local government
administration under colonial rule and the First Republic.
Local Government Administration under Colonial Rule and
First Republic.
Following the British conquest of Lagos in 1851 and the subsequent
establishment of Pax Britanica ten years later, the colonial
government began a gradual pacification of the entire Nigeria
territory such that by 1914, Nigeria became a united nation
through the amalgamation of Southern and Northern protectorates.
With this new development, the British authority designed a system
of government that ensured the annexation of both human and
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material resources of the nascent country for the benefit of the
central government.
It was in response to series of issues arising from how to relate with
the local people that the Native Authority Council was first
established in 1917 and by 1919, it became known as the Lagos
Town Council. It could therefore be said that the first local
government administration in Nigeria began in Lagos at this time.
As at the time of its creation, the Native Authority Council was to
deal purely with native matter and the Oba of Lagos was made its
chairman supported by other members of Lagos society appointed
by colonial government.
When it eventually metamorphosed into a Lagos Town council, it
had more functions that included regulations of health related
issues, sanitation and approval of building plans, but had no
legislative function until 1923 when the first elections were held
into the Lagos Town Council.
From 1919 when the Lagos Town Council was established, until
1951, when the constitutions made local government a regional
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matter, structure of Local government in Nigeria reflected the
influence of colonial tradition that ensured direct central control of
local administration. Colonial authority utilized existing traditional
authorities in various parts of Nigeria as springboard for central
control – although these varied from one part of the country to
another.
By 1951, regional autonomy led to the introduction of different
approaches to the organization of local government administration.
In Northern Nigeria, the structure of Local government was dictated
by tradition such that the Sultan and the Emirs became the
harbingers of community tax collection and administrations.
In the Eastern and Western Regions, the traditional rulers had less
role to play in the local government administration. Although they
were recognized, they did not dominate it. In the Western region a
three
tier
system
of
divisional,
district,
and
local
council
characterized local rule. Traditional office holders that had hitherto
played major role in local government administrations constituted
only one-fourth of the membership, while the remainder were
popularly elected.
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Functions of divisional and district councils were spelt out and it
included responsibilities for tax collection public works, law and
order, primary education, water supply, sanitation, motor parks
customary courts, markets and street lighting, etc. This was the
situation in different regions until 1966 when the military took over
the mantle of leadership in Nigeria.
Local Government Administration under the Military
The various problems that led to military involvement in Nigerian
politics had been subjects of so many scholarly works that needs
not be discussed in a forum of this nature. What however followed
military involvement was the 1967 creation of states by the Yakubu
Gowon administration which divided the existing four regional
structure into 12 states.
With the state creation decree of 1967, local governments
administration changed from regional control to states. The military
also brought military tactics into local government administration.
In Lagos State, the Mobolaji Johnson administration is credited for
dividing Lagos into 5 divisions viz: Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos
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and Epe. (IBILE). These administrative entities were the precursor
of existing local governments in Lagos State up till today. They
became spring board through which the then nascent state was
administered
and
linked
with
intricate
network
of
roads,
electrification and other appurtenances of urban infrastructural
development.
The 5 divisional structure was in place until 1976 when the Murtala
Administration embarked on the reform of local government
Administration in Nigeria as a result of series of conflicts
confronting local authorities. Some of the conflicts bordered on
ethnic differences in states with diverse ethnic composition such as
Midwestern state, power struggles between state administrative
officers and local councilors, clashes between rural and urban
interest etc.
Since the 1976 local government reforms various administrations in
Nigeria, both military and civilian had embarked on series of
reforms which are largely based on creation of more local
government with the belief that governance could get closer to the
grassroot.
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Conclusion
This paper attempts a historical evolution of local government
administration from pre colonial period with the view to identifying
continuity and change in the structure. It pointed out that the precolonial Nigerian society, especially in Yorubaland had evolved a
system of local government administration that best suited the
dictate and structure of its period.
While seeing the Monarchy as the head of national government, it
considered the Ijoye system as a form of traditional local
government administration. Considering the continuity in the precolonial and colonial system, it could be seen that the retention of
traditional rulers as the harbingers of Native Authority and later
local government administrations was a form of continuity, while
the introduction of taxes in form of currency could be seen as the
change.
Another important aspect of continuity is the relation between
central government and the local government n both pre-colonial,
colonial and post colonial era. While the change could be seen in
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the gradual withdrawal of traditional elements in the decision
making organ of local government administration.
From
the
perspective
of
statutory
responsibilities
of
local
governments in the pre-colonial period, continuity can be viewed
from such function as performing public works, sanitation etc,
while more of these functions are now being performed by the
modern post colonial local government administration.
It is however the view of this writer that local government
administration needs to to be more inclusive and innovative in
rendering the required services to the communities for which they
have ben created. Local government administration should not be
an avenue for siphoning public funds by elected officers and civil
servants, but to bring development to the grass root.
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