ABSTRACT
This study examined chieftaincy system in Onitcha-Olona, Delta state Nigeria. It describes the earliest history of the pristine traditional mode of the group.
The secondary data was used to reflect the purpose of the study, content analysis was used to elicit data from texts, journals, magazines, past project relating to this study, archives, publications of research work and internets.
The result revealed that subsurface structures in Delta State vary remarkably as the state stretches from near the ocean at Forcados and Warri to the hinterland at Agbor and Issele Uku from where it again slopes into River Niger. Many towns in the high altitude zone of Delta State have inadequate water resources whereas availability of groundwater/portable water is a major determinant of settlement and population growth in rural and urban areas. Onicha Olona, Akwukwu-Igbo and Atuma Iga are towns worst hit in this zone where availability of portable water is obviously a serious problem. Onicha Olona seems to be the transition zone by contouring as the topography gradually drops from here with respect to Issele Uku. Many attempts of citing viable boreholes and deep water wells have woefully failed.
The study concluded that the traditional chieftaincy system in Onitcha-Olona, Delta state community at the present moment is as active in the pre-colonial era as any form of government anywhere in the world. The study further recommended; the chief-makers or decision makers in the community should also incorporate the women in the community to be part of the chieftaincy system; the chieftaincy positions held in Onitcha-Olona need to be elaborated to accommodate other minor occupants in Onitcha-Olona such as Idumuje Unor of Aniocha North Local government as this group has been under represented and marginalized in holding chieftaincy positions.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The role of political institutions in shaping the political landscape in any country is of prime importance. The establishment and correct functioning of these institutions essentially give direction and focus to citizens’ conduct and help maintain a peaceful atmosphere for the thriving of democracy and associated social and economic development. Weak or defective institutions in a political system expose a country to danger, violence, malfunctioning and breakdown of democratic governance. Conversely, strong institutions enable effective political mobilisation, respect for rule of law and increased democratic participation1.
In present Nigeria, the traditional political institution, the chieftaincy institution – an indigenous political arrangement by which leaders with good moral standings are selected and installed in line with the provisions of their native customs and laws2 and formal political institutions such as the Police, the Court, Parliament and Electoral Commission, among others, work hand-in-hand in shaping the individual’s life whiles the individual equally owes allegiance to both systems3. In everyday life, however, an individual seeking for conflict resolution may choose to resort to either traditional norms and institutions or formal western-originated institutions depending on many factors including locality, issue at hand, level of education, and the individual’s knowledge, preference and trust of the institution. To this effect, institutions play a vital role in both the generation and regulation of (violent) conflicts.
The use of the open sea and creeks had long been the way of life of most coastal communities in the Eastern Niger Delta of Nigeria. The canoes as means of transportation helped the seafarers out of economic and social difficulties without which life and living would have been very excruciating. Before the fifteenth century, the neighbouring communities of the interior, exchanged agricultural produce for fish and salt from the coastal people. This was the period of long-distance trade 4. These people were originally at the Central Niger Delta. Their migration at different times down to the Eastern Niger Delta necessitated the change from farming environment to fishing and salt making environment5.
By mid-15th century, the Portuguese traders and navigators met the Benin People and started trade with them. Towards the end of 15th century, the Portuguese extended their trade contact with Bonny but had difficulty with the narrow creeks of the Bonny River. According to Alagoa & Fombo, it was Asimini that responded to the challenge of widening the water ways, by sacrificing his daughter, Ogbolo, to the river goddess5. By making the trade with the Portuguese possible, Asimini was crowned the first King of Bonny5. Her Majesty, Queen Kambasa, also ruled Bonny under Asimini dynasty and led the first military squad to Opu Oko in Ogoni territory and decisively defeated the Ogoni warriors 5. After that successful onslaught, the Ogoni made peace and there had not been any recorded conflict between the two neighbours. The last King of Bonny under the Asimini dynasty was King Awusa Halliday whose reign was terminated because of his inability to defeat the Andoni. Before the eighteenth century, when the slave trade was still undergoing the gradual process of expansion, the importation of firearms into the Eastern Delta was minimal. It was believed that the Portuguese traders only supplied arms to their fortified stations on the Gold Coast-Elmina, Shama, Axim and Accra to protect them from other European nations and local people around the neighbourhood 6. In other words, although the Portuguese traded with Bonny and Kalabari at this period, arms were probably not part of the trade goods. This article will therefore, examine military formations in three of the city-states in the Eastern Niger Delta. Two of the three, Bonny and Kalabari, are rivals in both the trade in slaves and palm oil, while the third, Opobo is a product of the economic and political rivalry in Bonny.
The way and means people can live together in peace to pursue a better life for themselves has remained a problem since man found himself in society. When the British came to Nigeria as colonial overlords, they sought for an easy way to rule the country without committing much resource into the system. Seeing the kingship system obtainable in both the northern and western parts of the country as being in consonance with their desire, the British authorities decided to select some individuals, who they called ‘Warrant Chiefs’, and charged them with the responsibility to oversee the affairs of the people at the grassroots. This was part of their Indirect Rule policy. In the Igbo areas, in particular, with the republican nature of their administration, the Warrant Chief system did not quite work. Instead, it brought social dislocation, which led to its abolition by the colonial government.
Notwithstanding the abolition by the colonial government of the Warrant Chief system nationwide, successive Nigerian administrations in Igboland still looked with nostalgia at the kingship system and sought to reintroduce the system, though under different guises. This study is aimed at reviewing the evolution of the kingship system in Igboland, and examining the course it has travelled over the years, the hiccups it encountered and still encounter in its journey. Thus, both traditional authorities and formal modern political institutions of democracy affect in various degrees, the internal (violent) conflicts in Ghanaian communities. Busia and Isaac have expressed that, traditionally, governance in pre-colonial Nigeria was based mainly on the chieftaincy institution7. The chiefs carried out combined legislative, executive, judicial, religious, and military responsibilities assisted by their Council of Elders from the village to the state level 8. As noted by Isaac 9 although these types of institutions were not synonymous to Western institutions in terms of structure, administrative procedures, substance responsibilities, or privileges attached, they nonetheless created a similar level of social and political cohesion in their respective communities as were found in Western countries at the time. The unity, peace and security of kingdoms, chieftains, and communities were largely dependent on the good leadership and protection of their kings, chiefs, sub-chiefs and community/family leaders that constituted the hierarchy of the chieftaincy institution. As Brobbey3 and Acquah8 noted, traditional governance evolved around the chieftaincy institution and the associated conflicts were resolved through customary arbitration with the chief aided by his elders constituted as customary arbitrators from the village to the state level.
This study therefore aims at investigating the chieftaincy in Onitcha-Olona, Delta State from the Earliest Times.
1.2 Aim and Objectives of the Study
This study is concerned with unraveling chieftaincy in Onitcha-Olona, Delta State from the Earliest Times. The specific objectives are to:
- historical development of traditional chieftaincy system in Nigeria;
- examine the chieftaincy in the Igbo traditional society;
- explore the historical development of chieftaincy system in Onitsha-Olona, Delta state
1.3 Statement of Problem
Several researches have been conducted on the historical development of different historical systems in the pristine traditional Igbo society. However, the Onitcha-oloni chieftaincy traditional system has been remarkable and significant and little research has been conducted on it.
1.4 Significance of the Study
This study will be beneficial to several people in the society. It will be useful to students of history, political science and Anthropology. This study will help them to understand the origin and historical sequence of Onitcha-Olona chieftaincy in the Igbo society.
This study will also be useful to the people of Igbo society. It will help them to understand the unknown tale about the precolonial, polonial and postcolonial traditional system in the Onitcha-Olona chieftaincy system.
1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study
This study is delimited to the pristine traditional political system. It concentrates on the Igbo political system. The chieftaincy system in the Igbo society remains a focus. It focuses on the Onitcha-Olona chieftaincy system.
1.6 Definition of Relevant Concept
The following terms are defined accordingly in order to ensure fidelity and efficiency in communication.
Tradition: tradition remains the ways and patterns of the pristine culture of a group of people.
Chieftaincy: chieftaincy refers to the traditional positions that are held or occupied by the elders of a pristine society imposed by culture.
Political System: political system deals with the placement of power as positioned through traditional imposition or election.
1.7 Sources and Methodology
The methods adopted in this work are historical, analytical, expository and critical. In the collection of materials for the paper, we depended mainly on relevant literatures. The study thus consulted books, journals and other literary sources. The study also further sourced information via the internet in order to attend comprehensively to our research problem.
1.8 Literature Review
Some studies have been made on chieftaincy and traditional rulership in Nigeria. None of them concentrated specifically on the chieftaincy and traditional rulership among the Igbo in pre-colonial times. Probably the best scholarly account of the Igbo social system was produced by Uchendu10. In his accounts of the Igbo, Uchendu concentrated more on “status and hierarchy among the Igbo” 10, “the status implications of Igbo religious beliefs”, and “Kola hospitality and Igbo lineage structure” 10. Uchendu’s writings about the Igbo were influenced by the English colonial culture. He did not touch pre-colonial system of social control, but he mentioned the inhuman treatments meted out to those who committed abominations.
Basden a European anthropologist, studied Igbo customs and tradition but did not look into the Igbo judicial system11. Green studied life in rural Igbo communities, but paid little attention to the Igbo legal system12. Mbiti in his African Religion and Philosophy, did not include the Igbo in his studies, but he provided religious facts and beliefs that are prevalent in all African societies south of the Sahara which are ancestral connections with the living, reincarnation, and the zones of existence of departed relatives: collective immortality (The dead who are still remembered) and the Zamani (Dead relatives whom no living person knew them)13.
Meek studied law and authority in a Nigerian tribe14. He gave an account of traditional Igbo laws and customs as he saw them during the colonial regime. He did not provide any information on pre-colonial Igbo laws and policing methods. Elechi researched on “Doing Justice Without the State” among the Afikpo (Ehugbo), but the research wasneither specific on pre-colonial social control, nor designed to cover the whole of Igboland 15.
Ebbe in his “Crime and Crime Control in Nigeria: Post traditional Nation-State”, provided only an outline of law enforcement in traditional Nigeria and how the British colonization of Nigeria and the concomitant introduction of English legal system changed the prior customary order 16. Also in his “Crime Prevention in Nigeria: Pre-colonial and Post-colonial Dimensions,” Ebbe again, concentrated only on crime prevention methods in traditional Nigeria 17. Many other scholars on social control or policing in Nigeria concentrated on colonial and postcolonial Nigeria system of social control and policing as in Okonkwo (1966)18.
1.9 Chapter Synopsis
This study contains five chapters. The first chapter deals with the introductory part of the study. The second chapter presents the historical development of traditional chieftaincy system in Nigeria. The third chapter presents the chieftaincy system in the pristine Igbo society. The fourth chapter deals with the historical development of the chieftaincy system of Onitcha-Olona of Delta State. The last chapter deals with the summary of the whole study, conclusion and recommendation.
