Igbo Pre-Colonial Political

Administration

Table of Contents
83
/ 100
 1. Igbo Pre-Colonial Political Administration and the Traditional
Classless System of Igboland
2. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE IGBOLAND
2.0.1. 1 – The Family
2.0.2. 2 – The Council of Elders
2.0.3. 3 – Village Assembly
2.0.4. 4 – Priest of the Village God
2.0.5. 5 – Ozo Title Holders
2.0.6. 6 – Age Groups
2.0.7. 7 – The Diviner
3. Performances Of Governmental Functions
3.0.1. Legislative Function
3.0.2. Executive Function
3.0.3. Judicial Function

Igbo Pre-Colonial Political

Administration and the Traditional
Classless System of Igboland
The Igbo live in what is now called the South East geo-political zone and
parts of Rivers and Delta states of Nigeria. In general, the Igbo had no
central political institution nor traditional political authority in
precolonial times. It was essentially republican and democratic in
governance. There were, however, a few traditional institutions in the
fringe Igbo areas such as Onitsha and Asaba.

In spite of the absence of a central government among the Igbo in pre

colonial Nigeria, yet political stability in the area was maintained through a
network of kinship groups, age sets, and secret societies, which performed
the functions of government in one way or the other.

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE

IGBOLAND
The following social institutions performed roles that had significant
political dimensions in the pre-colonial era.

1 – The Family
The family was the basic unit of social organization and administration
among the Igbo during the pre-colonial period. The Igbo family was (and
still is) patrilineal (a family relationship which is reckoned through the father
or through the male alone). A family could be small or large enough to form
a village or a clan. The head of the family performed the following
functions;

Settlement of minor disputes within the family.

Performance of rituals, customary rites and sacrifices.

Representation of the family at village meetings.

The family head held the “Ofo” title. In theory, the families were equal but,
in practice, families were distinguished by their ancestry and wealth.
:
 2 – The Council of Elders
The family heads constituted the Council of Elders or “Ama-ala”. The
council was usually headed by one of the family heads. He must be the
oldest head of family in the village and must have descended from the
original founder of the village. But he was not a traditional ruler in the real
sense of the word.

The Council of Elders handled the day-to-day administration of the

village. The family heads were required to brief members of their families
about the decisions of the council.

3 – Village Assembly
Another important political institution was the village assembly. The
assembly comprised the adult male citizens of the village. The body could
:
discuss any matter a!ecting the village and could summon the Council of
Elders on any matter that was of interest to the people. There was
freedom of expression at village meetings and final decisions must be
unanimous. The assembly could bring the village to a halt if the Council of
Elders was recalcitrant.

The assembly more or less served as a check against the excesses of the
Council of Elders. This demonstrated the democratic nature of the Igbo
traditional political system.

4 – Priest of the Village God

Each village had its own god and the god had a priest. The village priest
was a traditional and significant religious institution. He interpreted
spiritual events, pronounced sanctions on those who o!ended the gods
and performed rituals. The village priest therefore wielded a great deal of
power in the administration of the village especially since his
pronouncements were considered binding.

5 – Ozo Title Holders

There were many secret societies and cults among the Igbo though there
were stringent conditions for their membership. In the case of the “Ozo”
title, membership was restricted to people of wealth and influence in the
society. Although they were not traditional rulers, Ozo titleholders played
important roles in the administration of the village. They o!ered advice
to the elders, settled family disputes and assisted in settling inter-village
conflicts.

The enormous powers conferred on Ozo titleholders whose only claim to

the pre-eminent position was wealth indicated the importance attached to
material success in the Igbo society. There was no parallel in the Fulani
and Yoruba political systems.

6 – Age Groups
The age groups or age grades played important roles in the Igbo
traditional political system. An age group comprised all the male children
who did their initiation around the same time. Being generally young, they
provided free labour for the construction of public projects such as roads
:
and markets, enforced decisions of the Council of Elders and served as the
police and military force of the community.

Besides, the age groups settled disputes among themselves, checked the
behaviour of one another and summoned the family heads for important
meetings.

7 – The Diviner
The deviner or “Nde Dibea” was also important in village administration. As
the intermediary between the village deity and the people, the utterances
of the diviner were more or less laws in the society.

Igbo Political Administration

Performances Of Governmental
Functions
In the Igbo traditional political system, the functions of government
were, performed by any one or a combination of two or more of the
political institutions mentioned above.

Legislative Function

There was no legislature as such, but laws were made all the same. The
following institutions took part in the law making process directly or
indirectly.
:
1. The Council of Elders

2. The Village Assembly (it made laws especially during the seeond burial
ceremonies)

3. The diviver (he handed down supematural laws).

Executive Function

The principal instrument for village administration was the Council of

Elders. Other institutions which assisted in managing the a!airs of the
village included the following.

1. Family heads

2. Age groups

Judicial Function

There were no formal courts in the mould of the Alkali courts of the
Fulani emirates yet there existed institutional mechanisms for the
administration of justice. The following institutions were involved in rule
adjudication of the Igbo traditional society.

1. Family heads who settled minor disputes within the families.

2. Council of Elders which handled serious cases especially between families.

3. Village Assembly, which also assisted inn settling serious cases.

4. Priest of the village god who handled o!ences against the supernatural
especially in cases like murder, giving birth to abnormal

5. The diviner

6. Age grows

Facebook Comments Box

:
: