KINGSHIP AND POWER POLITICS IN AKOKOLAND, 1900-1999

Abstract

Kingship and power dynamics remain significant in governance discourse in Africa. Existing studies on kingship generally have portrayed the institution as a subordinate agent in colonial administration and modern power dynamics in Nigeria, including Akokoland. Although the dynamics of kingship and power relations in Nigeria have received a degree of scholarly interest, less attention has been paid to them in Akokoland. This study was, therefore, designed to examine kingship and power politics in Akokoland, with a view to determining the pattern of leadership tussles, complexity of governance and its challenges between 1900, the formal commencement of colonial rule in Akokoland and 1999, when the Government White Paper on the Justice S.F Adeloye Commission of Inquiry on Chieftaincy Matters in Ondo State report was released.

The historical approach was adopted. Primary and secondary sources were utilised. The primary sources derived mainly from the Commission of Inquiry Reports on chieftaincy matters obtained from the library of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Ondo State. Other primary sources included Annual Reports and Intelligence Report files as well as private and official files obtained from the National Archives, Ibadan and Kaduna. In-depth interviews were conducted with 60 purposively selected informants based on their knowledge of the history of kingship and power politics in Akokoland: 17 kings, 20 chiefs, three princes, one palace staff, eight academics and 11 elders aged between 40 and 90 years. Secondary sources included books, journal articles, monographs, national dailies, dissertations, theses and materials from the internet. Data were subjected to historical analysis.

British colonialists deployed power politics as a divisive tool in Akokoland between 1900 and 1960. This development altered the political structure, subverted the power and authority of traditional rulers and created conflicts within the traditional authorities by subjecting the area to the lordship of Kabba (1900 – 1919) and Owo (1919 – 1935). The kings and chiefs consistently resisted the lordship of external powers over them. This resistance led to the creation of a separate system of Native Administration between 1935 and 1948. Two Native Administrations were created in Akokoland during this period because of the rivalry between Ikare-Akoko and Oka-Akoko. Between 1948 and 1960, the Akoko Federation Council was established, marking the last phase of colonial rule in Akokoland. From 1960 to 1999, kings and chiefs in Akokoland employed power politics to take full control of their royal jurisdiction by tactically and strategically invoking necessary sanctions, building formidable contacts with the ruling elite and exploring legal channels to check excesses and threats to their powers. The civilian and military regimes during this period enacted policies such as the 1976 Local Government Reforms, Land Use Decree of 1978, chieftaincy declarations and the setting up of scripted Commissions of Inquiry to further relegate the kingship institution. However, it survived their onslaught as a mediatory power between the people and government.

The use of power politics by kings and chiefs in Akokoland was largely occasioned by the quest for survival and relevance in the political space from 1900 to 1999.