Participatory Democracy in Pre-Colonial Nigeria: The Old Oyo Empire in Retrospect
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2015-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Social Science, University of Ilorin
Abstract
Prior to the end of the twentieth century, democracy was the most sought after system of governance. The commencement of the present millennium also signaled the consolidation of the establishment of democratic practice in authoritarian polities. Today, only few countries have not embraced democratic rule. States which do not practice democracy in contemporary times are regarded as pariah states. However, the western proponents of democracy are of the opinion that the difficulty to establish democracy in Africa can be attributed to the level of development of respective African states. These western scholars portray Africa as strangers to democracy. While it may be asserted that African countries may encounter occasional setbacks in their democratization process, they have made remarkable success. It is also important to note that while it is incontestable that the notion of modern democracy is a product of western idea, it can equally be argued that democratic practices is not completely alien to Africa. A retrospective analysis of pre-colonial African political structure will reveal that traditional African societies are not devoid of what may be regarded as the practice of democracy. These indigenous societies had political practices which bear semblance with what is obtained today. Using the pre-colonial Old Oyo Empire as a point of reference and a careful investigation of relevant secondary data and multi-disciplinary approach the paper argued that what can be described as democratic practices actually existed in the Empire. The paper however, concludes that these democratic practices were abolished by the advent of colonial rule.
Description
Keywords
Participatory Democracy, Oyo Empire, Colonial Rule, Oyo Mesi, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances