ABSTRACT
Prior to 1861 when Britain annexed Lagos, governance in
what is known as Nigeria revolved around Traditional rulers. There is no
doubt that traditional rulers in Nigeria have witnessed the erosion of their
powers. This political scenario had elicited so many arguments among
stakeholders and traditional rulers on their role and relevance in the emerging
political arrangement. It is on this note that this research may be
timely and necessary to re-examine the relevance of traditional rulers in the
Local government administration with particular reference to the Ozoro Kingdom
in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State. Traditional Institutions
and their rulers have suffered extensively from the imposition of colonial
rule, revolution, wars and post independence political development in Nigeria.
As earlier noted, before the advent of colonialism,
traditional rulers were both the political, social, cultural and economic
administrators of their various localities. They were parts of the
immutable African culture which ensured harmony and stability in the society.
However, the situation changed when colonial rule was imposed on African
societies which Nigeria is an integral part. It was at this period that
Traditional Rulers, were subordinated and became instrumental for the
realization of the objectives of the indirect rule system.
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