Traditional Administrative System and Community Development in Nigeria: Roles and Relevance of Traditional Institution in Local Community Development

Abstract

Recently, the 1999 Nigerian constitution has been unavoidably silent on specific roles for traditional rulers in the country. Thus, traditional institutions play a crucial part in policy development and implementation in the country. Consequently, the lack of constitutional roles for traditional institutions severely limited their utility at the grassroots. The study assesses the roles of the traditional administrative system of selected communities in Osun State towards the integration of traditional core values into mainstream administration in Nigeria and also assesses the relevance of traditional institutions in managing inherent conflicts of the selected communities in Osun State. The study engaged qualitative research through key informant interviews and in-depth interviews. The findings showed that traditional institutions in Nigeria play active roles in the development process in the country. Despite their difficulty, the roles were more visible in cultural dissemination and managing conflicts in the local communities. The study concluded that the traditional administrative system and structure had influenced community development in the southwest region immensely but are limited in function and operation largely by the absence of roles in the Nigeria constitution.