Situating Traditional Political Systems in the Nigerian Federal Governance

Abstract

The goal of this study is to examine how the precolonial political system impacts the postcolonial political system of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in order to provide an increased understanding of how the Nigerian political system functions. The traditional political systems that exist today in Nigeria constitute a fundamental element in the political system of postcolonial Nigeria (Awolowo 1975, 103–106 and Azikiwe 1975, 100–102). Universally, political systems contain both older and newer political socialization frameworks, political cultures/value systems, political processes, political structures/institutions, and policy outputs. The differing dynamics of political history of various countries result in varying profiles of mixture of older and newer frameworks for each country. The older or newer frameworks may be large, medium, or small in different countries. Therefore, the differing dynamics of political history result in a blend of older and newer frameworks on a continuum for countries. These frameworks will also inform this study’s focus on the impacts of traditional political systems in the modern political system of postcolonial Nigeria.