'\>'Tl'R' ~··· ·A, Rf,;\\~, . . ~

~.~ I "'\

REPORT OF THE POSITION,

STATUS, AND INFLUENCE

OF CHIEFS AND NATURAL

RULERS IN THE EASTERN

REGION OF NIGERIA

lh-

G_ L JONES

of Chiefs and Natural Rulers in the

Eastern Region of Nigeria

By

G. \. }ONES

NOTE

The Go,·emment of the Eastern Region wishes to make it clear that the contents of this Report are the vie\vs and opinions of :\Ir Jones and do not necessarily represent either the opinions or the policies of this Government. The Repon. as a whole, is now under active consideration and the proposals of the Regional Government for both the constitution of the House of Chiefs and the representation of Chiefs in Local Govemment borlies ";n be made kno\vn in due course.

FORE\VORD

This Commission was undertaken bet'~ 1\farch and Augus~ 1956 in the Eutern Region of Nigeria. I ts terms of reference were:

"To enquire into thc position. status and inftuence of chiefa and Natural Rulers in the Eastern Region, and to make recommendations as to the neccssity or otberwise of legislation regulating thcir appointment, recognition, and depoaition." 2. 1t became very quickly evident that no one was interested in questions relating

to the appointment and deposition of chiefs. l\1ost peoplc feit that traditional chie& wcre not dcposed and thcy also feit that there was no need for s~l tegislation to regulate their appointment. \Vhat thc majority of people were very actlvely concemed with was the rccognition of chiefs in the field of Loca1 and Regional Go .. ·emment, and most of the evidence submitted related to this question.

3. The enquiry therefore was directed primarily to detennining the part played by chiefs and Natural Rulers in their traditional systems of go,•emment and the part which people ,,,.ished them to play in the contemporary system.

Method 4. In view of the heterogeneity of the Region and the numbcr, small size, and

diversity of the political units involved, and the Iinie reliable infonnation that bad been published about so many of them, it was decided that the application of any kind of sampling technique would be unwise and that it would be safest to make a comparative survey of the whole Region. It was also feit that only in this way could the wishes and political aspirations of the people who composed these political units be met and their fears at the same time allayed. For almost e'•ery one of thc:se little peny states was fiercely jealous of its own traditional system of govemment and detennined to ensure that no other system, traditional or modern, particularly those of their neighboun or rivals, should be imposed upon them.

5. My itinerary was therefore planned so that I could spend not less and when=ver possible more than three days in every division in the Eastem Region. (T& UIUJ'tiou r«re Awgu, where the people UJeTe not intnested in chieftaincy tmd lkom, fDIUt:la tlw 6141~ of the roads compelled ~ to t:Jisit by fDDter). '\Vhile in a division arrangements were made for me to meet all those persons and groups who wished to see me, and any who wen: absent or prevented by other circumstances from seeing me personally, were able to send me their information and evidence in writing. Owing to the vcry considerable local interest in the subject of my commission, I was able to discuss their traditional and existing political institutions with representatives from practically every village group in every Ibo division, and with representatives from every Ibibio and Annang clan. Difficulties of communication prevented my covering Brass, Ogoja and lkom Divisions so intensively. In addition I received memoranda from a very great number of Ibo and lbibio traditional and Local Government Councils, from Divisional, Tribal, Clan, Family and other Unionsand Associations, as well as from individuals who bad studicd or were interested in the subject. Excluding a small number of communications from persons and groups involved in chieftaincy disputes, these memoranda in most cues corroborated the data I bad already collectcd and in some instances, particularly in regard to Calabar and the other Oil River ports, they materially added to it.

6. I was also able to check and amplify the infonnation I received with official records, the most valuable of which are the large number of excellent reorganisation or Intelligence reports which accompanied the introduction of the Native Administration system of local government and which were mainly written in the period 1930 to 1940. (lt fDOUld he invidious to singleout any special reporls Jor commnulatitm, hutl fJ10IIld liM to drmD the attention of IM Regional Gooernmmt to tM reporu reltlting to IM NIUAJea Diflision and urge the reproductüm in more permanmt form of their more importtmtsldimu.

TkM ,.,.". - .,, f ... tNdl tlll •for'-~' •:u•"W. of tJw (JI.Ju "'"'· ,."",J lA# ,_,liaJ!Iw ti.Mib ~ JWjly tiiiM i• ehtto.tt ,.,.,.y flil'-6- VO"P '" tlw Im-.. .'e-toa t1f ,.._, lilla .,, 11ill.,.., «tiec#y -:-h ~I~ "'/KJI.'' ""' '""'for• Nütf to~~dfllllly r~ 1o '.Y tJw C_.tz -- tJ. .~ruiiOII 111 .ktrr--. til. JuJ*I•).

, __ ol ..... ..,_.

Tbe Rcport faDI into thrce ,-ru. Tbe tint ia a comp&n~tin· •tudy uf <. 'h.Mhah•hlp and title-takinJ in lhe wholc Region. Thc KCOOd dc.aJa w\th l'hieft.Üncy än a-rtkula.r areaa and with thc pn"'-"ipal aceptiona to the ~.nli.tiona nwde in thC' finc J'llrl. The dUnl pan c:onm .. a IUIIUniiF)' of the tim two puu anc1 a. ~·ed br my o:Jnclu­aon. and ~ and tt.e.e recumnwndatioa. 11ft amrbttad in thftr .ppt-.-.uon 10 panicula.r Di'l'ilionll m an appcnd:ix.

8. I apolocile ftx tbe me of tbe report and lw lhco drt.ay in ih compl.ltion. &o.b are due mainly ro d:iflicultia occ:asioned in thc nductiun ol dw m.-iv~ quantity uf eYideece praented to me. h ia hoptd that dw SWDn\Ary m Part 111 will Rlk-vc- u\'er· worked Miütcn. Honourable 1\l~mbe.n. and Gowmmcot afficiala of the P«d l'or radinc IM- fin1 nro paru. and tb.at tbc ~- ~nteJ in thcw twu .,-na will bc suflicieDt to con'-in« tbe eceptic of thc ..:\:uraa...,- ul my cond'*ona.

CoDe• ..

9. I wish to thank the Premier and :\liDialu fur l.oc::al Gover~nt. Or N~ A.zikiwe. lhe Permanent Scc:-rctarv tW Loc.l (".o,~m~. Licu~nant-Colond E. C. Aldnton and his MICCaiOI', l\lr J: 0. Li"l~·Boocb end thftr office etatf for thar belp and -mtance and for the "ffY detailed ~ whidl lky ma• for my itinaary.

10. I alao wish to lhank thc !\liaiskr b jusba: aod ~-al Go~rtUDrnt of the Western Rqion. (.öief F. R. A. Robmi "-...._ and tu. Permanent ~wy. 1\b R. E. Brown for 1be infonnation on Local CosuiWDCIII in tbc Western Rqion wbich they placed at my dispoeal

11. I have also to thank tbe ()ffimn in cbarge of the twenty-ai...: Adminiatrative om.ions of tbe Eastem Region. the chairma:n and otbcr mcmben of thcir Local G<n·em­me:nt Cou.ocils and the Chida and people ol tbe ~ lUgion for their tirelca co­operation and for the massiYe IIIDOUDI ol WfiCN mation aud evidcnce which they supplied 10 me. I bave alao to expre88 my rqret • my ioabi1iry 10 indudc more than a fractioo of thilt erideoce in my report.

12 Fmally, I wiah to thank tbe Govei'DOI' ol dx Easlcm Rqion, Sir Clement PJeus. LC.M.G., LB..L, and bis o8icera for the boapitaljty whicb tbey atcodcd ro mc during my .., iD tbe Region.

G. I. joNES.

florewonl Glnaary Chaptt'r

Chapter

Chapter

REPORT ON CHIEFS

)---) N"fiCOIJilf"l ION

l>cmogr;~phy ... lliatory Tcrminology ...

PART I

Gr.NI!RA I.

(a) TraditionaJ atructurc (h) Loca.l Govcrnmcnt ...

Women'a Organiaation

11-CIIIEFS AND NATURAL Rt:LE.RS

Traditional Systems of Govcrruncnt (e1) Arochuku (h) Bcnin

Chiefs and their functions (a) Presidential Functions (h) Religious Functions

Priest-Chiefs (c) Deliberati\·e and Legislative Functions (d) Administrative and Exccuti,·e Functions ... (e) judicial {/) Financial

Replacemcnt of Chiefs ( a) Succession (h) Appointment and Rccognition of Chiefs ( c) Deposition of Chiefs . . . . ..

Ill-TITU~ SYSTEMs A.""iD SEcRE& SociETIES ..• Eze and Ntinya Titlcs Title and Secrct Societies and Local Government ... Ibo Tide Socictics

(a) Ndichic aml Ndiama Titlc Systems (b) Ndi Nze or Ozo Tide System (c) Oguta System (d) Obukpa System (e) Nri System ...

Secret Societies Present Position of Title and Secret Societies

Para­graph No.

3 6 8

12 13

1b

16 17 23 33 34 36 38 41 42 4S 46 so so 62 6S

67 71

74 80 81 83 85 86 87 89 93

Page No.

2 2 3 3

4 s s 6 8 H 9

10 10 11 12 12

13 13 1S 1S

16 16 17

18 81 19 19 20 20 21 22

Chaptcr

Chapter

Chapter

Chaptcr

Chaptcr

Chapter

Chapter

-Chapter

Chaptcr

Appendix

Table Table

Table Table

PART II

CHJF.FTAIXCY J::-o PARTICULAR ARE.o\5

IV-CmEFTAINCY IN ÜNITSHA TowN Onitsha Urban Area ... Onitsha Inland Town ... Onitsha Ibos and Non-Onitsha Ibos Onitsha Town and othcr Ibo arcas .. .

V-CHIEFTAINCY I~ ÜLD CAL:\BAR .. .

YI-CHIEFTAINCY IN TIIE ÜIL RIVER PORTS

Chicftaincy in ßonny Chicftaincy in Kalabari Chicftaincy today

VII-CHJEFTAINCY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN TliE IBIBIO AND ANNANG DIVISIOXS

VI 11-CHIEFTAINCY IN THE Ino DIVISI0:-.15 Northern, Central and Southcrn arcas Othcr Ibo arcas

(a) Eastern plans (b) Cross River Ibo (c) Aha Town and the Ngwa Tribe (d) Ogui Nikc ...

IX-CHJEFTAINCY IN THE RIVERS PROVINCE Abua .. . Ogoni .. . Delta area

X-CJIIEFTAINCY IN THE ÜGOJA PROVI~CE

PART III

SPMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Xl-SUMMARY ...

XII-CONCLUSIONS AND RECOl\IMENDATIONS ••• Rccognition and Deposition of Chiefs Chiefs and Local Govcrnment Chiefs and Regional Govcrnment ... Recommendations Summary ... ... ... ... ... . .. Comments and Rccommendations rclating to Parti-

cular Provinces and Divisions 1-Peoples and Tribcs. Eastern Region

II-Structure of the Arochuku Tribc and of Ibom Villagc

III-Ibibio Tribes (clans) IV-Efik Tribe Structurc and Gcnealogy

Distribution Map

Para-graph

No.

95 97 98

105 114

116

128 131 132 133

135

149 150 151 153 154 159 161

162 163 164 165

167

172

184 187 197 210 221

Page No.

27 27 28 29 31

33

36 37 37 38

39

43 43 43 44 44 45 46

47 47 47 47

49

35

55 55 55 55 60 62

63

TERRITORIAL GROUP

TRIDE

Suu-TRIDE ... VILI.AGE GROUP

WARD

PRI:\IARY DIVISION

QUARTER

VILI.AGE

Co~rPotJND

DESCENT GROUP ...

CJ.AN

Cu:-.; GROUP

Suo-CLAl':

LI="iE.\GE

fAMILY

GLOSSARY

A. Territorial Groups

A community who occupy a common tcrritory and who consider themsclvcs a social group by rcason of this fact.

Thc largest territorial group considered by itsclf or hy its neighbours a singlc political or cultural umt.

A suh-division of a tribe. A local community, the typical political unit of the Ibo

people averaging from 5,000 to 15,000 people and composcd of a nurober of semi-autonomous scgmcnts (villagcs). Refcrrcd to in . early reports ~ a_ Town, somctimcs (in thc Cross. Rl\·er Ar~a) as a rn_bc. and morc rcccntly (in thc_ Omtsha .rrovmce) as a vtllagc ..

A similar local commumty but wtth the compounds of tts component families concentrated together instead of hcing disperscd.

1. A sub-division of a Town. 2. An elcctoral unit. A territorial sub-division of a villagc group or town

intermediate in sizc bctwcen it and a villagc or ward. An alternative namc for a primary division whcn thcrc arc

four of them. A similar local community somctimcs compact, somctimcs

dispcrsed and avcraging from 100 to 1,000 pcoplc. Thc typical political unit of thc lbibio peoplc, :md amongst the Iho, a Subdivision of a villagc group. A viiJage dividcs into villagc scctions and thcsc into suh­scctions.

An cncloscd dcaring containing thc houses of cithcr a singlc or of an extcndcd family.

B. Descent Groups

A social group composcd of all thosc persons who are or who think thcy arc descended cithcr in thc male line (Patrilincally) or in thc fcmale linc (1\latrilincally) from a common ancestor or stock.

Thc largcst descent group whose mcmbcrs fccl they havc a common anccstry hut who cannot tr.-.cc this rclation­ship.

A group of clans who claim to bc rdatcd hut not to havc a common anccstry.

A subdivision of a clan whosc mcmbcrs fccl thcy form a distinct subdivision but cannot tracc this gcncalogit:ally.

A subdivision of a clan or of a suh-dan whosc mcmbcrs claim to hc ablc to tracc thcir dcsccnt gencalogically to a founding anccstor or anccstrcss. :\laxin.al lincagc bcing thc largcst, and itsclf dividing into major lincages which in turn dividc into minnr and thcsc into minimal lincagcs.

A hushand. wifc (or wivcs) and thcir unmarricd children. Polygamaus family whcrc thcrc are morc than one wifc. Single or individual (family) whcrc thcre is only onc wife.

Hot·st:

:\GE GRADE

A m~~illl&ll lincngc, i.c., a group of fnmilics l ~nuhnenlly from a common founding fnth ( csccnded m n mntn-hnengc). er (or lllother

t. A. lineag_e. 2. In ~o.nny, Kuluburi, Ne, ne1ghbourmg. commumtJcs a corporute grau nhe nnd ahle to suppl~ und mnn a war canoe. P fonncrly

C. Associations

:\ hori:zontnl_division of the mnlt• <llld fcmnlc 0

.

a commumty based on age. Thcre nre usu~ft 1 puhn,on of grndt.-s. lnfants, Boys (Girls), l\lcn (Wo Y four such (Male or Female). mcn), Eidcrs

AcE-sET 0RGA~rs..nro~ . · · An orgnnisation of the mcn and womcn of a h b d 1 · • commun· ~ ey ecoa'!'e a u t and at mtervals of two to thrcc ny as

TrTI.E SocrETr~ ...

SECRET SociETIE$ ••.

CHIEF

mto a senes of g~ups, agc-sets, cach set r ~c_ars permane~tJy subordmate to those formed bcfo~~~ln'ng superordmate to those formed after it, and passin 1 ~ 11~d turn throu_gh th~ a~ grades of men and of elde~n lts thcnce as 1t cxpares mto the gmde of ancestors. nnd

Stt p.aragraphs 74, 78 and SO.

Su par.1gr.1phs 89 and 90.

D. Loca1 Government

The traditional head of a \;nage or )arger territorial r SH also Chapter II. g oup.

The traditional head of a unit smaller than a vilhtge. HE.w X.\Tl'RAL

LE.\DER

OR PoUTICAL

ELDERS

DIRECT Rt"LE

\\.ARR.o\-="-1 CmEF

XATIVE An)IISJSTR.\TIO:.l

TR.IDJTIO~AL .MElfBER

A charismaric as C?~posed to "': traditional hcad, that is, a man wh~ polm~ authonty _d~rin-s from his innate natural gtfts (C~ansma) for poltt_t<?Il lcadc~hip and not from the holding of any trndltlonal pohtical officc S« paragraph 43. .

1. The traditional and charismatic heads of a community 2. I ts senior age grade. ·

Elders. A term used in govemment correspondence to distinguish traditional heads from \\'arrant Chiefs and other locaJ office holders appointed by the Colonial Govemment.

The system of local go"·ernment up to 1928.

The head of a local community recognised by govcrnment under this system.

The system of local govemment recognised after 1928 until circa 1950. Sometimes referred to as lndirect Rule.

The system of local government which replaced Native Administration.

A Local Government councillor elected to this office bv a local community or by a segment of such a commun'ity ( electoral ward).

A LocaJ Govemment councillor holding office (in the \restem Region) by ,;rtue of his being a chief or Head,

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Demography 1. Thc distribution of the various peoplc with whom this report is conccrncd is

shown on the accompanying map. Thc population is given in Table I. (Based on 1953 Provincial Cmsus jigures. These do not distinguislz Ibos reside111 in tlze lbibio areas of the Calabar province-e.g., in Calahar Town. Tlzere are therefore a fno tlwusand more Ibos a11d less Ibihios tltan appear in this tahle). This population is very unevcnly distributed, the bulk of it is concentrated in a belt which runs from Onitsha south-east­ward through Orlu and Nguru and then on through Ikot Ekpene to Uyo. Along this Onitsha-Uyo axis a density in many places of weil over 1,000 persans a square milc occurs. Apart from a smaller concentration in the Eastern Highlands from ~sukka to Udi, the population dcclincs gradually as onc movcs away from this axis but still remains weil abovc the average for most other parts of Africa until one rcaches the forests of the Cameroons border and the swamps of the extreme south-wcst. Through­out the region this population remains rural and agricultural except in thc swamp ~reas where it has to fall back on fishing. It is distributed in a very large nurober of relauvely small local communities, each strongly attached to its land and in active rivalry with its nearcst neighbours.

2. That such a density of population could develop under such relatively peaccful conditions is a tribute, amongst other things, to the excellence of its indigenous political and economic institutions; and its history or Iack of history during the ~ineteenth ccntury is in markcd contrast to the turbulent annals of thc Yoruba statcs during this pcriod.

History

3. The ßritish Colonial Government, as it gradually brought this area under control, was faced with the problern of providing a more ccntraliscd administration in place of this "ordcrcd anarchy" whcre each local community was a law unto itsclf. lt did so by grouping thcm together into Native Court areas and by using these Native Courts as all-purpose local govcrnmcnt machines. Each local community put forward a "Chief" who was recognised by the Governmcnt and givcn a hat and a staff and a warrant to sit and try cases in the native court. These \Varrant Chiefs wcre expected to carry out the orders of the Government in their villages, such orders being scnt to them normally through the Clerk of the Native Court. The system functioncd rcason­ably weil where each local community had its own \Varrant Chief, but thcrc wcrc areas, particularly in Owerri and Calabar Provinces where local conditions did not permit this and where the system gave causc for considcrable misgivings. Thc sudden introduction of taxation in 1928 at a pcriod whcn thc world oil markcts werc changing from boom to slump conditions produced a revolt-thc Aha riots, in the area most hit by this fall in prices, namely, the Imo river and Annang rcgion which found its outlct through Opobo and which comprised most of thc Aba, Abak and Opobo and parts of thc Owerri and Bende divisions. These werc also thc arcas in which thc \Varrant Chief system had become most unpopular. The commission of enquiry which followed concentrated mainly upon the political rather than the economic causes of thcsc riots, and 1t confirmed the Colonial Government in its conviction that the \Varrant Chief systcm should be replaced by a form of Govcrnment "bascd morc on the indigcnous political systems of the region and on thc wishes of the peoplc thcmsclvcs".

4. During thc next tcn years an intensive survcy of thc political organisation of thc rcgion was made by administrative officcrs and, following thc approval of thcir re­organisation reports, Native Administrations wcre established in cach division based on the traditional forms of local governmcnt in so far as thcsc could bc adapted to suit

2 TI-IB JONES RBI11 0RT

exlating condhiona. Dcaphc thia cxhnuatlvc native odminlatrutivc rcorg~ation nm.l tht'l lc.~•• intenalva but no Ieu thorough rcorguniaution whlch prcccdcd thc Intro­ducdon of thc l.ocnl Govcrnmcnt ayalcm which rcplaccd tho Native Administration •yatem nl'ter thc aecond world wnr, thcre hoa bcen aurpriaingly littlc altcration o( the diviaionnl nnd Nntiva Court boundnrica origlnally catabliahed under thc native court ayatcm, pnrticulnrly in Ibo urcaa. For cxantplc. thc prcacnt Mbaiac diatrlct (Ownri ditJisio") ia nlmoat cxactly thc anme nrea aa that of the old Nguru Native Court which waa burnt in thc Aboriolai whilc the Orlu diviaion cvcn keepa the anmc nome.

S. For the purpoae of locol government thia atnbility hoa ita odvontogea at the divi­aionol und lowcr lcvcla. 1t ia more opcn to queation nt the provincial, for example in thc difl'crcntintion into Onitaho ond Owerri Ibo which hoa come obout aince the eatobliah­mc:nt of thc provincca of thc:ae nomea. Thia ia not baacd on any troditional, cultunl or ftocial diatinction, but ia rather the reault of two occidenta of hiatory, nomely, the catobliahment of theae two Adminiatrotive provincea and the translotion of the ßible, which is thc chicf medium of vernaculor cducotion, into .. Onitaha" and into .. Union" Ibo. (Onitsha Ibo, tlu: dialect spokm in 011its/Ja town a11d tlle su"ounding area heing the medium for fJ~acular education in th11 Onitsha ProtJince. U11io11 Ibo, a compound of a rrumbn of Ibo dialect1 hnng tla~ medi11m used in th~ Ownri PrOflince).

TenninoloJY

6. One of thc mony difficulties in a camprehenaive survcy of this kind is that of nomenclature. Nomcs of the snme offices, inatitutions, and social groups vary from ploce to ploce. Different names arc applied to thc same thing, particularly amongat thc Cross Rivcr and Ibibio peoples, or the samc names are applied to different thinga. Toking our cxomples from the Ibo area alonc, Ndichie arc a particular type of title holdera in Onitsha town, thc collectivity of eldera in thc Ohofia tribe, the ancestors in the Umu­ahio arca. (Botla in Bmde difJision). Nzc are Ozo titled mcn in the Awka diviaion, the eldcra in thc Afikpo diviaion. Ogaranya ia a man of wealth in the Owerri and an elder in thc Awgu diviaion. Eze Ogo is a trnditional village head in Arochuku and in Eddo, and a court member or warrnnt chief in Okpoai. (Both ;" Aftkpo diWion). Obo can menn a general meeting of all the adult men of the community: it can also refer to those amongst thcm who ore auppoaed to make the decisions at those meetinga: it can also refer to o group of title holdere or to a titled society.

7. When one abandons indigenoua for Europenn terms one is not much better ofF. Tribe is used when refcrring to the Ibo or lbibio notion: then aa one moves eaat ita scale becomea reduced so that the term ia eventuolly opplied to a unit like the Uhanga in Cnlabnr, who consist of Ieu than 1,000 people. Clan, which nonnally means all those people who think they derive from a common stock or ancestry, is in the Eutern Region applied indiscrirninately to any major aubdivision of the Ibo or lbibio. Viilage in the Onitaha Province reorganiaation reporta or in the Local Government instruments rcfers to a unit averaging 10,000 or more people; whereas in the Calabar Province it refers to a local community averaging 1,000 or lcss. A House in Old Calabar (Efik) meana one thing, in New Calabar (Kalabari) another; Natural Rulcr can mean either a\ charismatic or n trnditional head while the word Chief rcquires a chapter or mo~ to itself.

T II E J 0 N B S R E P 0 lt ·r

Cu9 Trad,.tional 11r11cturtr. 8. ln thia rcport it ie propo~d to cmploy thc following tcrme which arc tabulated

below aand dcfincd in thc glounry. TnTitorial Group• Desunt Group•

Tribc Clan Group Sub-tribc Clan Viilage Group or Town Sub-Clan Primnry division Lincage (diatinguishing wherc ncc:caaary Viilage or Ward patri- or matri-lincagce and dividing into Quarter maximal, mnjor, minor, minimal lincage) Viilage Section Family. Viilage Subaection Compound.

9. Many of these tcrms arc interchangeable and can bc applicd to the aame group of people. Thus most Ibo villagc groups like tothink of thcmaelv~ as clans, the ~eecend­anta of a common founder whoae sona werc thc anccstora of thear componcnt vallages or sub-clana; while moat lbibio tribes like, in the aamc way, tothink of thcmsclves aa clans, descendants of n common founder.

10. Theseterms can be better understood if one refers to n specific local community, for exnmrle, that of the Arochuku .. Clan" or .. tribc". As will be seen from Tablc II the socia atructure of this tribe is made up of 19 villa~es. These arc grouped into the two primnry divisions of Amuze and Ibom lsi. The vallages also bclong t? nine patri­clana which combine into two Ibo and one Akpa clan groups. Most of thc vallages dcrivc from a aingle clan, three are of mixed origin their component village scctions being from different clans. This is illustrated in the case of lbom village which divides into 4 village aections and these again into 1 S village subsections. Euch of thesc subsections ia also a minor patri-lineage and these minor lineagca group tagether into major ones. For example, Amaetiti village section consists of t~o major ~ineages ~elonging. reapect­ively to the Nnankuma and the Amata clans; whale Ikun vtllnge sectaon consasts of a single major lineage.

11. Tbc diagram gives thc territorial and partrilinenl atructure of that section of the tn"be rcsiding at Arochuku. lt does not ahow othcr segments of thc tribc living at a distance in Orlu and Awka diviaiona (c.g., Ndizuogu and Ndienyi) nor does it indicate the number of people from each village temporarily or permanently residing in other parts of the Eaatem Region. Arochuku also divides into nine matri-clans whose mcmbers live dispersed throughout the tribe.

(b) Local Gooernmmt. 12. Similarly in thc field of contemporary Local Governmcnt it would be as weil

to define the main terms which will be used in this report. The recent rcorganisation ia currcntly referred to as thc Local Government rcorganisation and this name will be retained, capital Ietten being uacd to distinguish it from othcr local government syatems that preceded it, namely, the various traditional and indigcnous systems, the Warrant Chief and Native Court organisation nasociated with the original colonial system of Direct Rule, and the Native Administration organisation that fotlowcd it in association with the colonial administrative system usually rcfcrrcd to as lndirect Rule. Capital letters will also be uscd for County, Diatrict and Local Councils, the three types of council recognised by instrument under thc I .ocal Government Legis­lation. The Local Govcrnment Law of the Western Region distinguishes bctween Elected and Traditional members of thcse councils, the former being clected by popular suffrage, the latcr being those chiefs and holders of other traditional offices who arc either u officio membcrs of these councils or are selected to sit on them .. by and from amongat themselves", These terms, particularly Traditional member are used in

TJ-IE JONES REPORT

thia report in thc ume acnac. The w~rd villngc council nppeara in thc Local Government Ordmance of thc Eutern Region but 111 nowhere defined. 1t aecJTlB tobe uaed aa a term for troditional councila below the Ievel of Local Councils. In this rcport it ia uacd for the council of a territorial unit referrcd to as n village nnd dcfincd in the preccding acction.

Women'e Organisation

~3. Throughout thc region, but particularly in the Ibo and Ibibio divisiona, thc marra~d women of each community aasociate togcthcr in gcncral meetingsandin amaller cou~cd meetinga which deal with feminine mattere, mainly disciplinary and for thc pro­tectson of their rights. Their organisation parallels that of the men except that it is less formalised, and thc heada and councillora who control theae mectinga aresenior women w~o ~xercise their functions not by virtuc of age, heredity, title-taking or other formal cntena but nonnally through their natural gifts of leadership. ·

14. There are no female secret societies but amongst the Riverain and Centrat Ibo some communities have female titles and title societies for the senior wives of titled men. J Onitsha Town for example once bad a titl ed female chief the Omo (Referred to in treati'n as tlle Que~ of Onitslw) and a female council of titled ladies, the Otuogene. These Onitsha female tulcs and female title aocieties generally are defunct and no one wishes torevive them.

. 15. Thcrc are only two recorded instances of womcn who have held any male tradi­ttonal offices. Dr Meek reported a fcmale Eze in a community of the Nsukka division, although ehe turned out on closer investigation to have been originally a Warrant Chief

j recogniscd in the first place by the British Administration who was then allowed on the str~ngth of her Warrant to take an Eze title. There was also a Qua village of Old Calabar whac~ had a uQueen" in the 19th century. This wa!! a female village head who succeeded

J to th•s. normally male office in defa\_\lt .of a m~c hear. These two cases ~ere! however, except1ons. Women, although they irught as m Old Calabar and other Od River States P.lay an important part in the government of their communities, nonnally did so unoffi­caally and behind the scenes. There are no female chiefs today and no apparent femate.J demands for the creation and recognition of any. Local government is still considered a masculine and not a feminine occupation and, though women understand and appreciate the v?te, universal suffrage is still too recent an innovation for it to have bad any effect on th1s traditional attitude.

CHAPTI!R ]J

TRADITIONAL SYSTEMS OF GOVERNI\IIENT

16. In thc ordinary Europcan mcaning of thc word, a chic:f rcprcscnts an cxccutivc authority or thc pcrson from whom such authority dcrivcs. British Social Anthropolo­gists in an analysis of African systems of govcrnmcnt (African Political .Systems. .1\1. Fortes a11d Eva11s Pritchard) have distinguishcd two polar typcs. Thc onc whi~h has bcen called the "Chicfly" has a structurc which builds up on thc modcl of a pyramad to a chicf the apcx of thc pyramid and thc sourcc of all political authority. In thc other, thc "chief­lcss" or scgmcntary type, political authority rcmains with the pcople themsclvt.-s or­ganiscd into local groups, political segmcnts. In internal mattcrs each segment rulQI itsclf, whcn common action is rcquired rcpresentativcs of each scgmcnt mcct togcthcr and thc busincss of govcrnmcnt is conductcd by a "Council of Elders" drawn from all thc component scgmcnts, cach segmcnt ranking as cquivalcnt to any other scgment.

(a) Aroclmku. 17. Thc Traditional governmcnt of Arochuku can be takcn as an example of this

sccond or segmcntary type. lt consisted of a fcderation of two equiv~Ic:nt segmcnts Amuzc and Ibom Isi living and asSQCiating togcther. These groups subdavadcd, Amuze into two clan groups and thesc into thrcc and two clans rcspcctively, Ibom lsi directly into four clans; and it was thcsc nine equivalent clans which originally fonned thc governmcnt of thc tribc. Mauers which affectcd the whole tribe wcre decided at a gcneral mecting of thc men of all of the nine clans asscmblcd by clans in thc ccntral mecting placc. These mcetings were conducted by the more cldcrly and expcrienccd mcn in thc various clans, though othcr men wcre entitlcd to voice their opinions if they had anything relevant to contribute and if the other membcrs were prepared to Iisten to them. In thc course of time this government by ninc sub-clans gave way to n gencral mccting of the ninetecn villagcs into which thcy had expanded, but the systcm remaincd csscntially the samc. Thc number of pcrsons attending such a mccting varied, and dependcd on thc degrcc of public interest in thc matters being discusscd, but cvery onc of the ninc and later of thc nineteen tribat segments had tobe represented at the meeting, and no segment could be bound by a law or decision madc at a meeting in the abscncc of their reprcsentative.

18. In exactly thc samc way, thc affairs of cach village wcrc dctcrmincd at a gcncr;tl meeting of all the village sections and, when nccessary, the samc rulc applied at a village section mecting in regard to its componcnt subsections. The cardinal principle that operated in all of thcse meetings was that of .. equal sharing". Rewards or dutics were divided equally bctwcen thc componcnt segments of the particular group, thc only dcvia­tion from this concept of strict equality bcing that thc scgments for purposes of sharing wcre ranked in an ordcr of seniority, that is in the order in which thc scgments arrivcd or wcre cstablished. Considcrablc value was attachcd to thc right to take the first and thc second share.

19. Cutting across this system bascd on principlcs of kinship and local rcsidcncc which dividcd the population into corporatc groups of cquivalcnt political sizc and wcight, went a second onc which unitcd all the mcn of thc community togcther, grouping thcm this time on a basis of agc in a system of age-gradcs and agc-scts. Boys horn in a pcriod of two to three years wcre formed into a group in which all thc mcmbcrs wcrc cqual, usually at the time when thcy passcd from thc grades of "youths" to that of "mcn". Thcy re­mained in this set for lifc, always rcmaining subordinatc to thc scts formed heforc thcrn and Superordinate to those formcd aftcr. \Vhilc in thc grade of "mcn" thc sct sharcd with other scts in this grade villagc dutics of watch and ward and communal tasks such as clearing paths and opcn spaces. In due course it reached thc grade of "clders" and shared with the surviving membcrs of thc scts abovc it thc duties of "ruling tht· villagt•'', lt was frecd from communal tasks and had thc duty of ruling thc !mhordinatc sets. The

6 T II E J 0 N F. S R E P 0 a ·r

tradiuos.liol.l "iluge go"·ern~nt of many Ea.st.c:rn ~ igcrian c-omn1unities. ia stiJI aaid 10 be a go,·crnrnc:nt by the senior age-grade, the dders, whilc the &cts juat about to becornc cldtn are said to han: form~d an intermediate grade bc:t"Wec:n "'dders"" and ••young rnen•• and had the duty of sc:cing dun the orders of the elders "'ere carried out. Actuall}' however,' as already st~tc-d, 3ny ncw law or rnajor political decision had to bc agrced to by a ge-neral meeting of villagers. and the people who conductcd thc business of thia gcncral meeting and who werc responsiblc for the day to de~y administration of the vi11agc werc: the rnore influential mcmbcrs of the community, most of thern bcing in this intermediate age-grade. Tbc mcmbcrs of the senior age-grade were for the moat part too senile to do more than sanction thcir actiona. The principle of equality of representation of segm.enta 200 (with a fcw cxceptions, e.g., Ezza (Abakalilci divisiun)) ensurcd that in political affain thc senior and intermediate age-grades should contain representativcs from every segment, cvcn though, in cases where death bad intervencd, some of these representatives might come from less senior age-sets.

. 20. This was probably the original form of village gm.-ernmcnt in the Arochuku vtllagcs but latc:r many of the delibcrative, judicial and administrative functions formerly hc:ld hy the senior agc-sets were assumed by Ekpc, a secrct society derived from Old Calabar (Efik Tribe). This modification howevcr did not produce much change in the actual pcrsonnc:l of villagc govemment. Almost all thc adult males of the village were memben of Ekpc and the membcrs of the higher grades of the society were the aame pcoplc as thc former inftuential c:lders. Wcalth as weil as agc seems always to have been a neccssary prcrequisitc to political influencc in Arochuku socicty.

21. \Vhcn the villages came together in a tribal council mceting the older aystern still prcvailcd. In theory the senior agc-grade, in fact thc inßucntial eldcrs from each village, conductcd most of thc business, did most of the speaking and sccurcd most of the deciaions. Thc mectin~ remained, however, a mass mceting of an unlimitcd number of representa­tives from all thc component tribal segments. The dcciaions takcn had tobe thc deciaion o~ thc wholc mceting and if a segmcnt disagrced with thc rest, it could, and quite frcquently dtd, "walk out".

22. This segmentary type of local government ia not peculiar to Arochuku but common to the whole region. Indecd one of the most atriking fcaturea of this aurvey hu been the uniformitv of the traditional form of local govcrnmcnt throughout the region. Details \'arv in diff~rent localitics, some features of the Arochuku system heing omiu~. sorne exaggerated or devcloped in other ways. ßut whcthcr in thc Ogoja, Rivers, Ibo or lbibio provinces, the govemrncnt of cvery local community consisted of a federation of equivalent segments whoae leading mcn mct tagether in a council which was said to conaist of the senior agc-gradc in the cornmunity nnd wns rcferred to collectivcly as thC' elden.

(b) Benin.

23. Thc Henin systern (IJ~srribrJ in th~ 8~ni11 lnt~llig~n~~ Rrporl h_v H.F. Jll4TIItel/) which has had considcrahle influence on some of th~ political institutions of thc lho of

,j Onitshu di,·ision can be taken aa an c.umple of the Pyramidal type of ~(wernrnent. Hm: allpower wa..~ repre11ented ns cnming from the Oha, thl' hcnd of the stllle, though in t'acta great dul of politicnl power actmally residcd in the various nssociations nf titlcd chM-fs. Thc 5ystcm, a particularly !ltahle onc, was cstahlished by the Oba Ewuare in the 15th ccntury iUHJ has survived, relath·cly unaherc.·d, to tbc present ccntury. Ewuart" is said 1o han~ laid out thc city of Bcnin in two rcsidcntial di\'isions, the O~llC or palace di\·ision and tht' Orc !\okwa or outside division. People in ßC'nin were di,,d~d into thoee who hcJd "titlo" and thosc who did not. The hulk of thc title holders and their depcndants livN in thc Oghc with thc Oba, whcre they WC're groupcd into three associations or collcga oi titlcd chids, namdy, lwdlfl, hn~mat·, und lbiwc•. E&wh of tlu~ had spt~inl insriturian»­isc:d dutic-s to pcrfonn in th(· pahacc.

THE JONES REPORT

24. ~ abc:wc thc:8e ,..a.ce Iide baiden wac lbe 'E«hai~-noi"E'. U... ~ title bolden livt.~~g in tbe Ure Nokwa. T'hcy wen manben ol 1bclc- du'ft" ...._ tbougb they were not. in tbe ame daily coatact with lhc plllaae .. •'C't"e tht (~ IDftDbt,rw..

r# Tbeir bcad the lyucre ranked alter tbe Oba • t.he h.ipe. tidcd cbicl in Balia ( "rty. Thc peop1e living in the Ore .Sokwa divislion were poupcd an a kinship buia into .i•ty-'f:bt corporate residential sub-dh-isiona. and thcir adult malca 'Weft ~ i~ .. ~··. (Edion) and ""Men"'. Tbe Edion pade bo•~ bad bccomc a ~- ~nie ___.,. limited to those v.·ho could pay an entnnce fce. Somr of lhe8c ...b-d•~aaona bad an Eghai-"-o Non: or otber grade of titlcd chiefs a their head, othen had no nded bad but all wen: affiliatcd to one or other of the three collc-ges and •-crc expccted to .-.. thcm io their specific palatt duties.

25. Outside Benin City wen: other title holdns_ the hacb of thr .urroundina, '"districts'' one of them hein~ tbe Edaikan, the ddest son and IM hcir of the (lb.. ~ werc the only titles in Berun which wen: hen:ditary and thcy f'ormcd the l" zama, the ' higbest grade of tides..

26. Other tides were open to any free-bom man able to pav the required fcoe and the three colleges of lwebo, l~c and lbiwe werein fact .. titfe eocielin'", rach "''th its own group of titlcs., graded mto three junior and twu senior ••ordcn'". Only thc senior orders carried spcc:ial titles and thcsc were ranked partly in thc onler of thcir creation, partly according to the seniority of the Oba who crea~ the title, and a)., on occasions by pun:haae. These titlcs were filled by the Oba u -"-.anciea occurrcd usually from the ranks of the junior orders of the coUegn. He could ll.bG cra~ ncw • titles and attach them to particular colleges and he could. with 11 few c'lc:eptiona, buy · from the college at the candidate's expeni&C a hiahcr nmk for &&ny titlt' which he fil1&!d or created. Fecs paid by thc: candidatc: were ahared hy the Obn and by thc:- mcmbe"' Qf the society.

27. Tbc traditional go\'emment of Dcnin thua dt'rived frmn an Oha., tht' head of th~ state, through a numbc-r of titled men organiat'd into titlc: grlldc• and cullewn, IUme ol· I theee titles IM-ing hereditary, but thc majority bcin1 awardcd by the Oba on p.y~Mnt of fea to him and to the othcr ritled mcn: whcreu thc traditional aonmmcnt of Arvchu­ku and of other communirie. in the Eaatt'm Rcaion dcpendcd on the Fnt,-.1 will of thc­component eqmenta of the pupt aa t'Xpreaaed through thclr rt'pre.entatin• at a pneral meeting of the tribe.

28. Thia doet not mcan however that l."'mmunitiea in thc F.ut..-rn Resion have M

chiefa. unleu the meaning of thia word ia to bc unduly _rutrictr.d. h mnn. merely tbat the functiorw thry arc and wrrc reltuir~d tn JK"rform c.l\lfcred. or •·rre orpniwd nr tbouaht of in a ditferrnt way. lt aiiNl mean• that one can t'-.pect to find mon: and not Ja. of than. Evcry Ioad community haa 10me pcnon or pennns whom thf1 rder trJ by a trnn lignifyin1 hc:ad or chief, and whether they Iimit thi• tnm m tiM hnd of 1

triM and of • viiJage group, or extend it to IIJtt\e or all of tMir aub-diviaion• ~ catirdy on the fttlinp of thl! particular community; and theM fnlinp can and dcl ch.np.

29. ln Aro therc are nine Onyiahi Otoai (th' Aro riltuJI •yWtbol ofallaorlty corr••· ",_.. lo tll1 Ibo Ofo) o( the patrilincal aub-clan1, Lher~ arr. nindt'rn Ean, th~ hndt ol &bc niM'tftn villaaa. ·~re are alto nine heada of the nine nwtri-dan• and within lk Yilllps t!Kre are hada of the viiJage Kc:tiona and tub.tttiona. ~ada of thc ·variou1 ~ of thc teeret IOCictia and of each of the 1radn w1thm tht.e IOcinin. Thf Ololi bald of the wnior IUb-clan, who it aho thc 1-:u of hl• vil\qf', rankt 1e the KDio ol theae heade and i• ~ven the tide Eu Aro, chid of Aro. The F.7.e "r lhom ;. J'ft the tidc Eze lbom hi and nnb 111 the ~ad nf hia Primary di .. ·i,Qon; while tlw fM c Obinkita il aßrd F..u AIWU and is ~~aid to rank u the trnior htad or thit poup ( cbn&. h is muda thr ume ~llnfherc. in thc CIUC of othrr cntntnuniti ...

---~ ., ID<'lA lt...~ c;;....~ UW' ~k:n> -- ~-·- _ -- e· --,- •• -.. .... , u.JgC'tDCr and sc:lcct onc of lhc:i aumbcn ~~-'- ift Obolo and l"ruan) ((}pG6o ..I Cyo Jioisioas rnpectiae/y). In tb ~ •-·~- • ~~ ol .a political unit. wrishing to brcak away or to alter its positior -' dac- pohtial Silnk-"UUft c:m eit:btt caß its bc:ad by a name fonncrly bdd by thc bca oi _tbt ~ ~ or rdulc ID recogoi:se any chicftaincy highcr than tbat o( its OWt

~- For ~ tt is mainuiaed by thc Ezc Agwu sc:condary di'-ision of Aro that Al1 ·~ in10 thft'C primary cfivaions. Okenx:hi. l".ze Agwu and Jbom I si cach of wbid ha 1tt. F...tt.. ( T1tr /"**I is -.u of ~ 1Atm of i~~ politiaU intnm m II. ~ ... • .,.. lnil!i. tJw Eu ~ i/n:ision IH-ttr:wn Obinkitllmul AINZIUIKf&ll ~e. - /Wft~l~ ~· Eu &.p IImc 11/'poiltlfti).

-'2. Simib.rty. ~ .. -1 village group (01ritJuJ dmsion) had four 000 before tbc introducrion o( thc 'Sativc- Coun S)-.tcm, one from each of ita four villagea. Later, it bad fn"'C' ~-an-ant c.hic& lining in the Nnewi nath·c coun u thc eenior vilbge bad t"M» •-.rnnt chidt.. onc for each of its two ~enior viitage IC'Ctiona. Latrr aaill unda ~ ~.aun· .-\dministntion ~·stcm thc hcad of cvery viiJage ~ection claimed to bc an Obi •·•th the rigbt to rqnaent bis ICC'tion in coun and in council. Now in 1956 thcy main­tain that S nrwi haa one chief, thc Obi of Nncv.·i who is al80 the head of the acnior \illagc and oi i~ .-nior \-lllage R.Ction, and three IR.Ibordinate chief•, namcly, the Obi• of thc three othcr ,·illagn. 1nu is diaputed by the KCOnd-ranking village ecction of thc ~enior ,-illage. h does no1 challmse the claim of the hcad of thc fint-ranking eection to br Obi of Nlle\\;, but it mai.ntains that if he is tobe Obi of Nncwi then the head of their KCrion ahould be ~ u Obi of the aenior villqe.

CbJera aDd thelr f\mction.

33. lf thcn l'hieft in thc Eutern Region do not rule in thc accepred acnte, wbat pan do thC')· play in t.-.ditionaJ local sovernment, and wluat dutica do thc peorle waat tht"m to ~rform to&y? Thia can bc.t bc atudied by isolatina certain functiona oflhe tnditional fonns of RO'·emment 11nd detennining how and by whom they arc pcrformed. Tbc 11Kl&t important c:an bc tzrouped under the aix hcadinr-presidcntial, rditioua. dc-librrativc and lc,rialatin·, judicial, adminiatntivc and ext'cuuvc. and financial.

(11) Prrsicht~IÜÜ Fttwtiulll.

~·· Thc principal and thc prirnary function of almoat all 1-::Utc.-rn R~ion Chirfs iJ tbat of actina u a livinll cxprnaion of the unity of thc group. Thc fact that all ~ 11lt'mben of thc group ran r~rd one aingle perw::m u thtir htad iaa simple and ob'-ioua way of dcmnnatnting that thtty llre II ainale aroup. Con\'enely II group that wiaha to hmak away cu.n dcmonJtratc thr fiuion by recogniaing 11 chief of its own. Tb~ düd' ia tht> indi,·idunl who, unlru his penon ia too aacred, appeura on all public occui~ to pn-aidr 111 lllt"t·tinp and 10 ~r(unn thc irumaur:uinR or trrmiMting ~remonics al frath-al, amt nthc.-r rublic RGtherin.n.

t"HE JONES REPORT

10 TIIE JO~ES REPOR'I

llddilion 10 thcsc priesdy duäcs be is expcctcd to prcside at. an)· rneetings or oerc:moniea lhat conca ocd the ..-hole community ancl. if bis age preventa him. thc oldest man pre8e111 IICtS for him.

37. lt is impossible to ~ hcre; each conununity ba,;ng a religious system sfiPlly ditfttent from ~ ot.ber, and no two comrnuniti~ cven in thc eamc reg;ioD. ha,;ng exactly thc samc VIC'WS on the functions of chicfs and of pricsts. ~ gc:ocralJy. most Ibo and many lbibio oommuruties rnake a distinction bctwceri c:bi.e:& and pricsts,. and though they ''el'}' oftcn call the lattcr by thc same na.me-Eze-tbey maintain that pric:sts a weh play no part in local govcrnmcnt. A priest may however, by rcaon of bis also bcing the bead of bis group. bc at thc saJDe time a chicf or clder.

38. Tbere are howevec in t.hc Ogoja and adjacent divisions t.raditional heads wbo arc called Priest-chiefs. Tbis is an unfortunate tenn as many of them arenot priest.. mast of the priestly functions in their areas being pcrfonned by other specialists. Tbere arc also, to oomplicate the use of the term still funhcr, chiefa in other parts of the Ogoja province wbo arenot called "Priest-chiefs" but who do combine the two roles. 'These are tbe Obot-Lopon of the Yakurr and adjacent communities in t_he Obubra divi.aion who per(onn the dual functions of being chief of their village and priest of its tutelary spirit. These chie& of the Ogoja division who are refcrred to in official correspondence u '"Priest-chiefs" really belong to the category to which anthropologists gave the equaiJy unsatiafactory Iabel ••diYine king .. , a category which indudes the Obi of Onitsha, the Eze of Nri, the Oba of Benin, the Atta of ldah and most of the superior Yoruba chie&. Their office of chief, because it symbolised the unity of the community, developed into somethlng myatical and eacred, and the holder of the office became in some respects a acred person who bad to avoid the contamination inherent in various actiona thought to be profane. He had also to remain in his palace, or not leave bis town or viiJage unless miahap befaU him and through him thc whole community.

39. The needs of modern local government have necessitatcd the miti~tion of many of these restrictions in the caae of thc Obi of Onitsha and of thc Western chtefs, but not in the cue of .ome of the Ogoja .. Priest-chiefs". Herc the interests that bad alrcady become vestcd in native couna and native councils found the compctition of village chic& too keen and in the period immediately prccedin' the last war were succeaeful in pcrauading thcir local communities that the varioua mmor illa from which ther. were sufl'ering were due to thcir prieat-chiefa breaking the tabu on lcaving their Vlllagea. A. a rcault moa~ but by no means all, of thcae prieat-chicfs have been debarred from partic!pating in any political activities outside their village particularly from coun and council work.. .

40. The Eu of Nri (Awguku) (or AIDka dt'vision) now finds hirnself in the revene ~tion. lt ia very doubtful if the &.e of Nri (or the rit.'DI E:re of Oreri flillt~~e gr0111p (AIIIM dit;uion)) had any political authority in the past. His office was primarily a rit] one and it wast.he ritual power derived from it thau was used. by the Nri priests and docto viliting Ibo and othcr communities on bothaides of the Niger for removing abominatiooa, for nullifyißl thc dangen attendant on thc brcach of a tabu, and for rendering harmful medicincs innocuoua. Therc hu been no F..ze Nri for aboutthirty vears, a new one ha now becn installcd arul thc peoplc: of Nri ~ anxious to sec him recogniscd by go\-emment

1

and gi\·en a seat in a rqional house of chiefa. Out they do not wiah him to play any put in their villagc or Loca1 Councila. They aay he ia too big a person for such work. ~

(c) Iklihualiw aJ U,isllltiw FIIMtiolu.

41. ln P}Tamidal tyalCDUI of 10vemment th~ chief is the law-mak~r. thouth be 2J often merdy ~ what il tbe F.cral will of hia counciJ. But not until be • mack tbc ordet or ~mmt does 1t become law. In the segmentary aocieties of ~ f.uLem Rqion it i1 the otber way rouod. Tile uliuill ~ttrm here is for public tta'8 w bc m.ca-.1 at a gmeral meetiAg at \\'hich c-\'cr}· able-bodird malt! whn •• •

THE JONES REPOilT I I

full DlCIDbcr of the c:am.muaity b.s a rigblto ancnd and ID ~ il be eo ~ Anc. :a ~ di-anejon tbe ddcn n:Ure 10 con.uk and w-hen mcy rdurft • ..... ....

umou.nccs t.heir dec:ision 10 the meetinc wbo c:itha accrpc. it by ~ .. =cd ena,. refu.se it.. The conununity. particularly_in ~Ibo area. ia not ~red 1o ~ iu legislative authority to any chicfs.. eldcrs. or ochcr tradltional ~ holden.. T'br man.bers of a villagr SleC'tion rnay bc prepared ID ano.· ~n of thrU mor-r ~ men to n:present them Gld 10 act for the IICdion., but thcy rct.aan lhc riKht to l'"dieTc thc:IR of this duty and replace them by otbaw should 1My act coatrary to thcir -~ AAd these n:prc:sc:ntativcs are sclectecL not by reaon of thcir bei• dUcf:a cw ddr.r.. h.lt bec:ause they posscss the qualitiea m.cu..ed in t.be ncxt ~~eCtion..

(d) .Atl.riaistT~ aad ~ F...aW.. 42. Those functions of politic:al le8derahip wh.ich an= conc.c-rn.rd. with iai~

action. c:nforcing la""S• and with getting things done in ge~ral. and ~ich ~ tn Euro­pean c:yes essc:ntiaßy linked with chic:ftaincy arc not eo &MOCiated wnh ta.btUtaona.ta.ed headship in the Eastern Region. or forthat mat~ in thc Western Rqrion at.lwr. l.-mci• and eldc:rs alike are primarily thought of u aanctionina actiona initi.al.cd by otben. Of'

of consultiog tagether and deciding upon meana for dcaling ••th acUoa. i.Utiatcd by others.

43. Political leaderahlp waa and 11till largely ~ i~ thc handa o~ pa'80IU who ariac s~ntaneously in the community and who dc,·elop thear po•-er and an.ft~ paduaßy. Not until ~nt yeara have young men been accepted aa Inden and thtn only in r-&.tun&l rather than in local atfaira. Political leaderahip of thia type' tendcd to be co'·ert ,.tber than overt. the Ieader, unleaa hia authority waa axceptional, did not Jive d&rect ordera. but represented them aa coming from a highe.r authorily, or aa e1lJ!~114 tbc will of a group not of an indh·idual. Such leadership did not uaually go beyond th. viJ.Iacc Ievel and found ita expreuion mainly in the intermediate ap pd.e of juniDr ddcra, or in the organiaation and management of title and accret aoc:ietica. Tlw cfl«t.iwc manbcn of thia agc grade or of theac aocietice werc the leadcn of thcir wm..c .ctinM and aubeecriona, and collectively Wt're the actual rulen of the cmnmunity, and they were able to repre.ent their acuons as the t'nfo~mcmt of lhe ordere of the ~ninr ace grade or the 8CCret .acicty. In nogotiation wlth other villagea, o~ or two of ahac natural leadera emer1ed u the repreeentativea and apokcsmen of thcir 1'iDap and m.­were the actual peraona "'!lpontible for the conduct of bu•ineu at rnefti~ o( villap aroup and larger unita. Therc were al10 particularly aifted leadera of thil type able to build up aupport for themaeh.·~ not only within their own hut in neiJhbourina communitica u weil, and the more able and fortunatc of theae aucc~ded tn ml&k.inc thernaclvea the vinual rulen of comparativcly larae areu and hecomc cluefa in the Eumpean aen8e, for example thc late chief Onyeama of Udi diviaion or on a la.cr KAie the late chiefa Njemanze and Nwaturuocha oF the Owrrri diviaion and many mhen. Thr democratic and opportunitt political climate of tht' Eutrm Rt'~~tion ha alwaya made it relati\o·ely ruy for auch chammatic leaden to ariK-. Tnday thry cr-metitutc t~ more ablc and dfet.-tive county and diatrict chairmcn. Thirty ycan ltiU they formfil the more powerful and influential Warrant Chiefs. But then • now tbcrr w~re ~v~r aufficicnt le:aden of the riaht quality and many of thc Warnnt ('rucfe did not achicvr dü:s sutua but bad it thruat upon thcm. (" Jft'hnl .tltl BrituJr L.UWNU~~n~l c•lltl tu 0111

caatry I/Ny ...U au buikl rOIMÜ IUIIl btUJgn. 1111 fir•t D.L·. rglkJ er~• to (Jfll tuaw "* riJi"' 11 llmu, "., peopk lttMJ 1101 1111Ji111aiud thllwitq~ two~Jnl.v arultiN Jv.u J,U tlu""P 11M lwrJJu ils kf. The D.C.IJIIJIIIIInl«lthe c/Wf of ow I11CW1111UII/wy ~n~t "'Y f'W}t~llfn. Tlw D.C. •mtntUJ hiM to .U Mllllllu imprilmt"""t. Jt'Ad IN """" rMl of prU. 111 llll&l

.uu/1. dtiif'. FTom OIU of IM ßllmrünmu MIJIU m IJW üupliry) . ._._ \\"ith a fcw notable eueptiona. for B~mple in 01idi and Aplm ((J.ItdM

Jirul"olt) natural chieftainMip of this typr diC!d witb its crnton., but in tht- c:.w o( tho. ru:ogniKd u warn.nt chicfl, Britiah idcaa about ht-rtditary tlK"CCMion fPOUft'd dw ruopirion of a son ;u beU to thr (,tlia. Thia W'M panicularly thr aw in d"_. •rn ~ ~ lo traditional officn happtned to ht from fathcr to torL

(t') ."fttJit"icll •

.. :-. ln 1l\1U\\ ~o:hidh· s'-""·lc.-ti~o·~ tlw chil·f i:o th~o· soun:'-' of ju:otk'"· '""' "''"'-''' thc Muprcmc jUI.l).'"\' ul tlu.· tril'C'. h\ th\" \.'{ll\\1\Hmiti~o·s undc..·r n:vicw j\i:otic.·,·, likc..• rnwn uthc..·r thing11, \\otS ~ muH\"t t"ur Jo:nlup uction ""'"'· sp\"nking ~c..·rwr·nlly, c..·ritninul unc.l irnportunt civil ~..-.-~ W\"rc trinl hy th\" dd~rs of tht• group or_ ~roups concc.:rncd :rt n gt.•nt·nal rnccting, "'''lt-r thl" p~~dc:ncy nf th\" chil"f ur lu.•tul ol thc group. 'l'hc..·rc..• wen· t.•xccptions to this rult•, for e:\.amplc..• in ~~ numht•r of Ogoj:t nnd lkurn conununiti,·s. IIen· thcrc was ~ pnlhihitiun on thc chief pro\'oking uny :mgt.•r or strifc in thc comn•unity und hcncc ht" wus d\"hnrrcd fnllll any judicial businc..·ss. In lcsscr ci\'il mattcrs thc p:1rtics con­c.."C't!\c~l took tlll'ir C'ast'S to th?Se pcrsons t~lO.."lt skill~d. in s~ttlin~ t lu;m or in cnforcing tl~crr_Jud~ments, and exc...""t.·pt m thc cusc..· ol ~mc llnhro tnbcs, chicls had no monopoly ol tlus $krll.

(J) Fi.,ann't~l •

.. (). In mony chicfly trihes, particuhuly in southcrn Africot, tlw chicf was thc main so~rn.-c of wcalth in tht~ tribc nnd for o.my of his suhjccts to otpprootch him in wcnlth was :a lonn of lese-majt:"Ste. From this wc..·alth o.md from thc contributions in lnbour nnd in kind of his suhjccts thc chicf wus expcctcd to mcct thc normotl rcquin.·mcnts of govcrn­mC'nt. In Eastcm Nigeria communitics tht.-sc rcquircmc..·nts wt.•rc mct by thc labour and, whcre llfi~~~·. hy thc wcalth of ..,'_hc. componcnt scgmcnts, cach scgrncnt bc;ing cxpc:-ctt."<.i to c...-ontnbutc an cqual sharc. Sumlarly nny wcalth or othcr propcrty acqmrcd h~· thc group \\1lS shared out equally bctwccn thcsc..· scgmcnts. Thcrc was nothing in the way of a tr:!asury whcre the wcalth of thc group could bc kcpt. \Vhcn moncy was nttdt..-d for any public purpose, it was raiscd hy a spccific ad lwc collcction from thc g,egtnents. Thc collt.-ction was organised by thc Ieadcrs of thc community who appointed particular persons to hold the moncy, choosing thcm for thcir intcgrity not by rcason of any traditional office they might hold.

_. i. l7 nder such a system, chiefs and othcr pcrsons invol \·cd in thc busincss of govcrn­mcnt rcccivcd no payment for their sen•ices, but wcrc cxpcctcd to rccoup thcmsclves from what might be tenned the "spoils of thcir office", that is, from occasional gifts made to them by indi,iduals who wished to retain thcir good officcs or for whom thcy had perfonned a senice, from special shares of meat and other food at public feasts, and from judicial business. These rewards were not grcat, the most lucrative came from judicial business. Throughout the region civil Iitigation had to bc paid for in fees which varied according to the importance of the case, the sizc of the bench trying it, and the litigiousness of the parties. Serious cascs involvcd no paymcnt of fccs as it was in the interest of the community to have them settled cxpeditiously and without expensc to the wronged pany and his group. But there were spoils of considerable size that went with some of these major cases, where for cxamplc the criminal was sold J away into slavery or where he and his segment had to pay a hcavy finc.

48. Speaking generally, the chief (that is the hcad of thc cornmunity) rcccivcd a major share of any large wild animal killed in thc group's tcrritory, and of any anima) killed at a public feast. The distribution of judicial spoils betwecn thc chicf and other elders varicd very greatly. In somc areas, notably in the Abak and parts of thc Ogoja divisions, the chicf received all the proceeds from various rnajor criminal cascs, but the hearing of ci\'il cases and the spoils that went with them werc rcservcd for thc clders, and the elder who acted as President of thc court receivcd the grcatest sharc. .Many lbibio tribes, as described in the paragraph 72, creatcd spccial types of chiefs with thc right to hear special types of cases. In most arcas thc hcaring an~ scttling of civil cases Y.'3S one of the most imponant occupations and sources of incomc for those pcrsons referred to in paragraph 43 as politicalleaders and a grcat dcal of thcir power and influence as well as of their value to the community lay and stilllies in thc cornprehensive knowledge they thus gained of the history and background of thc tcnsions and dispures within their local community. lt is necessary to underlinc this point as in the carly days of

T J I F. J 0 N I~ S lt E P 0 1t T J.l

J.ocul Gnvcrnment it wus fch timt n diRtinction should hc ohscrvec..l l~twcen exccutivr. und judidul functions, und I ,ocal und Dit~trkt coundl mcrnhcrs wcrc eiebarred from aitting in thc locnl nutivc cuurt. ThiK ordcr \HUt Inter rcadndcd but thc idca still pcrsiat• in u numhcr of urclll4, for cxnmplc, in thc Abua tribc, AluJuda c..liviRion, whcrc it WWI tttill nsscrtcd thut n cuundl mcmbcr cnnnot sit in hiK native court. Linlcu thc Regional govcrnmcnt is prcpnrcd to ullm\' local council mcmbcrs to bc paid aalarica it must allow thcm to rnuintnin thcml4l'h·cs in the trnditional manncr from thc: fccs rhcy rcccivc as judgcs in thcir native courts nnd ns arbitrutors in thc lcsscr civil casc..~ which thcy s.ettlc out of court.

49. ßut nlthough public officc holdcrs and politicnl Ieadcrs might cxpect to bc ublc to support thcmsclvc~ to some cxtent from thc spoils of thcir otficc, in ordcr to nttnin thut otlicc in thc first placc somc dc:grcc of wealth was usually ncccssary. Thc grcat incrcnsc in cxtcrnnl and intcrnal tradc which chnracteriscd thc late IHth and thc 19th ccntury causcd many Rivcrs, Ibo and lbibio communitics to becomcmorcdcpcnd­ent on n moncy and lcss on a subsistcncc cconomy and wcahh bccame increasingly importnnt as a menns to political power. Thc dcvelopment of thc Housc: System in thc Rivcrs ports, of thc Title Societics of thc Northern Rivcrain and Ccntral Ibo and thc: Secrct Societics of thc C;tlabar and Cross Rh·cr arcas which arc dt.-scribcd in subsequcnt chaptcrs cnn be secn as a responsc to thcsc changcd conditions.

Replacement of Chiefs

(a) St~cctssio11.

50. Therc are a number of different criteria govcrning succession to a chieftaincy. The two most universal are age and desccnt, and they are usually found in combination, for exnmplc the succcssor is the oldest man in a particular dcscent group (lineagc). This descent group may vary from a maximal lincagc or evcn a clan, in which caac the chicf is a vcry old man indeed, to an individual family or line of dcscent, in which casc the succcssion can becomc n matter of primogniturc. The following gencalogical diagram can be used to illustrntc the most prcvalent systcms of detcrmining thc succession when these criteria arc applied togethcr. In it A rcpresents thc deccased chief, B to E his sons, F to M his grandsons and N and 0 his grcnt grandsans in thc senior line. Thc . ...: aftcr C and D indicatcs that thcy havc prcdeccased ß.

A

ln

F G H

N 0

J K L

I E

M

51. In one systcm which is found, amongst other places, in A rochuku, thc succession passcs from B to E in order of thcir age of birth, then to thc granc.lsons of A and thcn when they have all expired to the grcat grandsans always in thc order of thcir hirth.

52. U nder anotheJ!. system which applies for cxamplc to thc office of Okpara and Ofo holder in Onitsha town, thc succcssion passcs from n to E and thcn to the oldcst of thc sons of ß and E in ordcr of their age of birth, thc dt.-sccndants of C and D bein~ cxcluded as their fathcrs ncvcr hcld the oflice. \Vhcn thc last of D's and E's sons havc died the office passes to the dcsccndants only of thosc sons who hcld officc. For cxamplc, if Fand G predeceased E the succession would pass to L and M nnd then to thcir dcscend­ants and ~ and 0 would bc excludcd.

14 THE JONES REPORT

53. In n third systcm thc succcssion passcs from B to E thcn to F to H to j to Land thcn in turn to the oldcst of B's thcn of C's thcn of LJ's thcn of E's dcsccndant.s, and thcn ~a_ck ngai_n tu ß's dcsccnd:mts, cnch of thcsc coll:ucral lincs of dcsccnt frorn A taking at an rotataon.

54. Undcr a fourth systcm thc succcssion passes from A to ß to E to F to G to N to 0 thc.·n to N's sons only and so on. That is, it kccps to thc sons in thc dircct line of dcsccnt and only if that line expircs docs it pass to a c~llatcral linc and then only to the closcst.

. 55. Undcr a fifth system thc succcssion bccomcs onc of primogcniture and passcs J from A toB to Fand then to N.

56. These arc the most common systems rcsulting from thc application of thcse two critcria of ngc nnd dcscent. The last namcd whcrc cldcst son succccds his fathcr char­actcrises most of thc Centratibo arca covcring thc divisions of Orlu, Okigwi, thc northcrn part of thc Owcrri di..-ision (cxcluding the Oguta district) thc soÜfhcrn Oistrict of Onitsha division excluding thc Riverain area, thc southcrn or Aguata district of Awka and part of the northern district of Awka. This howcvcr is cxccptional and thc succcssion is normally dcscrihed as passing to thc oldcst man cithcr in thc wholc group (system onc) or in thc dircct linc of dcscent (systcm four). But it is usually modified by othcr critcria

·· as weil. 57. Thc most common of thesc is whcrc a particular lincagc acquires thc sole right

to thc headship of a community. This charactcriscs almost all the lbibio and the majority of Ibo communities as weil as most of those in Ogoja and many communitics in the Rivcrs provinccs. The right may bc acquircd in many ways-through actual descent, by conquest, as compensation for a wrong, by divination, and by right of first arrival. But in most cases it is reprcsentcd as the first of thcsc, thc foundcr of thc lineagc being claimed to be thc eldest son of the founder of thc wholc group. Again thcrc may be two or more of thcse 11 ruling houses" as thcy are callcd in W cstern Region lcgislation

/ ( Westem Re.t:iotr Appoinl",enl ancl Recogni1io11 of Chiefs Law, 1954 ), who havc a right to the succcssion in rotation. In such cases thc situation is reprcscnted as nn cxamplc of system thrcc.

58. \Vithin a 11 ruling hause" thc succession may follow any of thc systcms dcscribcd, but it may also bc modified or evcn rcplaccd by anothcr criterion, that of thc suitability of thc candidatc for thc officc. He must bc popular and of g?od charactcr. llc must also have sufficicnt mcans and social standing in thc commuruty as mcasurcd amongst thc Northcrn and Central Ibo by his having takcn certain titlcs, and amongst thc lhibio by his bcing a full mcmbcr of all thc most important sccrct socictics. Amongst many communitics in thc Nsukka division cach villagc scction (major lincagc) has thc right to a particular titlc, which title carrics with it thc hcadship of thc section, and in thc casc of a ccrtain scction thc hcadship of thc villagc and in thc casc of thc senior \'illagc thc chieftaincy of thc village group. Thc oldest man in thc scction has thc prior right to make thc titlc and if he is unable to cxercisc this right it passl~S to thc ncxt senior man in

• the section with thc means to do so. In somc Nsukka and Rh·crain Ibo connnunitics not onc but a numbcr of pcrsons in this lincngc can makc thc titlc tOJ!cthcr in which cast• the oldcst of thcm is recognised as the actual head.

59. Same communitics, for cxamplc, many centrat ljaw villagcs, in thcir sclcction of an Amanyanabo (villagc hcad) adoptcd this critcrion of suitnbility to thc cxclusion of all others and sclectcd the person they considercd most suitablc for thc otlicc rcgardlcss of his agc or of his lincage. Same Ogoja villagcs a~ain confincd thcir sdcction to a 11ruling" lincagt· but had not only to choose but to capturc thc pcrson whom thcy wished

'" to rnake into a Priest-chief.

60. Finally somc Ihibio communitics prcfcrrcd to rcfcr thc choicc to a super­natural authority thc succcssor to thc office of village hcad being chost'n hy di\'ination from amnngst thc mcmbcrs of the Akpan Ekpuk (First or senior lincagc).

THE JONES REPORT 15

61. This critcrion ?f suitability, of choosing the "'best man" is coming into grutcr use today. In Awgu davision thc hcads of \'illage scction!t wc:rc formcrly thc oldest mcn .,-in the scction, today thcy arc thc "bcst mcn", whilc in thc: Codabar prm.;ncc many lhihio tribes notably Obolo (Andoni) and Cruan and lbiono (Opobo, Uyo, f:nycmx Jit.•i1ioru), ha\'C uscd this criterion in their selection of a clan or tribal head.

(h) Appointmml and Recognitio11 of Clrirfs. 62. No valid gencralisation can be made under this hc:ading. Thc: ritual RQveming

the installation and acccptance of chicfs ,.ary in almost every unit. Two principlct! that apply almost universally are that the new chief must bc approved by the wholc group 1 o\•er which he "rules" and that if any spccial lineage or segment has the right to decide who should succeed to the officc, its dcciston must be ratified by thc rest of thc: group.

63. Therc werc no rccogniscd or cffcctive methods for settling disputes m·er the succession to chicftainships. Exccpt in somc of the maritime stat~s of thC" Riven province, where administrative and ext.-cutivc authority was \'estcd tn thc: ntllc:c, the go•;ernment of thc community could continuc to function without a chief and c\·cn, :.1:.\ in Onitsha town, when thcrc werc two rival chicfs.

M. Disputes bctwccn ri\'al political Ieaders wcre more serious, but thc:sc in the period before British colonial rulc could bc dealt with expcditiously by referencc- to the Arochuku "oracle"-Chuku Ibinokpabi thc "Long Juju of Arochuku". Durin~ the nineteenth century rcsort to this 11oraclc" was gcneml throughout thc Eastcrn Region and ' it effectively tenninatcd political disputcs of this nature by li(tUidating one of the dispu­tants. His peoplc bclic\'ed that thc juju had killed him, thc Aro Chuku npcdition of 1901 which supprcsscd this juju found tlUlt hc wus morc usUidly t'olll "~ a slave in anothf'r part of the Region.

(c) D~position of Chitfs.

65. \Vith thc exception of ßonny, Opobo, New Calabar and pm,aibly other Rh·cra states, chiefs and heads of houscs normally hold officc for lifc und arc not normally deposed. The lbibio say thnt their chicfs (Mbon~) atrc suhjcct to dcpoeition if they commit certain otTcnces which rank os local nbonunotlona, und which thcy are mnst unlikcly to indulgc in, for cxamplc, cohubiting with mothers of twin children. Similarly Ibo title holders lose thcir titl<' if found guilty of stculin~ und sirnihar "crioua otfcncea.

66. lt was different in thc casc of politicul lcudcrs. Pcorle withdrew thcir tmpport from any such Ieader in whom thcy luu.l lost conHdcm:c nm tnmsfcrrcd it to amothcr, usually his rival. In thc Caft(' whcrc such a Ieader wus ulsn n chicf, for c):ample the heull of a villagc or town, hc rcmaincd n l'hicf :md continucd tn perform the ritual asaociutl·d with his officc. But thc penplc ht· had oiTt·mlcd wcrc no Ionger prcpar~<l \o 11cn·pt hie leadership in political mnttcrs ancl, if thcir diKpute with him wns Rull\dently gra,·c, would rduse to attend mcctings nt whkh hc prcRidcd.

Cl L\.PTER 111

TlTLE ~YSTE:\tS A~D SECRET SOCIETIES

67. Thc..· c..·hic..-f "~""in which Eastcrn Nigcrian socictil.-s institutionaliscd thc natural leadcr"$hip rcfc..·rrcd to i'il thc preccding chaptcr ·was through Title systerns in thc north-wc..-st and Sl.~rct Socictics in thc south-east. ·rhcre ·werc and arc sornc arcas. for inst~1ncc thc Or.ltta tribc of ( )wcrri diYision. that did not have cithcr institutions. hut in most parts of thc Eastcrn Rc~ion \n·alth had been tcnding for sonlctirne to cornpctc with and in ~omc cascs_ to repl~1cc a~c as ~l prcrequisitc for public officc. and in rnany arcas thc cxpenditurc of th1s wcalth in acquiring membership of societics of thcse typcs had becorne thc normal way to supcrior social status.

68. Titlc systems and secrct and other societies were a characteristic fcature of Southern ~igcrb and not all of thcm wcre bascd on wcalth. ·rherc wcre, for example, thc \\":.u or Hcad Hunting tith.-s and socicties , .. ·hich once flourished throughout the Eastcrn Region under \-arious names. for exarnplc, Ogbu Madu (Ibo), Pcri (Bonny and Kalabari). Abam (Yakurr), Ebi Owo (Annang). Ekong (lbibio). Thcy brought tagether the ablest fighting mcn in thc community and wcre at one time of considerable political importance, but they are now cxtinct so nccd not dctain us here.

69. 'i\lost othcr titlcs, howcvcr, involvcd the expenditure of wcalth. Thcre wcrc and are, for example, widely distributed "'Cow Killer" and "'Second Burial" titlcs. In thc first thc titlc-maker had to provide a largc feast at which a cow was killed and its meat distributed.

70. ln the second hc had to pro..-ide an elaboratc funeral feast. Traditional funcral rituals in the Eastern Region can be dividcd into two parts, the first or mortuary rituals are conccrned with the actual burial of the deceased, thc second or obituary rituals involvc the provision of an extremely costly feast intendcd to dcrnonstratc thc supcrior social position of the deceased in this world, and to cstablish it in the next. This "'second

. burial" can be pcrformed whencver the relatives can find the money to do so, which

\

. means in practice that it is usually never perfonned. The man '\vho can perform thc .J 11second burial" feast of his father or mother thus acquires enhanccd social status and

usually some kind of title. These "second burial" titles and the "cow killer" and similar "'horse killer" titles of the Northem Ibo are not usually of any political significancc, but there were and arc other titles which carried with them the rights to political offices and which pcrformed the important function of imposing a mcans test on aspirants for polirical leadcrship.

Eze and Ntinya Titles 71. The most imponant of thesc are the Ezc title of the Ibo and thc lbibio Ntinya.

The titlc carricd with it thc chieftaincy or headship of thc community and was awardcd ) to the man who, in addition to being of good character and of the right lineagc, was ablc

to providc a succession of expensive fcasts and fces or othcr awards for thc eldcrs of the group.

72. \Vith thc lbibio thc final act in confcrring this chieftaincy titlc was thc crowning of the candidatc with the Ntinya, a cap of woven or plaited fibre. \Vithout Ntinya the hcad of a group could not makc claim to the authority vestcd in the position or to the "spoils" attached to thc office. The head of an lbibio tribe or sub-tribc was usually called Oku or Okuku, somctimes Ata Unam (literally eater of meat). He normally had priestly as weH as prcsidential functions and these entitlcd him to the major share of the sacrifices made to the shrine to which he ministered, and of any large wild animals killcd in his arca. He also rcceived, except when thcsc had been transferred to other N tinva chicfs, the fines and othcr forfcits from important judicial cases. In somc arcäs,

T 11 F. J 0 NI~ S RE P 0 H T 17

pnrticularly in thcse days, thc hcad of such a unit was and is callcd Obong Ikpa laong (chief of all thc land) and was lookc:d upon as a secular rather than as a priestly hc:ad, and in somc tribcs, e.g., thc ltak clan of Ikot Ekpcnc an Okuku was rccognisc:d as a ritual head nnd an Obong lkpa lsong as a temporal onc. These Obongs, Okukus and Ata Unnms wcrc not rcquircd to providc vcry hcavy expcnditurc bcforc recciving their Ntinya, though thc Ohong lkpa Isong usually had to pay morc than the Okuku. lt was ; ditfcrent with anothcr type of Ntinya chicf, thc judicial chicfs who in the L"yo district nnd in adjaccnt communitic..-s wcrc gi\'cn thc right to prc..-sidc over the trial of particular types of important cascs in thcir own and the ncighbouring villagcs. With this right went the major sharc of the fecs, fincs and forfcits derivcd from these ca.sc:s. (For t.r:amplt, i11 the Offot lribe (clan) thcre useJ lobe the following Ntinya judicial chitjs thaling rrith thefollowillg classes of cases-Obong lkpe rcith murder anJ manslaughter, Ohong Ekong rrith o.ffmus of thc Ekong sociel)', Obo11g Ebol wilh a/1 cases im.:olving goats, Obong Eron rr:ith a/1 slrup cases, Obong E11an n·itlr a/1 cow cases, Obo11g Unen rcith a/1 fowl cases, Obong Ndodoho rdth a/1 cases im.:olvitrg a breac/1 of the peace at m:t:ht). 1t is difficult to obtain accurate information today about thesc Ntinyn judicial chicfs and of the types of ca.ses thcy wcrc entitled to try. Thc system has long becn superseded by the \Varrant Chief and Native Court systcm and thcrc appcars to bc no dcsire amongst thc lbibio to revive it.

73. The Ibo title of Ezc is found mainly amongst communities in the Onitsha Province. lt forms a very convenient way by which a self-made Ieader or at a later date a Warrant Chief could consolidate his position as village group head by converting it into a traditional office. In some cases, for example in Ogidi, the office ha.s remained .J with the direct descendants of thc original founder. In most cases howevcr wherc it e.xisted as a single title and not as thc senior of a group of Ndichie or Ndiama titles it has lapscd, pcople considcring that the status and the pcrquisites now attachcd to the title arc not commensuratc with thc cxpcnditure involvcd. lt should bc remernbered that this is only one use of the term Ezc ,~·hich, a~ poi_nte.d out in thc lntr<_ldu~t_ion, is" also used whcn refcrring to more hcredttary chtcftmnctcs as wcll as to JUdtctal and · to pricstly officcs.

Title and Secret Societies and Local Government

74. Thc title societics of thc Northcrn and Central Ibo can bc seen as a dcvclopment of this principlc of awarding titlcs on thc hasis of wcalth in rcsponsc to thc incrcascd wealth of thc area. More pcoplc in a community werc ablc to obtain titlcs and thcy formed thcmsclvcs into associations to regulatc thc taking of thesc local titlcs. These becamc awarded by thc socicty and the grcatcr part of thc cxpcnditurc in making the titlc went to the society and was sharcd by its memhcrs.

75. Similarly, thosc associations formcd for rcligious, rccrcational, political and othcr purposes, which arc usually refcrrcd to as "Secret Societics" tcnded to becomc modified in the same dircction. The lbibio Ekong und thc Annang Ebi Owo from heing "Man Killer" titlc societies, becamc wcalth titlc socictics which ensured their mcmhcrs a "proper burial" and whose cntrance fccs werc so heavy that only the richcst mcmbcrs in thc community could join. Thc Ekpc and rclated socicties of thc Cross Rivcr developcd highcr grades or ordcrs within the socicty which carricd heavy entrancc fces.

76. lt was thc mcmbcrs of these wealth title socictics or of thc higher grades of the sccrct societies that came to control thc community. For although the society itsclf might havc othcr intcrcsts, thc fact that it brought together all thc men that mattered in thc community mcant that it was bound to bccome involvcd in local governmcnt.

77. Even in areas where title or secrct socictics wcre abscnt or wcre not uscd in this way, one finds the same kind of dcvclopmcnt. The lzi tribc of Abakaliki division say thcy had and havc no chicfs and no sccrct or titlc socictics, and thcy maintain they are rulcd by thc mcn of thcir senior age grade, whom thcy call Nzc. ßut only tho3e

I K T I I H J C J N F. t4 IC f~ I' (J I& 1

l'::.t" "·hu lua\·r m1ule thr titlr "f hi l'::t.•: J.y kllliuJ,C n cuw (,,, the othcr l•i N'l'.e arc: Nid tu luavr lllllht~rity in thi• t:tmn~il. Tlu~ Ekpc·yc und auljaccut Jkwcrri cornrnunitic:• ol tlar Ahuutl;a 11&\ltaiun uy thc·y wt·rr. rulc·•l lty tlar IW"flior UI(C grudc whilc thc l(rtulc irnrne. cli:alrly la·l"w it rart llu: \ illauc uucl c.:••rriccl out tlll"ir urdcn. Hut righa.. of mcmhcnhiJJ ul thnoc· '"" J(rildc• nuw ltdunM uuly tu tltu•c wlac, havc p;aid f;airly hcnvy c:ntraucc fece "·hid1 ocrc aluarrtl hy thr. full nwrnlu:n .,(alte ur;ulc.

7K. 'J hnc• \\'r11l~h Titlc Hucic:li.t~• an~J illlllloKOU• ''~"'•ciutiuuM, in addition to. irnpt111ing • rnrura• tra.t ou aliptrant• for puhlu.: ufhcc, •tlru, provtdc:d 1 hor~c who had uduevcd thi11

alulu• '' alh a •nutll hut f11irly rcl(ular incornc clcrivcd frnm thc fcell p;aicl hy othcr pcr~tm• makiiiJ.C thc: rille: ur thc: J.Cradr. Prcvinwaly the c;mdidnte hnd tn devote moKt nf hia cnc:rgica to c:11rninu thc: muury tu ilchic:vc: hia titlc, now hc hucl the lcitmrc tn undc:rtilkc: thc: func· tiun11 iiiiiWJCiutrd with 11 pcraon of hia ncw "''cial lil;atua, und the comrnunity •aw to it tluat th~.c iududcd lnc11l RtJVcrnment wnrk. Muny communitica UMBcrt thot hefore thc llritiah Gm·crmncnt came with itK \Votrrnnt ( "hicf B)'Kic~m the pcople who ruled the viiluge or the villu~t: J.Crollp wcrc: the titlcd mcu nr the le•sding men uf thc Rccrct aocietiea, Evt:n iu l'ommunitieh which rnaintain thut thc senior nge-gnadc Ktill formed thcir council of rldcrK it i• ilpparcnt that the rnoat influential of thcsc clderK were tho~~e who hcld titlea ur whu wcre in thc: hight."til gradca of the Recrct Kocictic:a.

7'J. But lJUitc upart from thc work of it11 rncmhcrR at public mcctingfl, thc title or thc liecrc:t Ao~Jcicty had othc:r equully important politicul functionK. lt brought to­gc:thcr thc lcading men of all thc acgmentK of thc community, otnd it provided them with a fonnn for thc diacu•aion of community affairs privatcly and in a non-controvcr­aial atruosphere frcc from acctional disputca and Kectional loyahictt.

Ibo Title Societies

HO. Thc: thrc:c main Ibo titlc: aystcms arc thosc usually rcferrcd to aa Ndichic:, r-;diama and Ndin1..e or Ozo. Thc first dcrivcs from Bcnin and charactcriscs thc Niger Rh·c:rain arca, the accond ia thought to havc comc from lda (A11thropological data on ldah is /acking) and ia found among many of thc communitica in thc north and ccntral pan of thc Nsukka diviaion. Thc third diffuscd from Nri (Awguku) and covcrcd moat of thc Onitsha, Awka, Orlu, and Okigwi diviaiona as weil as part of thc Udi and Owcrri divisions.

(a) Ndichie and Ndiama 1'itle Systems.

MI. These two syatems arc vcry much thc samc, diffcring mainly in thc namca of thc particular titles. Hoth differ from that of Bcnin (Described ;" paragraphs 23 lo 26) in that cach titlc ia veatcd in a particular lincagc (or villagc scgment) and it doca not neccssarily havc to bc awardcd by thc hcad of thc community, indeed the system func­timts cqually succcssfully in communitics without any such hcad ( 011itsha town forms

(the main e.weptio11 to tlus gmera/isatio11, keepi11g ;" theu two respecls closer lo the Bem"n syslem). Thc Ndiama titlcs arc gradcd into greatcr and lesser titlcs, the lcsser titlea arc rccogniscd within the villagc but not outside it, only the senior or greater title holden being rccogniscd throughout thc community and in ncighbouring village groups as weil. A villagc scction vcry oftcn recognises its oldest man as its hcad for intcrnal affairs and its senior titled man as its hcad and rcpresentativc in its cxtcrnal rclations with other scctions, for cxamplc, at viiJage or villagc group council meetings. Indced in many village groups thc council was said to have consistcd of a limitcd number of the senior titled mcn only, one of them holding thc titlc of head of thc villagc group and the othen bcing rankcd in ordcr aftcr him. In many Nsukka (Ndiama) communitics the oldest man in thc scgment has thc prior right to make the titlc and only if hc is unwilling and unable to excrcise this right docs it pass to othcr pcrsons in thc scction. The normal proccdure in Ndiama titles is for thc candidatc to obtain with suitablc gifts the support of thc hcad (Onyishi) of his vi11agc scction or villagc. Thc Onyishi then prcscnts htm to thc scction or villagc as the pcrson who will bc making this titlc. He is infonned

T II P. J 0 N I~ H Je I~ 1• c > I( T I 'J

u( thc fcc:a hc will hovc tt) p;ty to thc othcr titlcd mcn in thc villoagc and in the ca.c o( the ~~~Cnior titlc•, in thc \'illagc group. Eoat:h of the1K: peoplc has to be paid individually by the condidatc bcforc hc rccc:ivc• thc inaigniil which got..-e with hia titlc. lt ia pcrmiuible howcvcr in many comrnuniticM for titlcd mcn who are frienda of thc candidate to accc:pt hia promise tn pay in pl:tcc! ,,( thc ;tctual cash, thi~t prnmiac being honoured afr.:r the caudidatc IHIB rcccived hiK titlc.

H2. ln thc Ndichic syatcmK thcrc arc at least two, somc:timee three, gradca or orde,.. thc KCninr of which iH saicl to "govcrn" thc community. 'J"here arc also leaaer weaJth rnlcs somctirnes callcd ( Jzo, somctimcs callcd by other msmc:a, from whose memhe,.., r.rnvidcd they come from thc right lincagc, thc Ndichie titlc: arc: fillc:d u vacancies occur. rhe fccli poid hy a candid;atc arc paid in instahnents collectivcly to all thosc who havc

rnodc the order and are normally Kharcd out equolly betwecn them. (7'/wugh if as in Ollitslla, tll~re is 011 Obi or similar titi~J cnmmu11ity lu•ad he may rueiv~ a largn- slulu than t/1~ otlwr till~d men).

(b) Ndi N:re rJr O::w Titl~ System.

H3. Thc 07..o title socicty diffcn1 con~tiderably from thesc other two syetems. lt is opcn to any frcc horr1 mcmber of the community who can pay the fet:f! and it is also completcly legalitarian in iL'I mcrnbership. Thcy all achieve thc samc title. With the Ndichie and N diama cach senior title is a different one and though KOrne titlcs may have thc: same name thcy are vcsted in different viiJage scctions and, exccpt again in the casc of thosc in the lcssl r grades, thcy havc spccific ritual and political dutics to perform and arc ranked in an order of scniority. In the case of Ozo &111 mcmbers who have completcd the title are of equal status and the head (Onyishi Ozo) of a society is merely thc pcrson who has first compll·tcd the title, and his hcadship entitles him to littlc more than a slightly larger share of thc fees paid hy new membcrs. The Ozo title is also not so closely associatcd with government of the community as are thc previous two systcms. It is primarily a wcalth arid mutllitl benefit society which has comc to assumc functions nf govcrnmcnt in some but hy no mcans all the local communitit.-s amongst whom it is fouud.

H4. Evcry local community has its own particular variant of these three title systems, combining thcm in different ways with its original systcm of government, but those of Oguta town (Ou:erri Divisio11) of Ohukwa (Nsullka Division) and Nri (Awka DiviSion) can bc takcn as fairly typical cxamples of the threc systcms.

(c) Ogu/a syslem.

~5. Oguta has as head of thc town an Eze lgwc, with an Iyascrc as deputy he:ui. These with ten othcr title holden; form the Ndichic who were thc traditional 11Cxecutive'' council. The full council meeting consisted of thc Ndichic and two other ordcrs or colleges of titled men, thc Oririnzcre and thc Ndi Okpara. In addition to thcsc threc senior orders there wcrc two lcsser titlc socictics rcferrcd to as Ozo socictics to distinguish thcm from the senior ordcrs. Onc, Ogbu Agu (Ieopard killer) was a wcalth titlc society in which in addition to fccs thc body of a Ieopard which had bccn killed or purchased by thc candidatc had to be produccd and shared with thc mcmbcrs. The othcr lhu Mmuo was a 11Second burial" title socicty. Mcmbcrship of thc lhu !\1muo socacty was ohligatory for thosc making a senior titlc: Ogbu Agu was optional. Okpara thc title , of membcrs of thc lowcst of thc thrcc ordcrs was not a wealth title; it was a titlc given to \ the oldest man and hcad of a ward (lincage) and this ordcr containcd thc Okpara of twenty-two out of thc twcnty-four wards (lineagcs) of Oguta, thc othcr two heing indudcd in the Ndichic ordcr. Oririnzerc was a name given to an ordcr of lesscr Ndichie titles most of which had individual names and it was rankcd a.~J senior to thc Okpara order. Thc higlu.-st or Ndichic ordcr, in addition to thc Ezc lgwc and lyascrc, consistcd of thc following titlc holdcrs-the Ezc Ukwu, thc Ezc Koro, the Ndanike, the Igwe Uta, the Ezechioha, thc Ezc Ani who was also Oserc, two othcr Oserc together with thc Ogene and

20 THE JONES REPORT

the Ogana. The Ogcnc, Ogana and Eze Ani were not wealth titles. The Ogene was the oldest man in all Ostuta and thereforc also Okpara of his panicular ward, the Ogana was the spokeaman and was selccted because of his eloquence and powers of debate. The Ezc Ani was thc Okpara of the Oboagwa ward, the original inhabitanta of Oguta, the others having migrated there from Illah higher up the Niger. He was also priest (F.ze) of Ani Oguta, the spirit of O~uta land as weil as being one of the three Osere. The rest werc wealth titles in the nght of particular wards (lineagcs). Each of these title holders had specific duties: the three Osere for example were the three heads of the lhu 1\lmuo socicty which divided into three lodges each with its Ogene. In addition to these male titles thcre were two fee paying female titles, Odoba, and Omodi. These were taken by the senior wife respectively of the Eze lgwe and of thc Iyasere at the same time as their husband made his title. Although there are at present one Eze Igweandone lyasere it is possible to ha•;e four of the former and scven of the latter: for the Eze Igwe ward divides into four segrnents and the Iyasere ward into seven and provided they alt make their title at the same time each of thesc segments is entitled to make an Eze lgwe in the case of the first ward and an I yascre in the case of the second. The senior E.ze lgwe in age is the chief of Ogu~ the n:st are rank.ed as Oririnzere but when the

'

hc-.ad of Oguta dies the senior sur1i\ing Eze lgwe takc:s his place and the process continues until all have dicd bcfore the ti.tle is again made. lt is the samc in the case of thc Iyasere

\.titlc.

( tl) OIJt&/tptJ syst611L.

86, Obu.kp-.1. village group of Nsukb Division di\idcs into thrce ,;ua~ Ajuona, Owdc: aud Obigiwe. each oi thcse divides again into two vil.lage scctions. and thcse ~ sa-tions. into a tow of tifty '-ilbge subscctions.. Titles are gradcd into "senior .. or ~ and '1unior .. or .:\maulo.. ~ Isiama tidcs are üe, Asogwa.. I wu and Asadu and r.mk. in tha.t order ~ Üt1J! Olle subsection. in Owele village9 has the right to the üe tide wbich arrics with it the chieftaincy of the village group- Twenty-m sub­:sections. in the tbrc:e Yi1Iagei bonl: the right to one or other of the lsiama titlcs the remün­dl:r cm ooly malb: Amaulo titL:s.. The bs::ld of c:ICb village sec:tion ~ its ~ except in the as.: aE ~ &:·s ~ whcre the ~ replaces the Asogw:a ;m its bcad.. In ~ditiun tD theR: tirled lu:ads tht aldls man in e:ach subscctioa wa5 ~ zs its bead Oayisl ( c..g-_ Ok:pu:l.) in iml:mal :dfms bat was not supposed to participtte in meetinp llumidl: bis :IUba:dion. e.uqK in tbt Cl5le of ehe On!isi of :1 puticubr subscctioo in .!!UDIJB; ~ w&u \r.IS reprded a me ~ of an ~-- The ER.. the ~ .!jUDIGI. :md ;all the fsiama tide faalcflets. tixmed tbre ~di Ola ar Council ol elders of Obuk:pL In .Jdditüm to tf1e!l: titfe m!" ieebom ID3D oi Oba:kpra could purchale die Oebunhll titfe an ~ ai fees tD the amer {)g&uofaas in - ~ 'I'hese Ogbualla tide. holde:ts ~ m dae iarp:rmrsfi:up ;age ~ ia llml! ocher IIIWthem 0. (=rmmn•!Jirin md ~ the: ~ wf&o, aniEd Oltt onien of t&e Olia. The fall CDUIICil !JD:e!ÜIIf fJf O&uapa CDIJSised af die Olim.. die Ogbuofm... aod ~ or:her IIJalr wfao wisW :n mJ::id.. Lh die !:IR af tfie - ..4am tides.. w&en a. tirlie idl. 'r.ICIIlC thro.D * ..... ar die !a!IC &oldl:r my !1l1JJifu:r oi pa:9IIIIS l!llllif m:ih: me Dde ~-~ m.:y .:IlDe ttmn t:f1e :iJ!flr mble::DOn ;amf p&f dJe-~ 6:a ID ecDar f:B .:\mct Iide ~ "l11e :lmior m • ~in die-~ tUDif !üa ~ wbea &e w:zs. repb:af ~ !lbe !Ia% tl.idi::IL

le~-~~

.'f:"_ ~ ~ .~ ~ Iioimr.L - ,~ ~ iialb ... ~ JiviJiamt. ~ ,Ji ~ ~ m.. ~ ~- llae- villp:s ~ Jll!!lin :iJm, ~ ~Th~F Je:rioaa {~ !iDe2pt~ .. ~ c....a 8ldia! .:amiJD l1i ~ ~ ~ !DW}; -.u. ex5. riiJF........ Ia-..... ~ .~;Ji iie ~-- (M_.!id'af :JUCL. Tk .-- c::a:il ~ ~ -- iia .te:UDf"' ~ :ci.tfet ~~- ;iÜ.sa. ~ ~ baerl ~ ........ Mli ..... . .t .'S'"ß'W:jaa ·1i 1ie: 'itfe:.. 'T.iele ~ ie:da: ~ .,. ttdu ,...._. ..., ... lJI.11t'~~~-:1T~~~ TU:O..ä:~•~-

THE JONES REPORT 21

organised as a series of eight stages or grades, each marked by various ritual acts and by the paymcnt of fces to those persans who had already made the grade. Taking them in the order in which they had to be made these stages were called Agwu, lfejioku, Aman­wulu, Amanchi, Nliwamadu, Ekwu, Azu Oji and Ofo Mmuo. The first two were made by all able-bodicd young men, the fees were a matter of a few pounds and were paid to those in the candidatc's villagc section who had made these stages. The next two stagcs wcre not vcry much more costly and wcre made by most men of any consequence in thc village, the fces being shared by those who had made the stage in the village. Most persons stopped short at this stage, those who intcnded to complete the Ozo title proceeded to take Nliwarnadu in which the fees, which were still fairly low, were ahared by those of this stage in the primary division. After Nliwamadu the candidate proceeded to make Ekwu paying by instalments over a long period the fees, which in the early "JO"s were estimated to amount to about ,l240. (A. F. B. Bridges' Report). The fees were shared amongst all the Ozo titled men in the village group. After com­pleting Ekwu the candidate was entitled to be called Nze or Ozo and received four salutation names, togethcr with the Alo, a ritual spear, and the Ozo title stool (Oche­Ndichie-(Ndichic here meaning ancestors). The candidate having completed Ekwu made the next stage, paying comparatively small fees and being given the right to make a meeting house (Obi) with walls of carved iroko planks instead of the normal earth walls. Most persans did not proceed any further. The final stage, Ofo Mmuo, was said to be as costly as Ekwu. None had made it when the Bridges Report was written and very few have made it today. lt does not appear to carry with it any higher politic:d status. Any freebom member of the community could make the Ozo title pro,-ided he had sons of his own and pro\ided that his father and his elder full brothers bad also made the title, or were already deceased.

88. As already mentioned in paragraph 40 Xri also had a chief-the Eze Nri, but his powers were ritual rather than political and he played no part in the government of his 'illage community. (T~ ritiUJl as~ct of this ojji€e /ras lnm dncrikd at lmgtlr by Dr .ll. D. JV. J~uys in a r~t to I~ .\"igtrian G~t in 193~ an.d in Tlu Dif:iJU F-.Jrä Ki1rgs of lgbo lmul, anrmpuhlislud doctoral tlanü).

Sec:ret Societies

89. These differ from tbe title soc:icties in th.:n the society was representcd as being primari1y cona:med with tbe secret cult of a supernatural bc:ing or beings. wbose propi­timon was esacnti.al for thc weU-being of the community. I t contained all thc able-bodied mcn in tbe group which wzs nonnally a '-ilbge. In many communities cntrance fees ro tbe socicty could be p:aid at any time &thcrs oftcn pay:ing for their ~ while t.hev wcre still boys.. Tbey were not initiated into thc society hawe•;er until they were old mnogb to -uep its secreu". 'Thc senior mcn of thc society who were aho the ";lbgt: ddas wc:re 2hle ro discipline ~ members of tbe community in the name of thc society oc r.dberol tbe supa natunl being rx beinp to who tbe IOCicty miniatered, and the younger manhen c:arried out tbeiT orden witb tbeir idtntitv 0111a:a&ed under masbd and hooded Ol8EII:meS. .-\mangst the lbibio andin the Cro!ll Rf..er hinterland there wcreperiods when the tpiri3 rA the so:::idy ~ abror.ad and whm thc uninitiatcd bad to rmrain incb:w1 o r ii9Uid die wilbge. Tbere were ..., OCC2Iionl wben eYerybody muld wrtnc:. thc pagt2ntry ol me ~ md masbd figans pu•>n:ifJing the &e.er ipirits ~ .-ith the VJciety panded md daneed in tht:~ pbyground.

~J. \\-Jda a kw Joo ~ e.sr .... Or3tta and U~•eni tnbes (f~ aJ AwMJd. ....... , .,. ... u~ m d.e ~ ~ bad t«Td ... .Jcidies rA tbJa form.. '}"h,..ee af 6t lhibo and f1l the Slllrü.nn 31t.!d (mrr~ ltJf'J mirmttred ~ ~ cuh:a f I'IITb 4 .. \-~ tliWibtD ~ (~ IDIII fh~Dhe YIOIIW 'fthl CtrAI RioeT 111111 1}1/'1' &:.. I~,.._~ M (_Ad Uäbw (F..iä; at.d ,..4 the Cr~ lm't:r lr10 Baiure l!pfriM ifiRI in 1he ~ ft~~rt.3(. tlw.tle .. lk ki~·en att::a fi'J •-*' .".,.,.,. mJuhiaiec d.c .... qf tbrir men. -... tt.e:w w.-c «P~- ~ cJr..-Jc: de:mma ;,, ~bete tncictia .. ~

22 THE JONES REPORT

most highly dcvclopcd amongst thc Kalabari (New Calabar); thc disciplinary and thc political elements on the Cross River, and most notoriously in thc 19th ccntury Ekpe (Egbo) society of Old Calabar rcferred to in Chaptcr V. It was particularly in this area and amongst the Ibibio that these societics dcvclopcd fcatures analogaus to thc wcalth title socictics alrcady dcscribed, introducing a nurober of grades or stagcs, thc highcr oncs with formidable cntrance fecs. Authority within thc socicty and thcrcfore within thc villagc rested with the members of the highcst grade.

91. The Efik and most Cross Rivcr communitics prefcrrcd a singlc all-powerful society, whilc the lbibio favourcd t\\O or thrcc supcrior societies and a numbcr of lcsser ones, each wuh their own special functions. The governmcnt of an lbihio \'illagc was not, as in ninetecnth century Old Calabar, in thc hands of thc Nyamkpc grade of thc Ekpe socicty, 1t consisted of a council of cldcrs, thc hcads of their respcctivc villagc scctions (Ekpuk) and of thcir subdivisions. ßut thcsc cldcrs wcrc not thc oldcst mcn in thcir section or subsections but those men who wcrc full mcmbcrs of all thc village socicties that mattcred, similarly the Obong ldung, thc chicf of thc villagc, had to bc a mcmbcr of these socictics bcfore he could be elccted to his officc. Thc most important of thcse Ibibio secret societies were Ekpo, the socicty concerned with the propitiation of anccstral ghosts, Ekong(oramongsttheAnnang, Ebi Owo) referred to in paragraph 75 and thc Old Calabar type of Ekpc ( fVhich rmder the name Akang or Ekang lzad diffused through the Ibibio and Annang dn·isions and as far tcest as the lbo commrmities of Aba and Bmdedivisions. /t has also diffuseclnorlllfcard up the Cross River under its mvn name to Aroclmlm and many other Cross River communitirs). Ekong was not a gradcd socicty and only thc wcalthiest mcn in the village could afford tobelang to it. Ekpo was also not gradcd exccpt whcrc it had been influenccd by the Old Calabar Ekpc.

92. In addition to thcsc village socictics of the Ibibio thcre was also thc Idiong socicty, originally a guild of native doctors (Diviners) which had becomc elcvatcd to thc status of a wealth title socicty. Membership was more limitcd than those of the village socictics, partly on account of the cost, partly it is said because only thosc who were callcd by supernatural signs were expected to bccome membcrs; but a vcry large number of wcalthy men secm to have received this call. Becausc of this more limitcd membcrship Idiong was organiscd on a ncighbourhood and not on a villagc basis. Thcre were two ldiong societies, Idiong lbok which practiscd one form of divination and Idiong lfa which prac­tised another. The lauer carricd the greater social prcstigc; somc of its mcmbcrs were professional diviners, othcrs were wealthy mcn who found mcmbcrship of thc socicty and a knowledge of its secrcts sufficient in itsclf.

Present Position of Title and Secret Societies

93. Making titles and joining thc higher grades of secret socictics was and still is confined to older mcn. In formcr timcs it was not until thcy wcre past middle age that most men had earncd sufficicnt wcalth to complcte such titlcs. Today younger men prcfer membcrship of unians of thc "Patriotic" and .. Family" type. These contribute most of the clectcd mcmbcrs of district and local councils, and thcy also provide thc larger part of the moncy spcnt on local cducational, mcdical and othcr "community dc\'clop­mcnts". They are thus of more immediate bcncfit to the youn~cr mcn and thcir dcpen­dants. What is ~ing to happcn whcn thesc youngcr mcn bccomc eldcrs is by no mcans clcar. Most Chnstian churchL'S still forbid thcir mcmbcrs to join titlc and sccrct socictics on account of thcir "juju" practiccs and for other rcasons. But therc arc not many Christians today who fecl that such mcmbership would endanger their Christian faith, whilc most of the socictics areready to go a vcry lang way in mceting Christian objections to thcir rcligious ritual. Same societies, for examplc, thc Ekpcya secrct socicty of Ogbu-~A kele in the village of Ihuaba, divide into two parts, a Christi:m part and a non-Christian. 'I Thc lauer is responsiblc for providing thc ujuju" masks at thc nnnual pageant while the Christian section pro\'idcs non-juju masks.

THE JONES REPORT 23

94. Many prominent profcssional men in Onitsha inland town have joined the Ozo title society and some of thcir more outstanding retired colleagucs arc making the Ndichic titles. Thcrc arc similar but more isolated examplcs in thc Owerri and other Ibo divisions. In thc lbibio arca thc picture is thc same with profcssional men beginning to takc Ntinya titles and to bccome members of secrct societics. Many title and sccret socicties wh1ch earlicr mtclligcnce reports said were moribund have revivcd and their membcrs now fccl strong enough to scck to rc-establish thcir formcr monopoly of village political affairs; and the retiring civil scrvantor professional or busincss man who fccls hc would like to play his part in local govcrnmcnt is finding that membership of thcse societics is neccssary if he wishes to gain thc support of the senior members of his community. There is much to be said in favour of this approach to local politics. The rctiring official or profcssional man may know a grcat deal about the outside world, but hc Iacks any det&ulcd knowlcdgc of the politics of the littlc villagc world which hc now wishes to influcnce; and mcmbership of thc loc-.tl societics brings him into intimatc and fricndly contact with those men who have spcnt their Jives in mastering this particular subjcct.

PART II

CHIEFI'AINCY IN PARTICULAR AREAS

CIL\PTER IV

CHIEFT.AIXCY I~ OXITSHA TO\\~

95. The town or ,-illage group of Onitsha is one of a nurober of Ibo communities said to ha,·e been foundcd by an eponymous ancestor, C'hima. who came "from Benin". The most important of these other communities are Agbor and thc group of towns usually referrcd to as the Umuezechima clan (Onicha Uku, Onicha Olona., Onicha Ugbo, lssclc, Obior and Ezi). All except Onitsha Town are on the westem side of the !\iger and fonn part of the \Vestem Region. The town with which we are concemed emergcs into history with the Troner Allen Expedition of 1841. Until nearly the end of the century it occupied a very subordinate position to Aboh, ldah and even Asaba. From then onwards, however, it rapidly developed unti.l today it has become the largest town in the Eastern Region. lt formed the base for British penetr.ation of the northem Ibo hinterland and it has remained the headquarters of the pro,;nce to which it ga,·e its name, unlikc thc other great Ibo prO\;nce of Owerri whose headquarters shifted from Bonny to Owerri and eventually to Umuahia. Bisbop Crowther established a C. I\1. S. mission there in 1857 to be followed by 1885 by the Roman Catholics, and by the end of the first world war Onitsha Town had become the most important edu­carional centre in the Region, a position it has retaincd and expanded-there are no less than si.x sccondary schools there today. The people of Onitsha were quick to profit by these advantages and/the Iist of farnaus sons of Onitsha ( Tllis rtjtrs to tht on"ginal community noro distingui'shed as Onitsha Inland Toren. T~ population of Onitslra Toren todll)' amounts to 76,921 of whom 9,583 only art from tht Inland Toren) is staggering when one considers its small size.

96. This phenomenal e.xpansion and development has attcndant problems all of its own. First there is the problern of how to bring its peculiar political system into line with modern requirements of local government. Secondly there is the problern of how to absorb into this system thc stranger majority, usually referred to as the ~on­Onitsha Ibos. Finally there is the problern of Onitsha and its extemal relations with other Ibo groups-Onitsha town with the rcst of Onitsha dh;sion, Onitsha division with the rest of the province, Onitsha Province with the Owerri Province. All of these problems have an important bearing on modern constitutional development in the Region, and it ,,-ill be necessary to examinc the first two of them at somc length, for what happens in Onitsha town has repcrcussions sooner or latcr on most other parts of the Ibo country.

Onitsha Urban Area

97. The prcsent Onitsha Urban Distriel dividcs into two parts. Thc original community, usually referrcd to as the Inland Town nnd thc \\7atcrsidc which contains the stranger elements who came to reside thcre nfter thc cstablishment of the pro\'incinl administrative hcadquarters. These were originally two territorially distinct residcn­tial areas, but with the phenomenal expansion of the town in recent ycars they ha\'e becomc mcrged tagether and for purposes of local government the town is now divided into twcnty-four clectoral wards, twenty-one of these being rcfcrred to as Watcrside and three as Inland Town. A numbcr of indigenous Onitsha pcople li\'e in the Watcr­side wards and some strangers in those of the Inland Town, but for elcctoral purposes they are registered as members of the wards in which they n .. -sidc. Up to the period of the second world war the Govcrnment station and a largc part of the Watcrside were administered as a third-class township, thc Inland Town bcing excluded from this and fonning part of the Onitsha 1\:ativc Court area and lauer being constituted a separate Native Administration.

28 THE JONES REPORT

Onitsha Inland Town

. 98. The Onitsha Inland Town dividcs into two primary divisions. Umueze­chtma und Ugwunabankpo, and thcsc today subdividc into six traditional wards or villagcs. Thc hcad of thc town is thc Obi and below him are three collcges of Ndichie utlcd mcn. Thc senior collcgc, thc Ndichie Urne consists of six senior titlc holders rankcd in thc following ordcr: thc Onowu (salutation namc Iyasclc), thc Ajie (Esagba), thc Odu (Osodi), the Onya (Ozoma), thc Ogcnc (Onira), and thc Owclle (Osoma). The ncxt nmking collegc is tl~e Ndichie. O~wa containing nbout twcnty or morc titled men as dot.-s thc onc below lt, thc Ndtchte Okwaraza. Ndichic titlcs are confcrred by the Obi and thc fecs paid by thc candidatc arc sharcd bctwccn thc Obi and those who hnvc alrcady made the title. Bcsides thesc thrcc collegcs of Ndichic therc is in addition an Ozo title society which all Ndichic titlc holdcrs should join before they are eligible for promotion to an Ndichic title. Thc lllcn of Omtsha arc also organiscd into nge-grJ.dcs. an~i age-set~ and ~hc N~!chie pcriodically uscd to select a particular set to nct as pohcc m cnforcmg thetr dects10ns. The sct carricd out these duties for as long as it was considcred capablc of doing so. (!llilne Onitslw Report). lt is said that thc traditional govcrnment of Onitsha Town consistcd of thc Obi and the six Ndichie Urne, but it was ccrtainly not the oligJ.rchy that this Statement suggests, and its history shows that a considerable mcasure of power and authority remained in the hands of the pcoplc organiscd into wardsandward sections and also into agc-scts.

99. The women's orgamsation paralled that of thc men: there was a titled head woman, the Omo, selcctcd from amongst the senior warnen in a town, and a council of female title holdcrs, the Otuogene. These feminine officcs howcver are now cxtinct and no one wishes to revivc them.

100. The Onitsha constitution thus rescmbles that of ßenin in many imponant I details, as do those of Agbor and the other U muezcchima towns in the Asaba division. But it has two features peculiar to itself, both of which are guarantced to cause trouble, the one relating to thc succession thc other to the distribution of titles. In Benin the office of Oba, the head of the State, is hereditary, passing from father to eldest son and this son is recognised as heir apparent during his father's lifetime by being created Edaikan and made one of the Uzama grade of senior title holdcrs. In Onitsha Town the office of Obi is not hereditary but is vested in the Umuezcchima primary division, each of its thrce wards, Umudei, Umuezearoli and Obiokporo, having the right to put forward a candidate for the officc. In theory the office should rotate between these three subdivisions. In fact Obiokporo has never had an Obi and the office has tended to remain in the same ward, most of thc 19th century Obis for cxample coming from Umue-.learoli. The qualifications needed by a candidatc for thc officc were the same as those required of most Riverain Ibo titled chicfs, wealth being one of the morc important.

101. Benin, likc Onitsha Town, divides into two primary divisions a "Royal" division, the Ogbc and a "Commoner" division, thc Orc-Nokwa. ßut whereas in Benin the Iyasherc, the highest titled chicf after the Oba, must ~omc ~ro!n the "Commoner" division thcrc is in Onitsha no law which compcls thc Obt to hmtt the award of the highest titlc, the Onowu (lyashcrc) to a member of the u~om~oner" ?iv~sio!' of Ugwu­nabankpo. Thcrc is, it is said, a convention that thc stx scmor ~dtchtc tttles shou~d be distributcd betwecn thc six Onitsha wards with the Onowu gomg always to one m thc Ugwunabankpo division. Dut thcrc is nothing to prcvent the Obi disreg.arding this law.

102. lt is not surprising thcreforc, that thc intcrnal history of Onitsha is not a peaceful one. l-liRtoricar rccords are not availablc till the end of the 19th century when in 1898 thc Niger Company, in an cffort to r<.-store peacc, de.port~d Ezeoba who W1!S

said to havc sct hirnself up as a rival to thc Obi. Since that ttme tts local governm~nt

THE JONES REPOHT zcJ

rccord is littlc morc than a scrics of disputcs in which thc partics wcrc ablc to enjoy the luxury of bcing complctcly uncompromising, securc in thc knowlcdge that thc Colonial Govcrnmcnt was on thc spot to prevcnt any scrious brcach of thc pcacc.

103. In 1900 there was a disputc over the succession, thc govcrnmcnt intcn·ened and scttlcd it in favour of Obi Okosi I of Umudci ward. In 1911 thc Obi disrcgardcd thc advicc of the Ugv•unabankpo Ndichic and confcrrcd thc titlc of Onowu on his, I the Obi's, full brothcr. Ugv•unabankpo rctaliatcd by boycotting thc Obi and his council.: Thc govcrnmcnt cvcntually intcrvencd and securcd some measure of peace bctwecn · thc two primary divisions, by gctting it is said (GotJrmment files relating to this period ', art not available) an undcrtaking from thc Obi not to confcr this titlc in future on \ any membcr of "his scction". Obi Okosi I dicd in 1931 and thcrc was again a disputed succcssion, Umudci ward produced onc candidatc, and Umuaroli ward four. Thc Government eventually intervencd and in 1935 rccogniscd as Obi Okosi I I the L' mudci candidate, who was the son of the prcvious Obi. In 1949 Obi Okosi II resuscitatcd the dispute with Ugwunabankpo by confcrring thc Onowu title on a man who admittcdly : was not of thc same ward as the Obi but was still within thc Umuczechima divtsion. Ugwunabankpo again boycottcd the Obi and his council and thc Govcrnmcnt had again to intervene.

104. Throughout this period the younger and progressive elemcnts in Onitsha werc unable to pcrsuade their elders to scttlc any of thesc chicftaincy disputes though thcy brought considerable pressure to bear on thc Obi and Ndichie through their various associations, the traditional Ogbuasato, a group of cight agc-scts, and the newer Onitsha Improvement Union. At thc time of writing thc dcath of the last Onowu has lcft thc title vacant and thc leadcrship of thc council has devolvcd upon the Odu, who belongs to the Ugwunabankpo division and is thc most ablc of thc ~dichie Umc. Thc "Patrician" Inland Town today is morc solidly unitcd bchind its Obi and Ndichie than it has becn for a very long time, but only in face of the nc\\' dangcr that now thrcatcns it from thc 11Picbeians" of the \Vatersidc-thc Non-Onitsha Ibos.

Onitsha Ibosand Non-Onitsha Ibos

105. This disputc in which thc two partics arc di!\tinguishcd by thc rather con­fusing names of thc Onitsha Ibos and thc Non-Onitsha Ibos hcgan in thc war years but only camc into promincncc at its closc with thc generat movcment towards a local government systcm based on British principlcs of universal suffrage and of Rural and Urban District Councils.

106. The stranger or \Vatcrsidc rcsidcnts of Onitsha Town fall into two main groups. Thc oldcr in establishmcnt and thc original \Vatcn;idc consists of Yoruha, Housa, Nupe and Kakanda pcoplc from thc Northern and \Yestern Regions, as well as of Riverain Ibo from adjaccnt communitics on the Niger. Thc nc\vcr clemcnts consist of Ibos from thc hintcrland Vlllagc groups of thc Onitsha and Awka divisions as weil as from othcr divisions in thc Omtsha and Owerri Provinccs. lt is this group of strangcrs who now form the majority of thc populatlon and who are refcrrcd to as the non-Onitsha Ibos. The othcr group supports thc Onitsha Ibos of thc Inland Town.

107. Under the rcorganisation of 1935 the Native Authority of Onitsha Town was defined as thc Ohi in Counctl with thc Ndichic (of all thrcc cullcgcs) and \\ith the heads of the four non- Ibo \Vatersidc communitic~>. Latcr in 193M progressive Onitsha opinion, working through thc Ogbuasato group of a~c-!'rtl~ and thc Onitsha lmprovemcnt Union prevailed upon the Obi and council to admit twcnty non-~d1chie membcra elected frorn the six traditional Onitsha ward~ aml from the \Vatcrsidc. At the same time the group that later becaml' the NQn-Omtsha lhos bcgan to dcmand rl"prcscntation on the council. At this time they were organiscd on a .. town" or .. family union" buia,

30 THE JONES REPORT

thc protests bcing made on behalf of these vnrious 11town unions". In 1942 thc Govcrn­ment transferred the administrution of the township of Onitsha to thc Native Adminis­tration of the Obi in Council on condition thnt thc Non-Onitsha Ibos should bc given adequate rcprescntntion on this council.

108. There is no need to dctail thc carly stages of the strugglc that followcd. Thc Non-Onitsha Ibos eventual dcmands wcre for parity with the Onitsha Ibos in clccted repn..-sentativcs and the cxclusion of thc t."C officio Ndichic membcrs from the Council. When their demands wcre refused they fcll back on the traditional method of bycott and the contemporary onc of pctitioning the Govcrnment. Thc Onitsha Ibos wcre at first divided by th_eir i_ntern~l disputes, but eventually they came to rcalisc thcir danger and became umted m thctr demand for thc retention in thc Council of the Ndichie membcrs.

109. The Government eventually intervcned in 1950 and approved as the Onitsha Town Council a compromise of the Obi, six Ndichie and twelvc elected Onitsha Ibo members, thrce representatives of the Non-Ibo Groups, tcn electcd Non-Onitsha Ibos and one female member represcnting the inten.-sts of the women of Onitsha Town. Th~ Non-Onitsha Ibos boycotted the elections and petitioned the Housc of Assembly of the Eastcrn Region. A select committce of the House investigated their complaint aM.d cxprcssed thc opinion that a truly dcmocratic town council had not yet cmcrgcd and that the Non-Onitsha Ibos were inadequately represcnted. The Resident suggested that a new council should be devised giving cxpression to these vicws and should come into operation when the term of office of the existing council ran out. A Comrnittee representing all parties in Onitsha Town was set up to draft such a council and the dispute continued.

110. The terms of office of the council expired in 1953 and the Governmcnt had then to intervene. lt put forward its own solution which was a council consisting of the Obi, six ~dich e, twelve elccted members from thc Inland Town, one Iady member from theInland Town, and cightcen mcmbers electcd from the \Vaterside wards. Four­teen pcrsons were appointed to act as the Native Administration pending the elections and the cstahlishment of this the first Onitsha Urban District Council. The franchisc for the election was limited to thosc who had paid tax in Onitsha Town. Elections were held at the end of March, 1954, being delayed by legal difficulties over the regis­tration of voters many of whom wcre found to be disqualified having registered with tu receipu which were dated for the wrong year. There was also a further dispule a.s to whether the election should be held on local or on national party lines. They "·ere eventll211y htld on national party linc:a and the N.C.N.C. party sccured a majority. A.a most Onitsha and !\on-Onitsha Ibos were strong supporters of thia party thia did not affect the local dea\·age. What it did do was to split the Onitsha branch of the ~.C.-:\.C. party. Thc new constitution gave the Onitsha Ibos a majority on the counci~ but the Son-Onitsh.a Ibos bad bcen given a greater number of clected membera than thc:y had probabJy expected to get. Both sidea acceptcd the compromisc and the council ,..2$ inauguratc:d on tht Ist June, llJ54.

111. Eleven months latcr, a.s a rc:sult of various irregularilies connectcd with a market oontract and with auff appointmenu, the counci1 was dissol\'cd and a caretaker council appointed whole mcmben were cquaJJy divided betwce!' the ~niu~ and ~ !'\on-Onitah2 lboe. Th.e diapute betwcen them flared up agam, neuher a~de beang prepared to cllmprom.i..c, and the Government again was ob.ligcd to dt.-cide the. matter itaelf. During the intervcning period thc: prindple of a umveraal adult franchiae bad bttn acccpted, and th.e ccmua rc.1urn1 had oome in ahowing that th~ di.crcpancy in popu­btitJn between the two groupe wu evcn gre2ter than had bc:en prevaoualy thought.

112. '11~e new ln.crument pro"idcd by thc Government which wu ligMCI on 9th Mpt.mabrr, J«JSS .P~f.wided. for .a~J C.?bi a.1 etaairnun an~ t.welve Ndichie ~ ,.,...,.ninated by thc Mu~ltcr (au:: Sd•ch1e Urne, three Ndach.e Okwa, thrce Ndachie Ok•arv..e) and tweflty·foor memben da;tcd frorn thc: twenty-onc: Watenide and the

THE JONES REPORT 31

three Inland Town wards. The clectiona were conducted this time on local party lines, the Non-Onitsha Ibos choosing the elephant as their electoral symbol and the Onitshas cventually choosing the eagle after they bad been refused the cock, this being the symbol of the N.C.N.C. party. The election of twelve of the elephants was disallowed as they were found to be members of other (their home) Jocal government councils. Fresh elcctions for these wards were held and elephant candidates were again retumed. Alta­gether nineteen elephants and five eagles were returned (two from the non-lbo Wateraide wards). This gave the elephants a majority of three over the Onitsha Ibos (i.e., eleven Ndichie and five eagles). The Onitsha Ibos finding themselves in the minority boycotted the council and the Non-Onitsha Ibos then refused to accept the Obi as their chairman until he had becn sworn in, a proceeding barred to him by reason of his sacred office.

113. This was the position when I visited Onitsha Town in March 1956. Since then I am infonncd that the Onitsha Ibos have been prcvailed upon to withdraw their boycott, the difficulty over swearing in of its chainnan has been resolved and the council has begun to function.

Onitsha Town and other Ibo Areas

114. This new Instrument brings the Onitsha Urban District Council into linc with those of other Ibo and Edo spcaking councils on the westem side of the ~igcr in the Benin Province. Most of these have an Obi as e:~ officio president, a limited number of "traditional" members and a four-fifths majority of elected reprcscntatives. The essential difference between the Onitsha Urban District Council and thcsc westem councils, however, is that the lauer relate to rclativcly small and homogenoeus com­munities in which the elected rcpresentati .. ·es prepondcratc. In the Onitsha Council on the other hand the indigcnous community is reprcsented by its Traditional chiefs and by only three clccted representatives while the controlling vote in the council is held by the representativcs of people who, though resident in Onitsha, are also very largcly resident in other places as weil. Many of them are also through mcmbership of their "Town unions" and other associations of thcir "Native" towns (village groups) actively im·olvcd in the affairs of thcse places. Their traditionalloyalty is to the town of their birth, where they own land and where their relatives live. But they have also a loyalty to Onitsha as a place where they live and have thcir business, as a cuhural centre where most of thcm were educatcd and where thcy wish thcir children to be educatcd, and as the centre of Ibo political and cultural activity. They regard the Obi as the head of Onitsha Town and the only possäble president of the V rhan District Council. Whethcr the best interests of Onitsha Town can bc scrved by pcrsons with thcse dividcd loyalties is a matter for conjecture. They are certainly likcly to have a less parochial outlook in OnitJJha Town politics, very different ideaa about thc: Ieasing and acquisition of land (This is one of tJ" feafl of the Onitsha Ibo, tl.e localland OfDne11) and in cascs where a clash of interest occura between the Onitsha Urban Distriel Council and the Niger County Council on which many of their "Native" towna are rcprcaented this division of loyalties may prove em­barrasaing to both councils.

115. The attitude of other Ibo groupa towarda Onitsha Town hu alwaya been onc of admiration comhined with envy, distrust and fear of cxploitation. During the en9uiry thia found its expresaion fintly in a demand hy many villagc groupa in the Omtaha diviaion for a Local Council (i.e., a village group council) similar to that of Onitaha Town or what they undentood thia tobe: sccondly, in an immediate and \'ehement repudiation of the autement bclicved to have heen rnadc b).' Onitaha Inland Town rcprcscntativn that Onitaha and it.s Ohi bad once rulcd thc:m. J'hia demand for ~x (Jiftrio reprnc:ntation of chiefa and Traditional membc:rs on lucal government l·ouncila can hc cxpected to apread to other Ibo diviaiona and provinc«..-s. Thc hoatility towarda and fear of Onitaha will probably abatc aa political and cultural leadc.-n in other lho communitin attain the cducational advantagea and profeuiunal akill" that uutil rrccntly ha,·e becn IM \'irtual monopl>ly of th.c Inland Town, and now that mcmbera of aornc: of thne communitit't are

32 THE JONES REPORT

in a majority on the Onitsha Urban District Council. Butthischange of feeling is not Iikely to affect the anirude of these other Ibo communities towards the Obi of Onitsha or causc: them to regard him as the head of any community other than that of Onitsha Town. Tbeir attitude to the inclusion of Traditional members on their Local Councils will depend \·ery much on what happens to the ~dichie members of the Urban District Councils and whether it is decided to retain them there or to accede to the original Non-Onitsha Ibo demand and cease to give them any privilegcd representation on this rouncil.

CIIAPTER V

CHIEI·~l'AI:\CY I~ OLD CALABAR

1 16. Old Calabar, ao; L-arly Europcan voyagcrs insisted on calling thc Efik tribe, confusing thcm with thc Kalabari pcople of the Rio Real, forms an intcrcsting contrast with Onitsha Town, diffcring from it in almost cvery important dctail. Onitsha was in thc right gcographical position to become the focus for the political, cconomic and cultural developmcnt of thc Ibo. lt was linkcd by easy tradc routcs to the Northern, Ccntral and Southcrn Ibo and formed their main outlet on to the Niger and thence to !\orthern and Western Nigeria. Old Calabar was a branch of thc lbibio pcople but situated on thc oppositc sidc of the Cross Rivcr to thcm. lt had an almost uninhabitcd hintcrland of brokcn dcnscly forcsted country and was scparatcd from thc grcat mass of lbibio people by thc Cross River Estuary and its swamps.

117. For its trade it Jooked up the Cross Rivcr rather than into the heart of the lbibio country whose produce during the 19th century tendcd to go west rather than east, first towards Bonny, later Opobo and evcntually in the 20th ccntury to Port Har­court and the Eastcrn railway. Similarly in the field of education, missions were carlier in the field in Calabar than they were in Onitsha and at thc end of the 19th century there were probably more literate Efiks in thc Eastern Province of Southern Nigeria than there were Ibos. But the Church of Scotland Mission followed the line of trade up the Cross River while the lbibio hinterland was developed by other missions; the Efiks did not maintain their Iead in education and Old Calabar failed to expand its educational activitics and become the lbibio cultural centrc.

118. In its social structure again Old Calabar differs vcry profoundly from Onitsha Town. Thc lattor was till the 20th century a small Ibo town or village group engaged primarily in subsistencc agriculturc, and during the last fifty years it has expandcd into a very )arge town (by Eastern Nigerian Standards) through thc accession of Ibo drawn mainly from the neighbouring divisions. Old Calabar originated as a small tribe of fishermen and agriculturists concentrated mainly in a duster of villages at the junction of the Old Calabar and Cross Rivcrs. By thc middle of the 18th ccntury two of these villagcs had developed into the dominant settlemcnts of Creek Town and Duke Town (thc prcsent town of Calabar). This period represents the apex of Efik fortunes and thcir chief, the grcat Duke Ephraim, was described at the turn of the century by con­temporary observers as "one of the most powerful chiefs on thc \Vcstern Coast of Africa". (Captain Grant qrwted 011 page 272 of fttlemoires of the late Cclptaill 1/ugh Crmv 1830). By this time, howc\'er, Bonny had cdipsed Old Calabar as the most important centre of the slave and palm oil trade, and the fortunes of the lattcr port had bcgun a decline which has continued up to thc present. (There are sig11s hrx,,ever that this decline has at last bem arrested, road developme11t anti witlr it the opming 11p of the Calabar Cross River /Ji11terla11d is o11l)' just begitmi11g, a11tl 0/d Calabar may be 011 the rcmy to re-eslahlislri11g lrer former positio11 as ce11tre a11d headquarters of a Cros.~ River J>rovi11ce or pulitical area.

119. This dccline, combined with the large nurober of slavcs lcft on its hands by the abolition of thc slave tradc, causcd it to turn morc to subsistence agriculture and to disperse its population ovcr its uninhabitcd hintcrland in a very )arge numbcr of small farming Settlements.

120. In thc Old Calabar political system, kinship, that is to say blood rclationship, is of paramount importancc, and the Efik social structure is ba.,.cd on gcnealogics which hring togcthcr as thc ramifications of two great maximal lincagcs derivcd from two founding anccstors Ema and Effiorn Okoho all the wards (rnajor lincagL-s) in thc Efik

34 TliE JONES REPOHT

towns togcthcr with thcir outlying village Settlements. (Some of the Ema group 'loou/J like to deril'e al/ from Ema). Their integration is illustrated in Tablc IV. Thc essen­tial political unit in this structure was and still is the ward or major lincagc which was thc original fcuding and fighting unit.

121. .-\ man's position in Efik society dcpendcd and still dcpcnds on his gcncalogy, on \\ hcthcr or not hc can trace a direct connection through his fathcr or cvcn through his mother '' ith thc closcly intcrmarried leading familics that supply the heads of these wards and thcir subdivisions. A man of obscure or servile origin may through his wcalth I or othcr qualitics comc to excrcisc a considerable authority and influcnce in his ward, but hc can ncvcr aspirc to bccomc a chicf or thc head of a ward or of its ward scctions or sub­sc~tions.

122. Yct although considcrable importance is attached to birth nonc is attachcd to scniority of birth or line of desccnt. The head of a ward subscction is choscn by thc mcmbcrs of thc subscction from amongst the full blooded dcscendants of thc subscction's foundcr. Thc hcad of a ward section is the most suitable amongst thc hcads of its componcnt subscctions chosen by the elders of the ward section, and similarly thc hcad J of a ward, thc Etubom, is the most suitable amongst thc heads of its componcnt scctions. So also with thc two Obong, the chiefs respectively of Creek Town and of Duke.. Town. Any Etubom (ward hcad) in the town is eligible for the office.

123. Thc Efik pcoplc are now wishing to recognise a tribat chicf and thcy wish him to bc thc Obong cither of Creek Town or of Duke Town, whichcver happcns to bc senior in .thc assumption of his office. During thc 19th century Efiks and Europcans alikc rccogniscd a dual monarchy in Old Calabar thc two kings being respcctivcly thc hcads of Duke Town and Creek Town and they rcceivcd the Comey or Trading ducs paid by cach vcsscl doing busincss at this Port.

12+. Whcn it cmcrgcs into continuous history at thc beginning of thc 19th ccntury,/ thc Efik tribc was rulcd by a sccret society, called Egbo by contcmporary European-1 writl·rs and Ekpc by thc Efiks. This society was ordercd into a numbcr of grades thc senior and most costly of which was Nyamkpe, whilc thc grade which cnforccd its comrnands was thc second ranking grade of Okpoho (or Brass Egbo). Thc socicty was organiscd as a numbcr of separate lodgcs onc for each of the original Efik scttlcmcms. Thus Old Town, which was oncc thc main rival of Creek Town which now survivcs as a ward of thc prcscnt Duke Town had and still has its own lodgc, whilc Duke Town, which scparatcd from Creek Town much latcr, still has no lodgc of its mvn but shares onc in common with Creek Town. The Kingof Duke Town was thc hcad (Eyamba) and thc King of Creek Town thc dcputy hcad (Obong Ebunko) of thc Creek Town­Dukc Town Lodgc. Ekpc was rccogniscd by thc Europcan "gcntlcmcn of thc ri\'cr" as thc only judicial authority in Old Calabar and some of them found it to thcir ad\'antagc to join thc Kyamkpc grade as its mcmbership facilitatcd thc collection of thcir dcbts.

125. Slavcs howevcr wcrc barred from membcrship nnd thc political history of Old l'alabar during thc 19th ccntury is mainly one of the succcssful asscrtion by thc prcdominantly slavc-horn country folk of thcir political rights against the town-dwclling cliqucs anJ factions that wcrc struggling amongst themsclvcs for political dominancc. An assuciation of plantation folk callcd the Blood Mcn formcd originally in ISSO by slans in sdf-dcfcncc against thc arbitrary cxactions and pcriodic cxccsscs of thc:ir mastcn; and of thc Ekpc socicty came to play an incrcasingly important part in Old l'alabar politics, as thc hcads of houscs andin particular thc Archihong kings and thcir supporters in thc: Archibon~ ward found it to thcir advantagc to cnlist thc support of thc Dlood :\·lcn against ri\'al politic;tl groups.

126. Blond 1\lcn no Ionger comc to town in thcir armc:d thous•mds, thc distinction henw<.·n sla\'l' aml frechorn has bccome hlurrcd and mcn of slavr origin cm nnw join lhl' highl·st grad('~ of Ekp(', But thc cmph:tsis on gcncaln~y :md corn:ct d~sc~nt in thl" sdcction of chicfs and lincagc hcnds remains as do('S thc patt~rn whcrcby thc hulk of

THE JONES REPOHT 35

thc obscurcr mcmbcrs of thc lineage n.-side on thc country propcrty of thc lincagc with only the lincagc hcads and thc wcalthier profcssional and busincss mcmhcrs of the lineagc li\·ing in Duke Town or in Creek Town. Thc Efiks havc long sincc abandoncd any attempt to control Calabar Town, that is the former Duke Town, with its majority of strangcr, mainly Ibo votcrs. Thc population of the plantation villagt-s on thc othcr hand rcmains almost wholcly Efik. Though they may for ordinary day to day afTairs organise themsclvcs into small villages each with its villagc he;ad; and though they may for purposes of local govcrnment bc organised into Local and District Councils, thcy are integrated into thc Efik tribal structurc through thcir membcrship of the corporatc land-owning groups, thc major lineagcs (wards) whosc heads and prcsidcnts arc thc Etubom and who with thcir political Ieaders and councillors arc resident in thc towns. Thcy may rcscnt any interfcrcnce on the part of an Etubom in villagc atfairs as un.: preccndcntcd and unconstitutional, but they still fccl that thc choice of a villagc hcad though madc by thc villagc itself should bc ratified by thc Etubom of thc lincagc to which thc villagc belongs, and thcy still rcgard themsclvcs as part of this lincagc in all tribal and, today, county matters.

127. It is thc samc with the Efut and thc Qua, thosc pcoplc whom thc Efiks found in oc,cupation of the hmd on their arri\-al. Thou~h thcsc groups still maintain thcir separate cultural idcntitics thcy now form an integral p.ut of thc Calab.1r political systcm. Thcy wcrc ncvcr vcry numcrous or cohcsive; thcy livcd in a numbcr of dispcrscd villagcs cach with its village head (Muri or Ntoe), and thcrc was no sin~lc chid rccogniscd as hcad of all thc Efut or of ull thc Qua. Thosc villagcs adjnccnt to Creek Town and Oukc Town \\crc incorporatcd into thcsc towns bccomin~ in cffcct mlditionöll wanls. Thcir ruling familics intcrmi\rricd with thosc of thc Efik W<lr<.h~ and in thc casc uf thc Duke Town Efuts thcy cvcn cstablishcd thcir own plantation villagcs in thc Akp;1buyo luntcrland.

CHArTER VI

CHIEITAINCY IN THE OlL RIVER PORTS

128. Thc political systcm of Old Calabar is uniquc, thc othcr Ü1l Rivcr Ports of Grand Bonny with its otfshoot Opobo, Ncw Calabar (Kalabari) and llrass which is a part of ~cmbc can bc takcn togcthcr as their traditional systcms of govcrnmcnt arc vcry similar. To understand them one must first understand thcir so-C4lllcd "housc systcm" . ../ In Old Calabar and in most othcr parts of Africa where the word is uscd in a political contcxt "housc" is merely another name for a lineage. In thc Oil Rh·cr Ports which we are now dealing with, though a house may very wcll havc originated as a corporatc kin group of this sort, similar to those of other Ijaw villages, it had by the nmctccnth century dc,·elopcd into something very different, namely, a trading and fighting corpora-/ tion ablc to man and cquip a war canoe. This vessel with its cannon forc and aft, its captain, hclmsman, drummers, and its fifty or morc paddlers and musquetcers was a ,·ery expensive craft to maintain; and in addition to this the corporation had to feed and prO\·idc for other members of the house as well as wives, children and dcpcndcnts, for the tcrntory occupied by these communities was barren mangrove swamp. Tradc during the late cighteenth and the nincteenth century was booming and competitton betwcen houses fierce. Th~ _ expanded or contractcd ra idl accordin to thc oliti 1 and commercial abilities ofthe1r ouse ea s an ea m tra ers. Houscs that failcd dJsappeared, t ose t at succecde mcrea artl throu h this absor tJOn of co lc from o er ous , ut mam throu h the urchasc and mcor oration o s avcs rom Ile lbö hmterland n expan mg ouse eve ope mto a group o ouscs as Jts more

cccss u mem rs "filled" their own war canoes and were recogniscd as the heads and foundcrs of new houses subordinate to the main house from which they dcrivcd. In such a situation of intense economic competition tcrms like dcscent, freeborn, sla\c / ceascd to have much importance. The chiefs (hcads) of the main and of thc subordinatc houscs wcre those persons in thosc houses most fitted to manage its affairs. Thcy were elccted by thc members of the house because of thcir administrative ability and rcgardless of their origins, and they were deposed if thcy failed in their managcment. Thc only exccption to this principle of free elcction was in the case of the hcad of thc community, the Amanyanabo or the Kingas contemporary records prcfcr to call him. In this C3fe only was thc selcction limited to the uRoyal family", normally to a brother or son.

129. Thc common featurcs of all these river ports was the rivalry bctwccn thctr morc powcrful main houses which eventually split thc community into two hostile factions, aU the houscs in thc community bccoming involvcd and being aligncd bchind one or othcr of the two main protagonists. Grand ßonny was split by thc rivalry bctwccn thc Anna Pcppie and the Manilla Peppie houses. Ncw Calabar by thc Odum (ßarboy) Ombo (Big Harry) factions, N embc achicvcd a rcasonably stable scttlcmcnt by rccognising a udual monarchy" and dividing into two territorially distinct scgmcnts-Ogolomabin and Bassambiri. (Tht defeated group retiri'ng with their Ama11ymrabo lo tlre other bank of tlze rit•er and acknowledging the Amanya11abo of Ogolomabiri as the sr11ior of tlrt ltro). Okrika, a community originally subordinatc to Grand ßonny, ~•s soon as it attaincJ cquivalcnt political status undcr thc British Protectoratc, rcpcutcd this pattcrn. lt split into two rival political divisions, Koniju and Tuboniju cach undcr thc leadership of the most powerful housc hcad in thc division and cach claiming thc solc right to clcct thc Amanyanabo of Okrika.

130. One of thc principal functions of thc king (Amanyanabo) in thcsc political systcms was to prcvcnt any main houscs in thc community becoming so largc ;uH.l powcrful that they could aspire to such a position. of political power. He could only do this tf his own housc was sufficiently )arge to achievc a dominating position whcn thrown into thc scalc, and hc had to hclp him in cnlarging his housc and in building up polittcJ.l

1' II E J 0 N ES R E P 0 R T 37

support amongst othcr houscs thc rcvcnue from comcy, the trading ducs dcscrihcd in paragraph 123. These in thc casc of Grand Donny and of Ncw Calabar amountcd to considcrablc wcalth by ninetcenth century standards. Contemporary accounts do not say how much of this comey a king retained for his own use and how much he sharcd with lcading house hcads, but it is clear that as long as the king received the comey or had the main say in its distribution he was in a very strong political position.

Chieftaincy in Bonny 131. During the nineteenth century the Amachree Kings of ~ew Calabar wcre

more fortunate in maintaining a balance of power than the kmgs of Grand Bonny. ~ (Capt. Pepple) the founder of the dynasty and of the fo~uncs of Grand Bonny m the eightecnth ccntury, left behind him two sons, Fubra (Mamlla) and Opubo (Anna) who in turn succeedcd him and were both strong kings. They left behind thcm, howevcr, two over-powerful houses and the subsequent history of Grand Donny was mcrcly thc rccord of a strugglc for power between them. \Villiam Pepple, the king who eventually succeedcd the interregnum following Opubo's death was a young man and no match for thc formidable heads of these two houses. He tried to be too clever and mercly succcedcd in uniting both against him. The British Consul intervened :md in an effort to restore order King William was deported. Du ring his exile his house was extc:rminatcd in one of the more dramatic of Bonny civil disturbanccs, and whcn at the rcquest of thc Manilla Peppie house he was restored as king he was houseless :md thcrcfore powcrless. He dicd shortly afterwards and on his death ci\'il war between the two houscs broke out agam (over tlle divisio11 of t/1e comey accordi11g to Bo1my lraditim•). 1t c\'cntually cnded in the withdrawal of the defeated Anna Peppie house and its 53tcllites to found thc town of Opobo in Andoni country. From here thcy were able to turn thc tablcs on their ri\'als by cornering the Imo River and lbibio Oil trade until the establishmcnt of the British Protcctorate in 1884 broke their monopoly. (The Bmmy p~ople toda_v n:ou/J like to see Opobo associate with tllem again anJ become part of the Degema dit•tsion anJ the R1t1ers Provlnce. Tlre Opobo people prefer /o remai11 a parl of tlle dinsiu11 n·hü:h brars their 11ame and to tlrraro in their Iot tcith its Jbibio and Annang mtl}ority. Thru do 1101 n·a11t to assoaale with Opobo except from a position of mperiority, tl1ey usmt the nam~ Opoho rchm applied lo themstlves a11d prefn tobe calltd lbekwe.

Chieftaincy in Kalabari 132. The dcavage in New Calabar (Kalabari) goes back further than in Grand

Bonny. The prescnt dynasty of Kalabari Kings derivc from Amachrec I who cstabhshed his own and the community's fortuncs in the eightccnth ccntury somcwhat latcr than Pcrckule cstablished those of Bonny. Thc Odum (Barboy) group of houses (the prcst:nt Braids, Manuels and Gcorgcwills) which derives from Kamalu an earlier seventecnth ccntury king of New Calabar were their principul opponents. Thc Ombo group of hou.ses (Thc Bag Harrys (Ombo) with their associutcd houses of John ßull, and llarry Br.ud) who wcrc crcatcd by Amachree I and his successors wcrc and arc thcir princip<~l supporters. In 1853 thc Consul wrote that uafter Amachree the two most powcrful chicf!l in New Calabar were Will Barboy (thc head of thc Odum group) and llarrv Br:aid (thc hcad of Ombo)" but Amachree Ill was powerful enough during thc lifctirnc tu maintain political unity. The fcud between these two groups howcvcr canU" into thv.! ~pen at his death. The Odum group put forward their newly clected head Alamho a hneal descendant of Kamalu as candidatc for the kingship in opposition to a ROn o I Amachrce II I who was supported by the Ombo group. A Consular Ietter from Richard Burton to Earl Russel in 1864 which lists the houses supporting thesc two candidatcs shows that. the _community wa~ alm~st complet~ly divided in thi" fcud. (\ trndc war/ however wnh ~embc temporaraly unated the nat1on and the prowess as a m•litary lcadn of the Ombo candidate won him the chieftaincy. The Odum group depo!!Cd their head and appointed Will Braid (his fathn Braid al Kombo Agolea and 1/arrv Brai11 al EJi Abali are sa~·d lo have bun brothns fram the Ibo village group of Umuobom (Orlu Dit•.) sold resputfr:ely lo the Odum and Ombo /row~s) in his place. He. beause of his Ibo

38 THE JONES REPORT

origin, could make no claim to thc throne, but this did not mcan that thc rivalry with the Ombo scction ccased. lt camc to a hcad again in 1 H79 and though pcacc W&ts madc through Enghsh mcdiators Will Braid and his supportcrs thc rnost powcrful of whom was Chief Yellow of Young Town (Tornbia) found thcmsclvcs obligcd to lcavc. Thcy followed thc Opobo pattcrn cstablishing thcmsclvcs at Ewofa on thc Ncw Calabar Rivcr and cutting ofT thcir rivals from the Oal rnarkets on this rivcr. War brokc out again. Bonny and Opobo comhining with thc Odurn faction against thc Omho-Amachrcc group. Thc Consul intcrvcncd, pcacc was madc and \Vill ßraid was ohligcd to withdmw from Ewofa and to make pcacc with Amachrcc IV. Thc Ncw Cahthar pcoplc howcvcr decidcd to abandon "old shipping" thcir original harne and to cstabli~h thcmseh·cs further inland in thrcc separate villagcs namcly Abonncma, Bugumu and Bakana. ßakana containcd thc Barboy Braids and the Ycllows and thcir supportcrs frorn othcr coastal villagcs who movcd inland at thc samc time; ßuguma consistcd solidly of thc Omho, Amachrcc and supporting houscs; whilc Abonnema was cqually dividcd bctwccn thc two faction~. Two of its four wards bcing Manucl and Georgcwill houscs of thc Odum faction, thc othcr two bcing Briggs and Standfast jack houscs of thc Ombo faction. Though thc nation has rcmaincd umtcd, the fcud still continucs. Thc Odum group now backs whichcvcr Amachrcc c;mdidatc for thc chicftaincy fails to win thc support of thc majority of thc ßuguma houscs. Rcccntly thc fcud has, if anything, gaincd in strcngth hy involving thc regional political partics an thc disputc, <11Hl thc ncw Arnnnya­nabo is Iabelied thc N.C.N.C. candidatc whilc his rival is refcrrcd to as thc candidatc of thc Action Group.

Chieftalncy Today

133. Today, howcver, thc politicnl status of Amanyanaho nf un Oil Rivcr Port is totnlly different. During thc cightccnth and carly ninctccnth ccnturicl4 thcsc kings of Grand Uonny, Ncw Calahar and Ncmbe had bccomc thc most powcrful chiefs in Eastcrn Nigeria ;md thosc most opproaching thc potcntntes of contraliNcd pyramidal typcs of govt'rnmcnt. Thc cstablishment of British Colonil1l rulc which hrought with it thc ;abolition of warfarc, of thc alavc tradc and of thc memopoly of extra-territorial trudc, rcndcred obsolete thc political systcms of thcsc Oil ltivcr Ports :md turncd thcir kings into powcrlcss puppcts to hc clccted, dcposc~ and disputcd ovc1· nt thc plcmmrc of rival housc hcadK to whnm thc rc;al political authority hnd rc\'crtcd. Whcthc.~r in Ncmhc,

J\ Kulahnri, Bonny, Opobo or Okrika it mnkes tittlc or no difTcrcncc today whctlwr thcre is an Amanyanaho or not. Their fathcr's nnd graml-fathcr'K hnuMc!4 havc cithcr dill­nppcnrcd, aa in Bonny, or heen split up into n mamher of Mrn;all rival hnwu.•s aK in Bugumoa und thcy c:m no lnngc.·r huild up housctwf thc1r own. Thc formcr revc.~nucs from comcy havc gonc, thc tmhsidics that rcplncc thcm henr no n·lation tn thc prcsc.~nt CliKlom11 nml cxport dutics of thc Region und thc grcntcr pnrt of thcsc tmhsidicR arl' in any cu~c paid dirct:t to somc uf thc morc fortunutc houl\c hcndH, nnd will c\'c.•ntunlly nn thl'ir tlcnth gn tu locnl govcrnmcnt rcvcnucs.

134. Thc powu of houHc hcndK hna not diminishcd in thc snnu~ wny. llnul't'~ nrc no Ionger truding cnrporatinns with considt~rnblc funds undl•r thc c.·nntwl nf the hcnaHc lwnd und othcr prominent mcn in thc house, nthcr mcmht•rM of tlw housc ••rr nu Ionger dcpl·nc.lcnt on thcm fnr rnnintc.·mmcc nr for lonns nnd tinnncinl UKKitH1tncc in trading. Hut hmlt'l~ hcac.l11 Rtill rcmnin thc nnly Jll'rsons with nny nuthority in thl'ir hoUSl'!l, otnd thcsc hou!ll'll ahc.·r u pcriod of compnrntivc disintc~rntimt nrc hc~omin~-t incrrnsin~ly consdous of tlu·ir unity nnd dctcrminec.l to mnintuin it tht• morc widl'ly thdr inc.li\'idunl mcmbcr~ hcromr c.lispcrt~cd in thcir fishing nnd prnft·ll.~innal occupntinns. llnfortlll\i\ld~· thc mn)ority of c.·mnc.·mporary hnuRc.·s litck not nnly thc.~ nuHc.·rinl hut tlw hum;m wc1lhh nf thcir mnctccnth ccntury prcdcccs~nrs. Thcy cnn no lon~cr tlrnw on 1\l'W hlood from th(' r1 Ibo hintt·rhmc.l \0 SUpplement thcir locul rcMnurccl', nnc.l thdr ublc~t mcmhc.•rs arc now

~\ thrmscl\'es drnwn ofT to cnrn thcir living in this \'cry hintcrlunc.l.

CIIAPTF.R VII

CIIIEFTAINCY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN TIIE

lßlßiO AND ANNANG DIVISIO!\S

IJS. This arca, thc problern orco of Locnl Govcrnmcnt in thc Ea~tcrn nc~ion, Iu~ spccial difllcultics of its own. It is thc nren whcre Local Govcrnmcnt wa!\ tinu intrlllluccd and thc arca whcrc it has becn least successful, nt lcnst whcn juc.lgcd hy its ahtlity or innhility to collcc.t its. rntes on~ toxcs, 1t is nn orca whcre thcre nrc cnnsi<krahh• politil·al fcun~ of Ibo dnmm;ltton. lt 18 nlso nn nreo whcre thcrc haR hccn thc gn·atcst rl'ncwal of intcrcst in chicfR nnd whcrc the strongcst cfforts hnve hecn malle to pt·~uade pl'nplt· tn rcvivc or in somc cascs to crcotc thcm.

136. ThiR intcrcst hns bcen mninly concerncd with chicltancy at lWt) lt·\'cl:o~ that nf thc viiJage hcnd, thc Obong lsong or Obon8 Idung, nnd thnt of thc trih~ (cl;m) und ~uh-trihc (sub-clnn) hcnd, thc Okuku (Annnng) or Ohong lkp•' hon~ (lhtlnn). l~llt'rt'lll in thc viiJage chicfs is morc univcrsnl nnd comcs from nlll\ccttons of thc commumty hut nuunly from thc cldcrs nnd trnditionnl ruling clcments. lntcrt•st in trihal (d1m) t·!Ji,·f:o~ is strnngt~Kt mnnng~t thc lcnders of progressive public opininn in dusl' :tllsociution. wath inßucntinl Local nnd District councillors. Thc intcnsity of intt·n~llt v•tril·s in dilh·rl'nt divisions, hdng most npnthctic in Abnk and most ncti\·c in Uyn.

1J7. Difficultics in locnl ndministrntion in thc nrctl it might ht· IUI<Icd :II'L' no 1\t'W

thing. Secreinries for Native Affoirs werc concerned nhnut thc wurkinJ.t nf tlw \\'.trrant Chief sylltt·m in thiM nrcn in thc nineteen twcntica nnd,nlthouJ(h thc Nativl' :\dminillta.tlinn Rystt·m which fnllowcd it got ofT to n good Rtnrt, douhtR whcthcr tlw inlliJ.tL'IIOIIII in~llilution!l h:ul hrcn RU<.~CL'!I!Ifully ndnptcd for thc purposeil of cf1kic.'llt lm·al J.tO\'('rlllllt'llt !llhlll lwJ.t.ll\ to nrist•.

13H. Thc principnl cnuse of these difllculticR iR thc lhihiu Mncial Mtru~·tul't', Tlw only ciTt·,·tivt• indiJ.tcnouJA politicnl unit wna, nnd still iK, tlu~ villuJ.t'' uml it i11 too !llll111l

fur thc purpnKt'S nf modern locnl government. Thcn~ m·c m•c•· 4h0 \'illul{''" in th~· lknt Ekpl'tlt' <. 'nunty l'nuncil nlonl'. With aome cxccptionll thcrc wen• no l1u~~·r ~mupin~" nf tlw ri~ht Ri~c of <'nmpnctncM nnd the lttrRt'r RWUJlK tluu t•xi!lh'LI \\'l'l'\' t•itlu·r tun l.tr~l' ur ton inculu·rcnt or murt• usunlly hoth.

I ~9. Thi11 atntt·turc wna thc rrMult of n phcnomcnnldiMpc"'inn whkh in tlw l'.l!lt' ,,f tht~ AnnnnJt nnd ct'ntrul lhihio muMt lul\'c oct:urrcll during prcviouK l'c•ntmic·ll frnm 11 n·ntre in tlw nt•ighhnurhuod of Ahnk nnd llyu ~ovcrnmcnl 11tntiun!\, ( 'l'l11· on:~;" cmcl tli.,prn;"" of tl1f Nortllr,." mul Soutllrr11 lbibifJ u rnort ob.ffllrr .. ",,,,,, ••l tlu .\'ml/".", lhihin tribrs srrm lo lul!•r /it1rd on~irwl~\' ;" tl1t .ilrotiJulm tlrrtl "",/ /u llcn'r c/if('c·Jwd '''"".~ "'' 1-.'11\'(111,1: rit•rr tiS /tlr f(•tsl IIJ /Jrrult (llltl Umutlhicl. '11tt s.,",""" /lli/Jiu .... ,.", lo hllf'r r.\'ptmclrd from South Iu North mul lfJ htH't' llhsurbrtl l'tlllrtll /bihio r/tltlflll.' ,.,p.mdin~ sulltlm•ttrds, t.):., somr Nhrl rltmstltrrivtfrum lbrrtontld sumr r/m'm tu hm•t wmr from thr :\',,, th, Tht l·.'lik., sum tu l•m•r brrn a rr~~trt1/ lbibio trib1 mrtr srrtiun rif rc•hir/1 ","t•rcl Nurth ''' bn ,,",,. Ihr prrst'lll Ht~ytmg trihr uf thtr Nurllrt'NI lbibio, tl1r otl1" suuth-rtUI '"'" V•w cmd 1:'/ut trnitury to brromr tllr lqiks). A nurnher nr tribnlaeRmcnts (dnn") nf whnt w1u' prt)h,thly n KinJ!Ic: trihc not much lar~r orili(inAIIy thnn thc pre"ent AJ'Odtuku uihr L'\fl111Hil·tl lincally nutw.-rd, c::u·h RC."Rment tnking n llf'cdfk tlirectiun, or in Knmt• l'•tKN twn ur 1nnn• dirt•ction!', .md fnmuling n conlinuoua acries uf viiiRRl'R furthl"r Lmd furthrr :l\\11\' from ''" or1J,tinnl lll•trling pnint. It was only uble to expaml hurrnlly wlu·n it h~tll nllttliMt;lll\'l'tl the I'Cgtncnt un cithcr tlidc nf it. The political conditiun" whi('h prrvuilrtl dmin~ thiM pcrind nmst lut\'l' bttn Ml pcaceful thnt thrre hod h«n no nc~d tu unitr intu dlc"t:tin·ly unitl~d trihu nr sub-trihr• (/\")'OIIK dil'irion), 10 thnt when thl' nrt-ll <.'Mntr unllrr Uriti"h C'tllonml IHlmini!'trntion it cnnsultl'd of " \'cry hargc numhcr nf \'irtunlly in'"'Pt'llllrnt

40 TIIE JONES REPORT

littlc Iandholding units, thc prcscnt villagcs. Each of thcsc owing to its systcm of land tcnurc was in a potential statc of conflict with its ncarcst ncighbours. It chcrished feelings of clan (tribal) and sub-clan unity as against villagcs of other clans and self intcrest might causc it to support a neighbouring village of the same clan against villagcs derived from other clans: but fechngs of clan or sub-clan unity wcre not strong enough for villagcs to be preparcd to send representatives to ceremonies at the senior village of thc clan or to comc togcther regularly to discuss clan affairs m any centrat meeting place, or in many cascs evcn to have such a meeting place. Conditions vary of course in different parts of the area. The larger lbibio clans (tribes) for cxample Nsit and Iman werc more seriously affectcd than othcrs. The largest, Ikono, in its southern cxpansion got completcly separated and regrouped into five tribat segmcnts or local clans cach with its own clan chief. In the case of the Annang dispersion, villagcs from different clans became intermingled as weil as dispcrsed. In most cascs these Ibibio and Annang villages were able to regroup into local clans (tribes) but as this wherever possible was on a basis of clanship rather than of local convenience, the resulting units werc of very diverse size and shape. Some of them were large enough to form effectivc villagc groups, e.g., Ekponyong Atai (/hol Ekpene division), some much too large, e.g., lbiono (E"yong divüion), while others were much too small. The cxisting tribat segments (clans) are detailed in Tablc 111.

140. When the Native Administration rcorganisation reports were written just before the last war the indigenous political systems had swung strongly in the direction of fission and disintegration. Within the village rcspect for village heads was at a minimum. every village section head (Obong Ekpuk) being determined to press his rights to a place on a native court and council and to a share in the rewards attachcd to such work. Out­side the village feelings of clan and of sub-clan unity, where they still existed, were very weak. Writers of the reorganisation reports when they asked about clan heads were told either that they no Ionger existed or that their political importancc was negligible and their position obsolete. In 1956 the pendulum has swung thc other way and in the direction of fusion. Obong Isong are now very much in cvidcnce, they feel and other people feel with them that thcy have a right to ex officio representation on local and other government councils. Similarly, there is again an activc interest in clan and sub-clan unity, particularly on the part of the profcssional and progressive elemcnts of the popula­tion, and with it there goes a determination to revive clan chieftaincy and to find a place for it in a regional House of Chiefs.

141. There has always been a much stronger feeling of clanship, of clan (tribal) solidarity, amongst the Ibibio than amongst thc Ibo. Thc Southcrn Nigerian Govem­rnent found that the boundaries of the local lbibio clans (tribal scgments) could not bc ignored and divisional boundaries began to be altered in their favour soon after thc first world war. The administration reorganisation rcports complctt:d the proccss cxccpt in the case of the Western Nsit and thc Iman, wherc the local advantages of remaining in the Eket division and having courts of their own werc worth more to thc local political Ieaders than union with their fellow clansmen in thc Uyo division.

142. Difficultics m rcorgamsation camc howevcr not at the clan or district Ievel but at the one below it, that of the villagc group or sub-clan. Most clans divided into sub­cians (Cruk, Nsung) but as thc villages that composed thcse sub-cians were dispersed throughout the clan tcrntory it was feit during the Native Administration reorganisation that they wcre not suitable for administrative rt:cognition, particularly as interest in most of these sub-cians \\as then at its lowcst. Local group councils wcre tht:rcfore formcd artificially on a territorial basis, the clan or Native Administration area bcmg subdi\ided into com·enient geographical arcas and the villagcs in thesc areas bcing given a naml", a council mceting place and in tbe case of the larger areas a ~ative Court of their own. The Local Go\·ernment system which followed has rctained most of these local group counctls as Local Councils.

THE JONES REPORT 41

143. These Local Councils and thcir prcdcccssors, thc (ocal group councils, arc said to havc bccn uscful and cfTectivc units of local governmcnt in arcas whcrc, as in the Ikot Ekpene division, the administrative sta.ff had been able to give them a great deal of continuous attention and where at the same time they were called upon to exercise responsible as opposed to merely advisory functions; or again whcre as in thc Abak division, they happened to be traditional subdivisions of particular dans whtch still possessed a considerablc measure of clan-consciousness and were surrounded by seg­ments betonging to other clans. In other areas where these various conditions havc been lacking, for example, in parts of Uyo and Enyong divisions, thesc councils appear to perform no useful functions and have in some cases ceased even to mcet. The revival of interest and activity in local affairs amongst the lbibio people has in many areas ignored these governmcnt constituted Local Councils completely :md sought to revive the older and more traditional ones.

144. For e.xample, the Eket tribc today consists of eighty-nine villagcs. These for purposes of local government have been grouped into scven Local Councils which together with one Local Council for the lbeno clan and three from various Western Nsit local groups make up the Eket District Council. The previous Native Adminis­tration reorganisation had also grouped these Eket villagcs under two ~ativc Courts which are still functioning. But the Eket peoplc and thcir Ieaders for their O\\ n local purposes have ignored these Local Councils and court areas and have prefcrn:d to rcvivc thcir fonner clan structure of elcven clans. These clans vary vcry considcrably in size and thcir component \'illages are dispcrsed throught thc clan territory. Thc Ekct peoplc now consider that thcy fall into two primary divisions, Afaha Eket composed of the largest clon, and Eket Offiong which contains the rcst. Each of thesc primary divisions is supported by u vigorous 11young mcn's association", namcly, the Afaha People's Union and the Eket Offiong Union. There is an Obong or chicf of Afaha, each of the ten clans in Ekct Offiongis said to havc its Obong Uruk and they say thcy are in process of selccting onc of thcse os Obong of Ekct Offiong. lt is much the samc in the case of the Oron tribe and many lbibio clans in Uyo and Enyong dn·is10ns.

145. lt is submitted that if the Local Councils as set up by thc Native Adminis­tration and Local Govcrnmcnt reorganisations satisficd local necds, people would not be gomg out of thcir way to rcsuscitatc oldcr forms of political groupings. lt would also appear that these oldcr forms are not as moribund or incfTectivc as the rcorganisa­tion reports implied and that in these days of bicyclcs and safcr communications thc fact that villagcs happcn to bc scattcred throughout a common territory is no Ionger " bar to their being ahle to associatc togethcr. For examplc, in thc lhcsikpo clan (tnbc) wherc Local Counctls arc said to be still functioning cffcctivcly thc clan dividt.·s into eight dispcrsed sub-clans {Uruk). 1t hu two Local Council11, lbcsikpo Xorth and lbesikpo South. These, despite thcir names, nrc not regional groupin~ hut cach contain four of thcsc traditional dcsccnt groups. This WilS onc of the fcw clans in e,·o di,·ision whosc Local Councils wcrc said to bc cfficicnt, anothcr Willl Eastern 1'\sit whi~h has thrce sub-clans which havc been madc into Local Councils.

146. These are howe•lcr cxccptions and a tour of thc lhihio and Annang di\isions lca\'CS one with the generat impression that thcir Local CouncalR in most areas, parti­cularly in the Uyo division are not performing their pnmary function of scrving as a haison between the District Council and thc villagc, so that villngt."S do not know what the District Councils are doing or why they are doing it and arc not prcparl'd to cu­operate with them and do what they want, c.g., in thc collcction of ratcs and ta.xcs.

147. One was told at meetings with the councile and the people that thc rcal'tm for this was that only literate or semt-literate young men and not the natural rulcr!l, thc real traditional chiefs and elders, had been elected to thesc councals, and that the pcnple were not prepared to obcy the orders of people they did not respect or whosc authority they did not recogmse. lt was also suggestcd that the rcmedy was to put thc chicfs,

l:mnnt \"JJf

CHIP..:fTAISCY JS 'niE 180 JJJVf!iJOS

I.VJ, lh UA;U- 111 •J.e ·~~ at.d Am'UfJC df.iWiftll., Jrd WNtrfJIIII::M ;" d~ ,..,..., ar~ ,._ ~ -"•• Cl~aWe t~YGU:M, "Mitte ~t a tV'e;at rrany dllfet~;t rt:»rlh& flil ~..- arwJ t.hey nr{ M d11ff:rU.C pan.t, '(WIJ .t.KfJ aft Q~ln ffl almfJM tt~ .-hfJ.e ~ta art 6rMJy rtt~: "*'"t- (htrttMt:m .r/.1! {," Jr.aJ (fftftrMftitf'lt purpt~~~G rA tht:ir dJarac;, cniiCK. ptMtK:.f ar"j u..cf2J rntit, rf.e 11}~ Kf'JUP; arMf t«rnxJJy rt~~t ~J!e ~,ft:Mf.,dy &mtl(',t2f.U:. t.trr.Pf=t rA t~ pv1*, Lnlib: tl~ tJtbu area, lht'J traditvJNJ lrmrra rJI k.~~U~I «'i"lf:ft•"~'-''' ar~ "~"~ ,,. w~ 9tf1t, tbe dt:c:ttlfal a~ rJthet pri~ ," dtt: J/JCal (~l'lttntrn.t reftfiTM, 1'"MT't: t.. •~ M dlviW". buwu.-n Jicerau 2IWI ntlfHiw.ate .- r,uurt:d in ~mu: ft,fbft, artae. aruJ d.ieft, 'fraditimGJ ~. yrlfJßg men, Jlr~ ar-d illiur2Ua trav~ an fflutuf rfw:ir "31 ,"., CtJ Jr,aJ atUt hl~r Cl,",,a~a, S1m1f:.rfy tht: lt~tt_.,.,. t.~ il~~ (l'if'P ~lfJnciJ •• r,l t~dmient w.e (," ir to lunctlr~t~ • a I /.JIQJ C1~tmdl -~hu ," ntlt tt •• tlh ,~ ",. Jt,aJ gtl'1tf~t legj.btit,n,

Jlfon&ern~ Cenmd ancf loadlern ara.

191, PrMihly htMt:Y~r hua~ tA tbi. tdf-..1~ r,l the Ihn vi~ gmup t";c fitwk in roott ,,r the Oniuha 2nd Owtrri Pr&Vlncd very Iinie npreMitm tJ tribal (dan) uAicbrity attd, ln c:nntratt to thc fbibif,, oo tribaJ 11r -.Jb-trilnJ chida and nt1 d~!aire itlf du: creatitm (II :my, Chlda n-itt u hea.da t,l viJiafCta and aa head. tli vilf~ge grr.mpt and rhe tkg~u t1l raput acctlfck.d ttJ them vari~ vary gready in different etnnmuniticw; but "~:ddng 8tneralfy the chief t1f the vfllllgt: fVOOp ia mer~Jy the head nf a panicuJu viiJage which by re:wm of this viilagt beinl( ranked the tenit,r vilbge in rh.e wmmunity J. entitle(l .,, preaidc at viiJage gmup mu1infr. and ttJ take a urtain 11Mre of anything heinf( divid~d ( referred ft1 u the "Pir•t Mhare ') between the elder1 n( the viflatce scmup. 'fhi• fCUtt.rllliHtitm appliea tvhe1her the chief hu "made the titlc" u docrihed 1n C"hapter I I I m haa auccceded to the offiu in t~ne ,,( the waya dc:Aeribed in parargaph• ~' to 61, 'f'herc are villafe scroup chiel11 whose authority is con•iderably great.cr rhan rbi8, fm eump1•·1n rhe Jhne Owerri village group of Orlu di11trict, and thcrc :~re chicf11 w~ tlffice i• r~tcd over 11 contiderabJe area outAide thcir own viiJage group, r.ither thmugh the prnUJec attachcd til their community (e,g., in the catte o( thc Ohi of Onir.ha TrJWn) or throusch the panicular virtue thou~eht to re.ide in the office (e.Je., in ehe caae o( the F.1.e Nri). IJut auch rcapect carrica and carried with it nn auggcttion nf pt,Jilical aurfluriey ovcr other viiJage groups. 'rhctte chief1 remaincd thc hcadt of thcir r.areicular ttJWn or villaJee ~eroup and nothing morc. Again, u ttatc:d in para~raph 43, 1 1cre wcre in tbe paJt and thcrc may weil appear again, partic1dar indiv1dual11 who thrnusch eheir I i,m. powcr1111f lnder•hip and orf(anisatlon wcre ablc to e~tablith thcir authority ovcr a numllcr --". o( Adja.ccnt ltJCal oommunitics, hut auch charitmatic chieftaincie8 wc:rc ephemcral and nonnally diaappcarcd with thcir origin11tors. Himilarly R numbcr of villasec Rroupt that chcrithcd thc tradition o( a common origin could, whcncvcr they witht.d to cmpha· titc thi1, rr.cognisc d1c hcad o( the tenior community u the hcad of the wholc tull-trihe or trihe, Uut thit wßiJ not common and when it did occur wo11 conr.ned mainly to rcligiöut rather than to political occasions.

Other Ibo area•

J SI. This characteristic atructure of the village group chan~ect a• one muvc1 cUJt· wards to ehe CrON Rivcr or aouthward to thc aouthern part of thc Owcrri l'rovince and it1 extcnaion into thc Ahoada diviaion of the Rivera Province. 'l'hc viilogeil cithcr bccomc more numeroua and di1per~ed •• in the Ahoadn divlsion or the IJendc divi11ion, or they follow thc lhihio pattern of di1pcnion ns in Ngwn tribe (clon) of thc Aha l>ivi•ion. Or auain, RA in Nkanu arca of Udi division, thcy bccome much lorgcr in td1.c, or finally

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........................ Qa, '-'-" ....... lk praeal -"'ocbub .......... • ....... .,_ ........ ""*'- Ott. llr-Ada'.

1,1_ n.. ~ rnllc ~ reafttl); .plt inco lhrtt ~ ~ e:adl •• - J:- ... ,~ .. ~ rna..l had. Cte Eu .\ro. 11lia • dae. IIIIUICh ." d.e ....... "" Alu"• ,....._. .-dc .~..tu iJn·IWJO • ICJ llf.lc:al kdJnc. t"« Lbc f..zc Aro • rJ. laad o1 • All8 ,.""- ~C'1' tbty may br h"i~ :and ~ pe31 ~ of ,.._ 1m ,....._ Alot:KW. ......__ ·-' cr~cknh&t numbtr an- dillriburcd rn .-iJI:ap:a. ..... Mftlaamll. Jw~ .... .cadn i&~ CI.IIDpO'Jnda througtwJUt lk lhr1 aßd J.bibiG ~''f, .." .,, ia ,.,, brp1' ~nrvAN, G:amdy, lhe .-i~ ~rAJP J Scfizuop in Ort. *•-I~ lltllll '""--" ... v.a. rA Atr.du.lkuJ and di.t ~ af IC3Uef'al ...._.. ....t llf41d m lhe A.b div,.rAJ Ident-ut fmra l"jari aad cxhtr .-\toduak&a .-in ... , •ho ~t' 1onDrtt1 kMwft • Seil f..n,i. -~ ~ "apalriaae'_' Aroe form PI:" fll rJ. Joal ... ~ r~tpniMbr~ ttf tk .Ue:M ID •hlch thq ~ IJ"IC but ~ sriß ....... dDet (OIÜC1 •ich dlrJr lwwndand .d *' loo?k ICJ the f..u Aro • lhcir bead.

I SI. "J1w chMp 1'11 ~ thlr ha oconred an tht f..dcb tribe '?'*~ _bapp:n equaßy _. ift die (~ CLm ~· ne;p&oo:a. But akhoogh the ~ ~ m (~ --'1· EJa • ..". ._ aaedlcr Ez.e lJp fTM 'ljJia tUZ~ ;" IIUJIIII~ ~ Mr C.J .•• WIIJ"U .".., ... fJIMzjM/IIIIIIiprlu ,""r, the ..wy da:3r f?f'IDerly cbaractm.ed this tnbe ~ heat ~ by a cfiy_,., imo foul' ... ~ whida the b:al gm"ernmenl reorpua-liGa ... aa:cptcd - J...oc:al Olunak.

(c) AlM Ta.r~ tlllll IM .Vpt~t,..

J". h • the .-e wilh lhc ~Ibo tribc tJf ~pa whic.h in 1945 r.11 thinking in ~Cf.- a1 a uc~an•• c.encR at Okpu3la ~ ...&. n:ry ~. af .-nne .10ft of cbn head at .- pbce. Today it b.l!plic inro tbn:e .. clillricu'. and wants to split into four or mor~ ,.. a • .,. or uuplwising ... bälitating thae new ~ tholc responablc for tbe ......,., woald lib 10 tee a dDef rccocni-d • bad ai me Soutbern and Eascern districu. lt • YerJ doubdu.l howewcr if they wou1d be able to wio tbe .upport of tbe :Sgwa people and of tbeU YiJbge hcads IM lUCh a profM*L AB tbe ..mnu.ions rca:ived from indi­ftdual rillaga empt.a.itcd the independcncc of tbeir riJiage and the fact th.at tbe only penon1 recognited u SatUral .RaJen in !tigwa were the head of a vilbge and its council ofddcn.

160. One of the difficultic:s confronting any attcmpt at unifying the ~gwa tnbe is that it now hae two centrc:~y Okpuala Ngwa the traditio112.1 centrein the north from where most of thc dan originally dispencd. and the modern town of Aha. This town only came into being with thc development of road and r:ail transpon during and after the first world W21', but it has now become the most irnportant communication centre in the Eastern Region. The Ngwas are fanners not tradcrs and most of the residents of Aba toWnship are Ibos from othcr dilo-isions, ~g .• from Onitsha (~.g., Nnn&i fJiUtJgegroup UJhich is siTotlfiY r~esn~ted tDfllllllSI IN Non-Omtsluz Ibos of Onitsha Torm is tdso s/rongly reJiresmled Ül Aba Torm) and Bende divisions. There is thus no problern of indigenous w-rnu atranger elements inside Aba o;own. The conflict of intercsts is between the urban reaidenta of Aba Town as representcd by their Urban District Council and the Ngwa tribe as represented by the ~gwa members of the Aba/Ngwa County Council and by various other .. pressure groups" for example the .. representativcs of chiefs and Iand­lords". (S~ report oj 1111 ltrqlliry illto a Jlroposal to e.Tcise tlu Aha Urban Distrid Council from the Aha/Ngflltl COUIIIy. By R. CoatsvntA M.C. 1954). Most Ngwa find the town­ship the most convenient and ob,;ous centre for meeting together and regard the town as their town u it is on their land, or more correctly on the land of various villages of the Aba and Ohazu village group. They feel that represcntatives of the Ngwa tribe and not the strangen domiciled there should have control of the govcmment of Aba Town. This disput.e formed the subject !lf ~nother commission (S" uport of IJ1I lnquiry intn IJ proposa/ lo txcut the Aha Urban DISITitl Council Jrom tlle AbiJjNgtca County. By R. C01JISUJitl1

.J6 THE JONES REPORT

JU.C. 1945) and Ngwa representatives then put forward amongst other proposals "that thc Urban District Council should be dissolved and if reconstitutcd" it should havc a 11majority representation of Ngwa elements and the recognition of a traditional head or heads". (Op. cit. paragraph 21). This dispute appears to bc quiesccnt at thc momcnt, no reference having been made to it during the present Inquiry. In Aha township a meeting with the Aha landowners (Tiuu is ruith the heads and representatives of seven rillages namely Eziuku, Olnuül, Osusu, Eziamtl and Abuku of Aha flillage group and Ndiegoro and Akoli of 0/uuu t:t11age group) asked that the Urban District Council should be en­larged to include twenty-two persons nominated by eleven villages, parts of whose land they said had been included in the urban district. The Ezeala (village head) of Eziuku who also claimed to be head of the Aha village group by virtue of thc seniority of his ,;llage, considered that he should be nominated as president of thc council. The repre­sentati,·esof the other villages. howC\-er, opposed this and insisted that each villageshould choose as their representatives on the council the two men from their village most fitted for such work.. lt was clear that they were not immediately interested in a representation of Traditional dements in the form of chiefs or Traditional members. \Vhat they were ,·ery properly concemed with was the protection of their special interests as landowners and as inhabitants of rural Yillages now being enguHed in an expanding township with its urban needs and its building, sanitary and other bye-laws which confticted very strongly with the ~ gwa agricultural and residential practices.

(tf) OgrD ~\·iM.

161. This clash betwecn urban and rural interests ·was ,·entilated again in Enugu by Ogui. a Xike ~-ilb.ge oow almost completdy cngulfed in the Enugu municipality, but still considering itsclf a pan of ~lke Local CounciL of the Nbnu District Council and also of ~ik.e :Sati'-e Coun. and still retaining the right tosend one court member there. Like the rest of :Xbnu its reprc:smtati,·es maint2ined th3t thcy had no chiefs and their reprc­SClltati.on to the commission amounted firsdy to arequesttobe allowed to continue their C'lrn -a'3J of life witbout h:ouing to cunfonn to urban st2ndards and, following from this, to be :allo...-ed to rontin.uc aru:odiog Xike Xan·e Court and tobe represented on the court bc:ndl ~- thc:ir uchiet• tbu is by their COUrt member.

CHAPTER IX

CHIEFf AINCY IN THE RIVERS PROVINCE

162. This province divides into two areas, the delta area and its hinterland. This hinterland consists of the Ibo areas of the Ahoada division referred to in Chapter VII, the Abua people of the samc division and thc Ogoni division and people.

Abua

163. Abua and Ogoni do not differ in the political organisation very greatly from their Ibo and lbibio neighbours. Abua divides into foursub-tribes(sub-clans)orvillage groups and these into villages. Each village has an Uwema (village head) and the head of the senior ranking viiJage is the head of the sub-tribe. The head of the senior ranking village group is regarded as th&-head of the tribe but the authority and respect attached to this office is not at present any greater than that of the other village group heads, while the status and functions of the office holder are much the same as those of Ibo viiJage group heads elsewhere. No Uwemas are members of their Local Councils because they understood that illiterates and members of their native court were not eligible for election.

Ogoni

IM. The much larger tribe of Ogoni dividcd originallyintothree sub-tribes (clans) namely, Kana, Gokana and Tai. There are five sub-tribes today as Kana has di\·ided into northem and southem Kana and Eleme (Mbolli) a Gokana offshot originally in the Ahoada division has rejoined them. These sub-tribes are composed of a large number of virtually autonomaus villages each with its own viiJage head. Although in the past villages were said to have met tagether periodically in "clan" (sub-tribal) council, thcre was no ranking ordcr of villages and there were no .. clan" or other heads above the village head. Today the "clan" councils choosc their "best man" as a "clan" head and thcse are said to be members of their Local Go\'crnment councils. They would no doubt find it equally simple to elect a tribal chicf if they feit such an office was needed.

Delta Area

165. Tbc Delta arca of the pro,·incc: conaists of thc Brass and Dcgema divia10n1, and mergcs into the Delta Pro\·ince of the Western Region and into the Andoni and Jbeno areas of the Calabar Pro,·ince in the East. Apart from the Oil River Ports of Grand Bonny, Xew Calabar {Kalabari) ~embe and Okrika wholl4! prohlcma Jta,·e bcm di.KuMcd inChapter \'1, the political structure of thc Dc:ha arra ie fa.irly uniform though in ita other cultural fc:atures, for cxample language, thc:re ie conaiderable di\·crgence. Communicatione are by water, difficult and elow, and the population ie spane and di.­pened, particularly in the Mangro\·c swamp area. Here each 'illagc i• a amaJI inde­pendcnt unjt and far more i10larcd from itA neighboura than on thc: mainland. There r.s a greatc:r ooncentration of natural weahh (oil palma) and thcrefure of people in the frcsh-•atc:r awamp area, and today bicyclc tracu link many of thc: villages which are ltrun~ out alonJ the higher rivc:r banb-thc: only bnd that rcm;aina above watc:r "·hrn thc !'igcr and 1t1 nrious branchn arc in ycarly fttxxt ln thc nungrovc •"·amp arca Ytbich forrm the greater part of thc Brau and Oegema dnuion• pcoplc: ha\'C to dept:nd on fiahing for their li,·dihood, villagea arr \·cry widely diap<'r~d and du:ir mcn follc rangc: O\'U a va.at art..""a fwm Forud011 tu thc: ( 'arnc:rooru1 fullnwing thc UIHH·mcnt uf migrating mh (J( uaing •uca-..i\c fiAhing ground.. Somc= of du.:ir ""t.nncn fulk UIIJitlly

gr.t wath thtm living in canoes or at the "fiAhing port.a" and bc:ing cn~agcd m tmoke­drying thc: fiah. Tlu~: villagt"'l Aegn~l rm a kin11hip fta,.ia into \·illagc N.'t'tiuuc "hrmiM. .. " / but thc interrela~Jil:lhJp tß the mc:mben of a "houac:" ia much morc wmplc:• th.tra un

~·

THE JONES REPORT

thc mainland owing tothc "bigdowry"(I:ya) and "little dowry" (lgwa) forms ofmarriagc. In thc formcr, mhcritancc of a ffi'än's propcrty and childrcn follow thc normal patrilineal rules and rcmam with thc father's group. In the latter, which is thc onlv form which thc majority of thc peoplc can atf~rd, a man's childrcn arc sharcd in varioÜs ways bctwccn his own and his wifc's (the ch1ldren's mothcr's) houses or bclong exclusivcly to his wifc's group. In such a "house" or village section thc head is usually the oldcst male in full _possession of his facultics and one of thesc village section heads, somctimcs from a particular "house" sometimes the oldest or ablest of the "house" hcads, is thc head of thc \'illage-thc Amanyanabo. Except in the Oil River Ports rcferred to in Chaptcr V thcrc is no chieftaincy recognised higher than that of thc village hcad, though groups of villagcs usually recognise some linguistic or other cultural bonds which serve to distinguish them from other viiJage groups. Native Administration reorganisation reports have groupcd these into political units which thcy called clans and these clans now form the basis of the prcsent Local Governmcnt organisation.

166. Local government of the same form as elsewhere in thc Eastern Region ha.~ recently been introduced into the Delta area. lt is too soon to say how effective it will prove, but it is very doubtful whether an elaborate three-tier system devised originally for thickly populated agricultural communities and which depends for its effectiveness on easy communications and adequate revenue can be made to work in the vast areas of trackless swamp that constitutes most of the Delta area, unless of course the Centrat Go\·emment is prepared to subsidise it heavily. (It is said that some councils cannot mut more frequently tha11 three or Jour Iimes a year. More frequent meetings would mean that tht councillors sprnt most of their time travelling and a/1 tlre cormcil revenue ;" Iransport and subsiStence a/lmcances). Chiefs and other traditional heads cannot very easily parti­cipate in such a system as their duties_ necessitate ~heir rer:naining in their villages to safeguard the local interests of t~e "-a!lous hou~C:S m the v1llage, most of whose able­bodied mcmbers are absent on theu fishmg cxpedmons.

CHAPTER X

CHIEFfAINCY IN THE OGOJA PROVINCE

167. This province also falls into two well-marked cultural a.reas. Findy that of thc Ibos of the eastem plains and sccondly that of the peoples of Cross River foresta and their extension into the more open country north of it. (TIW forest lll'tll COWTS or once covered Obubra and 1/wm Divisions ·and the south part of Ogoja tJNl Olnu/u). Com­munites in the fonner area have a simple and chieftess and relatively uniform social and polirical structurc which has been described in paragraph 152. The tribea in the latter area (apart from the Cross River Ibo referred to in paragraphs 153-5), 1Q!: a very heterogeneaus collection of peoples who speak a nurober of different languages and mutually unintelligible dial.ects. Their social and political structure ia much more complex and variable. There are viiJage chiefs and village-section heads, some with. ritual and political status, some with only ritual, there are age-grades and- age.ieta. numerous seoret societies and in most of the forest area a division into matrilineal u weU as patrilineal dcscent groups each of which has some measure of polirical authority. · The structuP= becomes simpler as one reaches the Boki speaking areas ~f the north-east and as one moves out of the forest into thc open woodlancNff the Bette-Bendi and Abanliku areas of Obudu Division, and the grasslands of the Bekworra, lyache and lyala tribeB of Ogoja.

168. Jn these non-Ibo p~ut.s of thc Ogoja Province tribea are very amall, only the Yakurr, Ukelle, .Bekworra and Iyala cxceeding a total population of 20,000. Moat arc no larger than an Ibo vinnge group. The majority of the people, particularly in Ogoja and Ikom Divisions, are not particularly interested in questions of chieftamcy and Local Government at the moment. Meetings wcre therefore poorly attended and unrepresentativc of any local opiniona beyond those of the chiefs themselves. Added to this was the difficulty of adequatc interpretation in thia polyglot area where few people cnn speak any English and where thc majority secm to tnke a pride in being unable to understand any langua~e cxcept thnt spokcn by their particul:ar tribal fragment. This difficulty in interpretataon is rcßccted in the lntelligcnce nnd Reorganisation Reporta on thc peoples in this aren. With a few notable cxceptiona they are far le11 detailed than thosc of the Ibo and Ibibio areas. The data nvailable and the evidence coUected in th.ia Inquiry are therefore not so adequatc eithcr in quantity or quality asthat of other regioßll.

169. In all cases men live in their fathen' patrilineagca which are uaually village aectiona or aubsectiona and also land-owning unita. Dut they often inherit money and other moveable property matrilineally and they form dispcncd matrilineagea and matri- f clana for various ritual, social and sometimea political purpoaca. The head of a viUage . section is chosen from the patrilincal kinsmen that compose the village and ia aometimes l y the oldest, sometimea thc most suitable member of thc group. The chief of a village 1

is usually the head of the senior rnnkin~ village aection, but in aome c:uea (e.g., the Yakurr, and Bahumunu of Obubra Diviaton, the Ukelle of Ogoja Division) the viiJage chief is the head of the senior ranking matrilineage or matri-clan, whoee memben Jike those of the other matrilineal descent groups are diapened throughout the viiJage and in neighbouring villages as well. These village chiefa, whether they come from matri­lineages or from patrilineages arc normally aelccted by the membera of their group by rcason of their fitneas for the office rather than thc:ir age. Some of them are "Priest­Kings" and their functions have been discuascd in paragraph 38.

170. In addition to chiefs at thc: villagc Ievel with presidenrial and ritual func:tiona, a few tribes have, or say they once had, tribat chiefa with the aame functio111 but at

50 THE JONES HEPOHT

the tribal Ievel. l'sually thcsc wcrc thc chicf of thc senior viiJage in thc tribc. T~1is office, as in other parts of thc Region, is onc that is subjcct to changc. Thc Ad~m tnbc (clan) of Obuhra Oi\'ision aftcr ha\'ing hccn without a trihal hcad for a consalcrablc period ha\'e now rc\'ivcd thc officc. Thc Yakurr of thc samc division would likc to do thc samc and it is only fcar of bcing dominatcd by llmor (Ugep) thc senior of thcir component villages that prc\'cnts this. llmor is a viiJage which has now increascd to the size of a small town. hs population now cxcccds 17,000 a littlc lcss than half of the total of thc Yakurr tribe, and considcrably !arger than any other Obubra tribc.

1 il. The traditional governmcnt of thcsc largcr Yakurr villages can be takcn as an cxample of thc complex political systcms which charactcriscd thcse Cross River Peoplcs. At thc ward Ievel political authority rested with a council madc up of thc hcads of thc patrilineal kin groups in thc ward, onc of whom prcsidcd as ward hcad, with a sccrct socicty (Ligwomi) and with a systcm of agc-scts. At thc villagc Ievel the com­munity was rulcd by a council called Yabot whose members wcre thc heads of thc villagc matri-clans (who wcrc also priests of thc fcrtility cults belanging tu thesc clans). The presidcnt of thc Yabot was the Obot Lopon (chief of the villagc) assisted by his dcputy the Okpeberu who was selcctcd from two particular Patricians in rotation, and thc Onuneko or "war Ieader" selcctcd from thc wholc villagc for his qualities of lcadcrship. The Obot Lopon was also hcad of the senior matri-clan in thc village and priest of the village tutclary spirit. In addition to this council of chiefs therc wcre various secrct societies (e.g., Ekpunkara, Eberambi, Ebiabo) which possessed considerablc political authority. (This dncripti'on given at Umor ;" 1956 by the Yakurr represe11tatives agrees rcith that git-·en by Captain Cheesman, D. 0., i11 his llltelligmce Reporl of 1935. I I disagrees with that given by Professor D. Forde ;" 1939 ;" some details regardi11g the s/atus of the Okpeberu and the Onuneko. (Government in Umor Africa 1939) ).

PART 1\\

SUMl\lARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

•

CIIAPTf!M XI

HUM~AHY

J 72. 'l'hc carlicr parl of thia rcptJrt ha• ~~tJUght to c~tahlith that, with certain excep­tionK 10 hc diacwuw:d latcr, thcrc waa arul i11 COJI.Miderahlc: uni(tJrmity in the traditional "Y"tcrnM of local govcmmcnt in thc Ea111crn l<cgion. Thc: political uniua werc: compara­tavcly 11mall und thc type of ( iovernrnent dcrnocratic and unccntra)it;e:d, power reating in thc handa of thc pcoplc thcmaelw:11 organiKCd intn a lirnitcd numbcr of politically CCJUivalcnl KCgmcnt•, C".tch of which pmuw.."fiKCd a traditional hcad. Thc gc:ncral will of the community was cxpre~acd at pcriodic ma111 mcetingK opcn to all iu adult mal«:''. 'J'hc hody which orguni1cd thc rncetmg, Ctmductcd its huKint. .. ll and madc the deciaiont waa u amnllcr ur inner council usually rdcrrc:d 10 a1 "thc cldcra". h waa compoaed o( thc tradition;al lu:ad1 and thc n:atural Ieader• from c;ach of the componcnt aegmcntJ and wn• undcr thc pretidcncy of a chicf whn Wall in rnost arcaa thc traditional head of the 11enior rnnking tcgmcnt. 'l'hit •yt~tcm tttill1urvive• to a vcry largc extent and form• thc ha1i1 of thc prc~~ent local govcrnment.

J 73. 'l'he tmclitional hc;ad1 of thc~e cmnmunitica and of their component 11c:gmenll havc bccn rcfcrrcd tn in this rcport a1 chief1 and hc.ad11, or collectivcly a11 cldert, thc tcrm chicf hcing fnr convcniencc lirnitcd to hcad1 of villagell and higher unill, and the tcrm hcad hcing npplicd to thc troulitional hcadt of viiJage scction1 and aubtc:ctiona.

174. Huccca•ion to thc officc of chicf or t.cad Wil!l govcrncd hy dilfcrcnt critcria ir1 different nrcaa. ln thc ccntrnl Jho nrc.a (Orlflalld Olli~:wi /JiviJirms, SrJullr~rn OnitJira,t Srmlhtrn Awlta, Nortlrn11 Owcrri DiviJions) a11 in B•:nin thc oßicc paucd from fathcr to c:lde11t son, arul in many othcr p;artl howcvcr it rcM:mblcd thc Yoruha pattcrn, the ollicc hcing vcatcd in n particulur lincllgc, ur rotating hctwcc:n a limitc:d nurnher of linc­ngc~ll, and eilher thc oldcKt or thc moKt auittahlc mcmhcr in thc: lincagc hcing aclccted fur thc onicc. ln aomc comrnunitica ngain, fm cxamplc in partll uf thc: Brau, Ohuhr;a, O~eoja und lkorn diviaiona thc 11uituhilitX uf thc cundidutca wus thc 10lc qualification nccdcd, thc community sclccting thcir 1 hc~t mnn" rcgardlc11 of hi• lincagc or other nffiliations. Jn thc north-wcat of thc Ibo urcu many of thc•c trnditionul officca hccame J 1'titlca" bc:ing confcrrcd only un thoa.c pcrson11 who cnuld ,,rovidc thc lJUillifying fcaata f\ ond fcca. Similnr 11 mcanR tcats" wcrc impoRcd in thc lbi 'iu nrcu whcre thc ~~elcction wa111imitcd to tho11c pcoplc who wcrc mcmhcrs of thcir villngc'a Rccrct und uthc:r Rocictiea.

175. ln n fcw nrcaA (7'/rt' Delltl art'u of Ihr Uivcrr l'mvitlet, Opobo in the Opobo divi•irm anti somt' rommrmitits ;" Ogoja l'mviuu. Str. f'tlrliKrtlplrs 65-66) chicfa und trnditional henda could he dc:poacd nt thc will of thcir pcnplc. Generally 11pcllking, howcver, thcy could not, uhhuu~.th politiccal groupa could und did withdraw thcir auppurt frum a chic:f or othcr leuder who hud olfcndcd thcm.

176. Hy cnmpariiiOn with Borne of thc We~tcrn nc:J(ion llatcA, politicol l)'lllCIIll in thc EaKtcrn Region arc amall in ac11lc, thc villo~c: or, in the Ibo reginn thc viiluge grnup, hcing normally thc largcat cffcctivc politicnlumt in thc tr:ulitinn~tlllylltcrn of govcrnmrnt. Thc principal exceptiona to thia rule, in so far aa thcy rt·lntc tu thc pnaitiun uf chidR, will be Jcnlt with latcr.

177. Thc main and almost universal function nf the11c chit·f" hllA heen dc:fincd 111

prcaidcntial. Apart from theac: prcAic.lcntiul functionR, thc dutiu uttached to the office vary grcntly in different communitics, thc twn moat cornmnn hcing judicinl and ritual. ln the casc nf this lntter function a diatinction hoR hcen rnadr. hetween o chief like thc Obi of Onitaha whosc pcnon ia conaidcred ucrcd and poAM."tlaed or 1mpernaturol and myatical power, but who ia not n priest nf any particulnr lncal cult, and a chief likc the

5-f. TIIE JONES REPORT

Obot Lopon of the Yakurr (Obubra division) who, in addition to bcing a villagc head, is also a priest of the village tutelary spirit. Chiefs of both thcse typcs normally po88CSS both ritual and political authority but some of the former type, notably thc Eze Nri and many of the so-called .. prieat-chiefs" in the Ogoja and Ikom divisions have ritual authority only, being considered too sacred to take part in local government. While pricatly and chiefly functions are often combined into a single office, in many areas they are not. In some Ibo areas, for example, pricsts, though they may be called by the same name (Eze) as chiefs are carefully distinguished from them and arc not expected to engage in political activities (e.g., in the 1.\lbai'se area of OweTTi Division).

178. Administrative and executive functions are not necessarily associated with chiefs and other traditional office holden, they are a.ssumed by pcrsons with natunll gifts of leadership who arise spontancously in the society and who act as the de faclo Ieaders of their groups. Some of them may already be chiefs or traditional heads of their village &ections and many may attain such offices, particularly in arc:as where these offices h3\'e developed into titles or where they have become limited to penons who were thc liupcrior memben of secret and similar societies. The majority of theac n2tural Ieaders, howe\'er, are not traditional office holden, particularly in the early stagcs of thcir careera when they usually form the more active mcmbera of the grade of aubordin2t.e elden, the "measengera" who are repreaent.ed aa carrying out the ordera of the elden.

179. The main exception.a to these gencraliaationa are, fintly those lbo-apcaking arr.aa of th.e .Eaatern plaint referred to in paragraph 153, \;here pcople do not wiah to recognia.e chief1 and oth.er tradition2l h.eada at prc:aent but are quite ready to producc: them ahould it be c.omidered nec.euary.

180. Seoondly, th.ere are th.ole lbibio and CrOM Rivcr Ibo areaa where a wider political unity exisu or ona: exiat.ed and wh.erc chiefa are recognit.ed at the tribal (clan) and tub-tribal levela and which are di~CUMC:d in Chapter VJJ and in paragraphs ISS w 157 o( Chapt.er VIII. Th.e ~~ imporunt of thele areu are the lbib1o tribei (clana) o( Jbiono, l!ruan and Obolo (Rnyong, lfyo and Opobo divi1W1u) and the Ibo tribct (clant) of Edda, Arochuku and Jt.em. (Afikpr,, E"JfJnt and Hmd~ did1i()fu).

181. Thirdly, th.ere are dv.IK Oil Ri\·er p,,ru, originally •mall fiahing viiJaget which, thmugh early c:ontact with EurCJPC2n trade, developed mto wealthy and power­ful "cit' autea", with anresponding dunget in their •Y•tems u( governm.ent and in the po.atitJrtl of their chief• and hou.e hc2dl. The CaiJC!1I of Ncmbe, IJonny, Kalabari and Opt,b<Jare described in Chapttr VJ, that of th.e Efik tribe (Oid Calahar) in Chapter V.

182. Foorthly, thete i• the cue (I( Onir.ha1'own diacu..ed in Chapter IV, ori,Pnally an Ibo viiJage g.mup whkh Iw! now bewmc: the l~u,eat town in thc Eutern Region. Here the prc:tiident12l authoriry of its chid', the Obi, remaina unchallenged, but the traditional l)'.tem tA gtJYernment J~a ßlll yet bcctJme adjusted ttJ thesc very rapid changct,

183. Fifthly, there i• th.e E1.e Am th.e chief of all Arochuku pcople wherever they may be retiding whose potltion ha been diaculled in paragraph1 29 and J 57.

CUAP'l'EH XII

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Recognition and Depo8ition of Chiefs

184. With thc cxccptions rcfcrred to in paragraph J 75 chiefs were not normally dcposed and thcrc was no satisfactory machinery for settling chieftaincy disputes.

185. Today thc regional government haa the power to intervene and settle such disputes ( /n the Ruognition of Chiej1 LarD (H.R. No. J 9 of 1956) fllhieh replaa11he Appoint­mml and Dtponlion of Chiej1 Ordinance). But cxcept where such intervention ia Iimited to the recognition of the choicc of the majority of the people such intervention it Jraught with conaidcrable political consequenca, aa it turns a Jocal diapure into a regional or even a centrat party iuue and drive. the unsucceuful candidate and, what ia more import­ant, all his supporten into the rank& of the opposition.

186. In thc paat, particularly in areas where the chU:f waa an old man ir wa pro­bably timplest to wait until he died rather than try to remove ru~ The •itldtion ;. different today, particularly in c:aaes where the "belr man" or a young man i.l cho.en. But unleM and until Jocal public opinion wantiJ any cbange it ia probably beat lo J.eave thing• u they are and to depote him only when there i• no other alternative. Ir i.l one thing for a coJoniaJ government to recogni&e or depot~e a chief it i• quite 1oother for • democratically elected one, and the •hort-term and loaJ advantage. of tettling a tedio~X and troublesome ditpute may be acc.ompanied by Jong-tenn and re,PonaJ dia:ufvantages at the next general election. There i1 allo, 1hould a regional ~ovemment interYene too frequently in chieftaincy ditputea, a ~eriou• dangcr of chief• ceamg tobe the reprcten- / tativet of the local traditional element in govcrnmcnt and merely beannin~e the puppcu n( regional party politica,

ChJeCa and LoeaJ Governmeat

187. Throughout the region but particularly in rho~e areu mott active and internted in polideal and other fornu of IIJCial change, peopJe appear to fec:l that thc recent l.oal C10vemmcnt refonn1 reprctcnt kHJ grcat " 1wing in thc direction of clccted repreamta­tion whic:h they autJCiatc with thc: yuung, Iiteraie ond "'progreoive eJemcnt1" and aw1y Cmm the "'traditionaJ eJemenw'' as ecJuatcd wirh chic:f1, eJdcr1, tit~ mm zmd other penollJ holdinfJ thdr officet for life. Ccrta.inJy, c:ondition1 in 10me o( the lbibio divi­•io111 whc:rc tW. traditional clement has bcen almo11t c:ompletely exc:ludcd from f.oc&J Govcmment Counc:ilt ICCtN to hcar thit out. Dut it i• al110 truc thar, given a tufficienc degree of determination and gnodwill, almott any form o( government can be made to work and thi• i• hornc out by many Local Governrncnt Councilt in the Eatem Regitm, partic:uJarJy in thc Ibo divition• where, whatevcr may have bcen ehe inttructioM given to them regarding the Iiterale and other rcctuiremcnlJI det~irahlc ln a Loal Govcrn­ment Councillnr, peoplc appear to have Jargdy ignored ehern and retumcd ehote pe~ ehey CIJntidc:red be.t qualified to rcpreKnt them, 10 that the rcauJtinJ l...ocal Govem· ment Councilt c:ontaincd a mixturc of tradiliorual and untraditional elemrnts, induding botb illiterate and literatc, clderly and young, chieft and commonera.

188. lt haa heen tuggested by 10mc tJuteide obKrvcrs that Loc:ti Government in the l~rn Re,Pon has failcd, the proof of thia being ehe abrupt reaMUmpeion of control by the Re~1onal Government and illl withdrawal from Load Govt'mment bodies o( their reapmaibility for tax collection and for thc provi11on u( Jocal pri~Mry educaaion. Thi• i• not aupported however by obscrvationa madc on the •pot. LocaJ Governrncnt woufd appear to be very much alh·e, peopfc undc,.tand ie and in moat areu are ta•ing an active part in making it work. Thia ia particularly 110 at the Joweal lcvelll, ahme

~ a .&ich. L..ncai r ~ ~a ~mMC tnx:n'Ut'! md. tnftrilmnd '" rite:::a: llrmaa .aut wfDda ia die Carem lle;ptt on ~ aOed rite. ·;acO. and ~ "~ "rnupr Tllae ae., rfle Ievetil • whid:l clriefa and a:ldirinnal ~ ~ mMr m ~.ridnlu:. ..,

. [8C)r Th;. U. Mf' r.n ~ m. LneaC f;t,v~ment:: rn tilr, .iarr.m ~~~ r-.m..rd rtnt

M unpmved ''P""~ The tper..d :1t ,.,hldt ~ cb:m~ fmm ~~ Mmini~ m {Aal f"~mem >Na& arriert nur w. Mund rn prndua *'fl'le anomafie:a. The nwo r~M« ll&ftrnsa are, tinany, me eschulinn frnm any lnol nr hiRfw' munaf nf anv •• a "fflnd• ~; !tee.nndly, rhe muJripliary nf cnunala. '

·~- rn reJPrd ro rhe n~ pnanr .u1d ~"-Xdndinl{ rhe ~1unu :lre:l ni th~ r: tfi divfaitm, and cen:ain ~ nf rhe OJ{I'Ja P~vinu. w~.evrdenl"..e waa in~tsare, pmple fn rlie ia«em Rq;pon rnct8y werft unannnona ~n wr•hrnsr ro !W!e rheir ehlefA, rhe he:a.cf.t nf rhcil cnmmunrtiea, preaiding nvu thcir rndinonal conncila ~nd nve:r any f.or..al (j(-,yemment CAimciJ. whick had raken daeir plau. It w~ut feit invuti.o•aa rhar ~uch ehief.A Ahould hav~ rn srand for decr.im\ ro d1ek Cnuneda and it wa. conaidere:d dm the nffiu nf ehid nf a focaJ c:mnmunl'ry ahould carry wirh it rhe ex I)Jfrm pre:Ri~.ency r.f rh.:lr Mmmoniry'" f....ncal (;.,vemment Council Feeling in rqr4lrd M nthu rraditll)nal hearla and ~iör ride holden waa not: M elear. M'Mt communitieJt had Mt COMicfeTed rhe potnt. :Many hut by nö meana an nf tht.e cnmmuniriea near OnitJtha Town, wanted a [ocal r..ounc:il aimilar to that approved fnr (Jnimha T nwn, rhat iA, a Counci[ in which a limit~..d numher of aeniör tide holder! nr head& M village:a or viiJage seetiona •honld he u r;J!kUI memhen of their T.ocal Conncil. Other Ihn Mmmunitiea with whom the quMtitm waa diACU-.ed feit, IM the moat part, rhat rhilll wa~a unneeeuary, particu[arly as m~ nf theJte villagea and viiJage ~~eetiona were dectöral uniu and were in fact selecting the1r political feaden, 10me of whom were, and 10me nf whom were nnt rraditirmal office holden, The situa· rion in rhe lbibio area i11 diacutsed in paragraphs I 42 to 148 nf Chapter VJ J _

191. ln thote parta of the Delta area of the RiverA Province in whlch "houae rule" had formerly been rerogniaed and where atrong polrtical kryaltics exiat töwarda thae hnuaes and towardA their house heada, for eumple amongat the Kalah-.lri, many pet~le reaented the way in which Loc:al Government reforms had, acwrding to them, dehb. erately tiOUght to hreak dnwn the authority of hou~~a hy grouping theTA into electoral warda which took no regard of their traditional loyaltiel' ancl political alignmentA. Thcy would have preferred Local Government Councils in which greater t% officio represen­tation wu given to thc heada of the more prominent houtea.

192. At the time of thit inquiry the Onitshn constitution refcrred to in _paragraph 112 had only juat heen publiahed and knowlcdge of it hod not apread very far beyond Onitaha diviaion. ßut it can hc auumed that cornmunitiea in other diviaiona will react in much the aame way u thosc in the Onillha diviaion and will RUume that Governmml polic:y in regard to the repreaentation of traditional office holdera on l..ocal Govemment Councila haa changed and that they aan now demand aimilar nm~ndmcntA for their own l.ocal Councila citing the Onirahn Constitution na a prcccdent.

193. In regard to the second point, thc multiplicity of councila, it ia A moot point whether the three-tier ayatem of Locnl Govcrnmcnt in thc Enatern Region poaacuea thc virtuea originally daimed for it. The Wet~tcrn Region, with a few exccptiona (e.g., the Asaba diviaion) prefen the Ieu elaaborate two-ticred onc. l\1any of thesc Eastcm ayatcnut are in fac:t four or five-tier ayatcms, if one takcs into cont~idcratiun thc tmditional councila which atill exiat and function bdow the Ievel of the Locnl Council. For example in the Owerri diviaion the thrcc highcr tien are recognised under \'arioua Instruments as Countr,. Diatrid and Local Councila reapec:tively, while below th~~ thcre are traditional Councilt of the varioua \·illage groupa and of thcir component vallagn. All of thee.r Councila but particularly thc village group and village councils are functioning.

194. 1t must also be ~membered thnt thC3c arenot thc onlv l."'Uncils con"-cmcd with local ~vemmt"nt in ita wi~r upecta. Apart from Tr.•ditionail and I.ocal Government counc:ila. tMre are council meetinp or iMumt>nablc 11 progressh·c" associ3tions- Church

~ lCiMin« Mun.r.ita .. ,..... ........ ( ' ·~ ..t ,....,. ,J.lli$r: !"~ rn a.idirinn. ~ ~ • "~ ~ fif\~ r~ "._. s- tie ~ r.i .f.ActiC (A~mem: ,.ft(,._n. ~ r~ ~ dM ~ rrt W~ ~;auf ~ _,..-.:mJW f6 ....",.. ~ .aay ~aN.if M ~, ........ fYaA;.. ~. IW"Iilli«, ttrhich un n.e.r~~r!Mai ~- rp~~- ;,;. ..... ."..irr AW -.l. ,.r; fJ{ f. 7J .."_ * .""", ~ 1itneU 11t1u .... ~ •,.. ~ • LtuJ. .-4' IMtna (~ .. ~ ~ ", ".,.",_ "*' W.4l ,."._ .. ~n~tf~~

19!L lita'e at'e naly a limitl!d l\tlf1lher' öl eapefe pnlirical ~ i"A .aaw .wc ..., dsae- men rend r6 find the:nwefw:a öQ &Mef. nt dlek MJJneila.. 'T'IIeJ !~Mac ..IM p .., Md rhe ~ ro- eam tbeir li"lin.-. trw moc ttwm. r.t Cöuncll \!MB a:re ..,..._.. -.4,.... are Jet JOffi"ciefttfy remnner~ M mab aa oot*de ~ .,...... J. Jfcaa ~ rhnee CI)QncJ(a. wb:h are ~inq" re.dr:e are.likdy an mrxt rhe ~ ilft~ r.f dw::sltt men aad therefnre fll) franction properly. lt iw taid d\at lk ~ f.J:!G11 Gtwnnnw.:nr f~ m rhm reapecf •e rM nnes 'ekned ~ • Dieiu _, • J.A'IIC3l Cooncil8 whida are· inrem1ed'r.ate between the ~ M the CIMIW\'J pnwered (Mrrid Cooncila md die •iO. and v~ JVOOP. CbUMila. 1'hat ia ~ ae c.-e .... thae inunnediafe cnoncila do Mf cnrr~ wö any ~I ~Md.....,_ they have Iinie M no r~ty.

196. Reference haa afre:ady bun made fö rhe weakneu nl many fbibio f.ocal Councifa. The same ia rme m r~r nl [..t~Ctl Cooncila m rhe rhree Jho cfit'iDoM of Orfu. Okipj md Owerri, and for the ume reaon-Lnc:af Councilil in lbae eh~ with a number of nceprinns., do not represent rhe rnditinnal ~ial gmupinp ~ md ncn in the caae of rno8l af the eueptiona rhe tradirJOnal groupinp thcy tl'pracnt are rhe N.A. or "clan,. and not the vdlage group. The c.haractm.tic political and toeial unit in tbc Onitaha and Owerri Provinca ia aa already stated in pangraph 149 the tillaJe poup. ln most ~. that is to .ay. in every division of thoe t\1ro J!toVinca accpt Orlu, Okipi and Owern, the Local Council ctrrroponda with rhe vdlate RJ'I'l'•P and replaca thc tl'lditional viiJage group council. (AnJ far tlult f!ll411n ln A1IJIM tlivUitM of tJw Wntm~ R~ tu w/1). In thae thrcr diviaiona on the othcr handviitage RJ'OU.,_ are, with lhcM few auptiona arbitrarily brou1ht together into councit. rcpre.entinw araa intm'llcdiatc in lize betwecn the vdlage group and the formn N.A. or '"clan" arua. ln Orlu lhae "clan'" area are in mo.t c:.un ignored, in Owcrri County rhey are repre~tntcd u Diatrief Councila. in the Mbaiae area of rho aame diviaion and in mott o( Okigwi diviaion they 11tc

reprnented u Local Councila. (In tJW conrutlitm il 1lrou/d ~ notrd tlull 11" tyllnfl oJ L«al GUW7'""",.1 Cormcib ruo",".",tkd for 1111 OniiJM ditJilion mWIII'd a tiWiihlr llntDWnrtnll rrilh Loclll Counrib htu~J on tlr~ furmn N.A. 11nit1, rDirich wr~ flny ,;"";,_ ;" Ji21 twl t0111potition lo tlu•• Lotal Coti1Kib of Or/11, Oltip;i, 1111d Owrri. Tm• r«offf· llllfUlatioll fl4l 1101 foll~d 111Ultlr1 L«a/ Cot~nril• in 1111 Onilllul difluioa f!Jnt ""*IM i11ta liw mlh tltou in A•ka divilion 1111d t«rt "llricltd tu tinxu vii/Qgt grOll/")·

ChJ_,. and Raatonal Govemmeat

197. These commenh are included not hecau11e the wriler feeb that they are pertl­cularly reln·ant to his terma or reference but becauae mott of the people he mct temJed to lhink that they were. h may alao be of value to place on record what people bad ro uy about East~m Houae of Chief• and ro comment on their view..

198. Thc majority of peoplr who gave evidence to thia commiMion wanted auch a Hau. ol Cbie& for thc Eutern Rqion. Thi1 majority c:onailted panly of 11p~vc" panly of .. traditiooal" elemcnta, the latt~r naturally hoping that chid'a in W. context maa.t tbemadves. Ordinary folk had not botbered thelr heada very much about such an i.natitution and in aomc" an:a, for inatance in OKOJ• divilion. had no1 nm heard of the idea.. This bowcver is not of mucb contequence becaUIC' whm tbtT do come to think about it. tbeir opiniona will depmd very lar~ly on what t~ar leadcn--"pro­paan-e" aad "'tnditional'", fed about it.

58 THE JONES REPORT

199. A minority were against the idea, and thcse again were made up of "progressive" and "traditional" elements.

200. The main arguments put forward in favour of such a house of chiefs were, firstly, that it was a "good thing" and therefore thc Eastern Region ought to have one, proof of this being that bothother regions alrcady had one; secondly, that it would be a stabiliaing factor in regional government and act as a curb on thc impulsive exuberance of the lower house; thirdly, that a house of chiefs would scrve os a uscful and more reliable Iobby for local as opposed to regional interests; fourthly, thnt in the field of constitution building and in the arena of federal politics thc Iack of a house of chiefs was a handicap both to the N.C.N.C. party and the Eastern Regiongenerally und placed them at a disadvantage. In general, however, these views were based not so much on rensoncd arguments as on a general feeling that a house of chiefs must be an assct as cvery other region had one and the East was missing something by not having such a house.

201. Most people were not very clear what functions a House of Chiefs should perform. Those who had studied local government feit that a two chambercd system of govemment was necessary, and tfiä'r"a house "of chicfs was the obvious second chamber on the analogy of the British House of Lords.

202. The chiefs and traditional elements themselves were not concerncd so much) with political or constitutional theory but with the emoluments that would be involved and with making surc that their administrative division and its component parts should receive a fair, that is an equal share of them.

203. Arguments against a house of chiefs were firstly, that there were no chicfs in 1 the Eastem Region, and the establishment of a house of chiefs would be a "bad thing" I as chiefs would have to be created for it. This would amount to a reversion to the "Direct Rule" and "'Warrant Chief" system of fonner days: alternatively, if there were people who could be called chiefs they existed only at the Ievel of the village or the village group. The establishment of a house of chiefs would thercfore Iead to nothing but strife, intrigue and corruption as people strove to achieve thc nomination or the election to the house of themselves or of their puppcts and nominecs. Sccondly, it was ar((ued that the exiating system of frce clections was admirably suited to the democratic princ•ples that characterised thc traditional local govcrnmcnt of the region and that the imposition upon it of alien ideas of privilegcd office holdcrs would spoil it and Iead either to the} obstruction of progressive measurcs by diehard traditionalists or to undue intcrference in Local Govcrnmcnt affairs by thc Regional Governmcnt. It was feit that thcre was nothing to prevent nny political party that might bc in power building up support for itaelf in areas that wcre politically marginal by a judicious exercisc of thc powers vested in the Regional Govemment by ordinancc (~.g., tll~ Recogm"tio11 of Cht~Js /Jaw (E.R. No. 19 of 1956) rehich r~ploces the Appoi11tment and Deposition of Chi~Js Ordi11ance), and it waa said that the corrcsponding law in the Western Region was already being uscd in thi,J way against the N.C.N.C. party.

204. Commenting on these vicws it can be said thnt from an anthropological point of view, that is looking at the situation from a traditional rather thnn from a progrcsaivc standpoint, there is no justification for a house of chiefs. A ~~11.!2~ .o( th~ unity of his group, not of the unity of any othcr group or area. Willt a fcw exceptionl; his authority never cxtended bcyond his own local group. Again a chief normally was expectcd to rcmain within the territory of his local community and not to lcavc it. Othcr penona werc chosen to represent thc group in meetings with other locol communities. He had therefore no spccial right to reprcscnt any group othcr than his own. The valu~ of a chicf lay in his bcing the cmbodiment of thc tradiuons of his pcoplc, and local com· munitica in the Eastern Region normolly took a 1pecial pridc in the fact thnt thcir tradi­tions wcre different from thosc of any othcr local communitics. A chicf was not expected to know and normally he docs not know thc truditions of othcr grnups and his special

THE JONES REPORT 59

knowlcdgc, and with it his spccial valuc, is at a premium inside his own community and at a d1scount outside it. 1-Icnce many chicfs wcre traditionally cxpcctcd to remain within thc tcrritory of their group and some of them (e.g., IIre Obi of Onitsha or forthat matter the Oba of Bmin) werc traditionally not allowed outside their palaces except on 'r'ery special ritual occasions.

205. However, timcs change, chicfs in thcsc days normally movc outside their

I chieftaincies and peoplc arc tcnding rnorc and morc to clect as their chicfs rctircd public servants and profcssional men whosc main value to their people is the spccial knowledge thcy havc gaincd of thc world outside their villagc. In-~ casc a house of cbjcfs is nat.an nnthropological hut a >Oiitical and constitutional matter. Most of thcse anthropological 0 ~cc I I p r Wlt l cquallf not grcatcr force to chiefs in thc Western Region. Condi-tions nrc very smular on both sid<.-s of thc Niger, c.g., in thc Delta and Bcnin Provinces, as weil as in many of thc Yoruba provinccs whcre therc arc thc samc largc nt1mbcr of small \'illagc units and a multiplicity of chiefs, title holdrrR :mct "traditional hcads". Thcre arc only nine hcad chicfs (Tirat is, clriefs of /arge political unils recogni'sed as such in tlre Westenr Region) and thc Regulations relating to thc clcction of chiefs to thc Western Housc of Chiefs could be takcn ovcr almost as thcy stand and applicd to an Eastcrn housc. (Tirese Regulations, Tlre Western 1/ouse of Chiefs (Selection of Chi~Js) Regulations, W.R.L.N. 80 of 1956, Iimitiire tiUmher of chiefs eligible for election lo this lrouse to tlrose rcho are presidents or "traditiona/ memhers" of tlreir Disirret and rohere tlrese exist, l..ocal Councils. Thry also provide for Divisional electoral colleges (Divisional meetings) eaclr contaitling a lrmited number of elected and traditional memhers selected by ti~R Local or Distriel Councils of tlre Drt•ision. These colleges selecl by secrel ballot IIre clriefs rclro are to represml IIre divr"sion m tht Western HollstofC/riefs).

206. lt is too carly as yct to say what advantagcs accruc to thc Western Regional Govcrnmcnt through its posscssion of a sccond chamber, or whcther thc Western Region tax-payers fccl that thc considerable cxpcnditurc involvcd in such an cstablishment is justified.

207. In the case of the Eastcrn Region it would probahly be wiscr to wait and obscn·t~ what contributions chicfs and traditional mcmbers had becn ;tblc to makc in thc field of local govcrnmcnt beforc considcring whcthcr provision should bc madc for thcir parti­cipation in Regional Government. For unlike thc Western Region chicfs and traduional mcmbers are not yct givcn spccial reprcscntation as !'Iuch on Local Governrncnt Councils.

208, An obvious wcakness of tbc Western Region Housc of Chiefsisthat thc majority of its mcmhcrll arc clccted for a thrcc-ycar pcriod and it can hc a.ssumcd (Tire I/mur has not bem in cxistence long rnouglr lo say rvlrat u:i/1 ultimately lrappen) that thcy will not normally bc rcturned for a sccond tenurc of officc until othcr "tradit10nal mcmhcrs" in their divisions havc had their turn. The 1-Iousc thcrcforc Iacks to a very cons1derablc dcgree, thc Rtability, thc sccurity and the continuity uf tcnurc of membership that normally charactcrises an uppcr chamhcr. Tbis is counteractcd to some cxtent by thc fact that there are a small numhcr of chicfs of highcr statt1s who are permanent mcmbcrs. Should an Eastcrn Region Housc of Chiefs bc cr<.'Utcd, it would bc suhject to thc samc disadvan­tagcs and would in addition Iack this small core of permanent members unlct\9 thc Re­gional Go .. ·ernmcnt was prcparcd tu singlc out particular chicfs for spccial rccognition in this r<."Spcct.

209. A less invidious mcthod would hc for the Regionnl Government to crcatc spL-cial titiC1' which carricd with them t.'l: ol/icio mcmhcrship of a llousc of Ch1cfs and to confcr thcsc titlcs on persons who11c Ii\ es had bccn 11pcnt in scn·icc to the Region in thc ficlds of politics, law, hcalth, wclfarc, and in othcr occupations and profc1111ions. Thc maturcjudgcmcnt of l:IIICh mcn i~ now virtually lost to thc Region through thc1r rctircmcnt from activc puliucal and public lifc, but thcy couhl in an upper chambcr continuc to play thcir part as "cldcr stawsrncn" in thc councils of reg10nal and nf fcderal gO\·crnmcnts.

60 THE JONEi REPORT

Recommendations

210. It is therefore recommended that wherever possible and wherever the local people want it, the traditional presidential roJe of chiefs should be recognised by making them u officio presidents of their local government councils. lt is also recommended that Local Government constitutions should be modified to permit a greater representa­tion of traditional elements on Local Govemment Councils.

211. These recommendations would involve amendments in the Local Government Law (No. 26 of 1955) and related legislation so as to provide for the reprcsentation on local government councils of chiefs and lesser office holders, as presidents, vice-presidents, where necessa.ry, and "'traditional members". Thus in cases where there was a chief recognised as the head of a community he should be ex officio prcsident of its Local (or District) Council. lf there was a second chief recognised as his deputy, for example in the Nembe tribe of the Rivers Province, or the Yakurr tribe of the Obubra division, he should be ex o.fficio vice-presidcnt. In cases wherc a number of local communities each with its own chicf ahared a common Local Government Council such chiefs should be u officio members (Traditional members) of this council. The number of such Traditional members should be limited and should not exceed about one-fifthofthe total number of councillors. Should the division, tribe or smaller unit dcsire it, senior titled men and holders of offices traditionally associated with local governmcnt should be eligible for such Traditional mcmbership. Should the numbcr of potential Traditional members exceed this proportion of one-fifth their membership should not be ex officio but should be limited to a specified number of members selccted by these traditional members from amongst themselves.

212. One of the results of thcse a.mendments would be to bring the composition of Local and District Councils in the Eastem Region into linc with those in the Western Region. Thcre arc sound sociological reasons for doing tbis, in that tbc indigenous political systems of the Western and Eastem Regions are fundamentally not very dis­similar. Tbere was a greater empbasis in some Yoruba states, and particularly in Benin City on larger political units and on chiefs with greater ritual and political authority, while in some Ibo arcas on the othcr band there was greatcr emphasis on democraticaUy selected representatives. But throughout both areas and particutarly at the viiJage Ievei there was and is the same rcspect for tbe rule of elders, modified to a greater or less extent, by a rule of wealthy clders wbo wcre the boldcrs of titles and mcmbers of secret societics. The Colonial Administration began by ovcrstrcasing the authority of chiefs in the Western Region but since tbe Native Administration reorganisation it bas been moving towards more democratic forms of local govcrnment. Tbc prescnt Local Govemment constitutions have complcted this process by providing in most cases for councils four-fifths of whose memhcrs werc elected whilc thc remaining one-fifth wen: Traditional members. In tbe Bastern Regionafter a swing about 1950 towards wholly elected councils there appears to have been a reversion townrds tbe inclusion of a limited number of Traditional members on local governmcnt councils, as for example is shown by the new Onitsha Urban District Council Instrument. Jf this can be tnken as apointer to the direction that Local Government is going in the Esstern provinccs, and J think it should be, people would appcar to wnnt much the same form of Local Government Councils in both regions.

213. There would also appear tobe sound political and constitutional arguments in favour of similar systems of local go\·ernment in both rc.pons in as much ns the political organisation on tbcnational and regional Ieveis is very smtilar witb thc snme two major parties in both regions.

214. At the same time it is rec:ommended that in certain districts the structure of County, Diatrict and Local Councila, nnd the functions of theae oouncils should be eumined with a view to removing anomaliel, eliminating redundant councils and bringing othen more into line witb existing traditional councils. Tbe anomalaus position

THE JONES REPURT 61

of Ibo viUage group councils, which in some divisions are ignored and in others recognised as Local Councils has becn referred to in paragraph 196 and it is recommended that thr anomalaus areas could be brought into line with other areas in thc manncr suggested in the Appendix. Part I I I, Sections A B and C.

215. Tbc position of the lbibio village councils and of lbibio Local Councils baR also been discussed in paragraphs 142-148 of Chapter VII and it is recommended that some form of official recognition should be given to the village council and to its Obong as prcsident of this council. lt should not be ncccssary to define the sizc and composi­tion and methods of election to this council. But the village council could be recognised as the elcctoral ward (sometimes if large two or more wards) for Local and higher councils, and as the local unit for carrying out the decisions and orders of the higher councils-e.g., in the collection of rates, the enforcement of local rules.

216. An cven morc obvious cxample is the case of Bonny and Opobo. One is recognised as a Rural District Council, the othcr as an Urban District Council. Thc sociaJ organisation and political system of these two places is idcntical and thcy werc originally a single state. Here littlc is ncccss.1ry beyond a change of namt.'S as the com­ponent social units (wards) will remain the same.

217. Thcre are fcw chiefs in thc Eastcrn Region ahO\'C the ,·illagc gmup lc\·cl, and their traditional and prcsent-day authority is not vcry grcat. There would thereforc appear to bc no necd to provide for thcir appointment, reco~nition or dcposition by lcgislation as formidableasthat ofthc Wcstt.·rn Region. (e.g., H estm1 Rtgioll RmJgnition ofChiefs Law, 1954 tcilh ammdi11g lart•s No. 16 of 1955 and No. I of 1956). The Eastern Region Recognition of Chiefs Law (l':o. 19 of 1956) would appear to bc perfectly adequatc providcd it contained a clausc cnabling the Govcrnor in Council (or his succcStiOr in this function) to withdraw rccognition from any chicf a..q dcfincd in scctiott 2 of the law and providcd this withdrawal of rccognition constitutcd a bnr to membership of any J.ocal Government Council. ~imilarly it would not nppcnr to bc ncccssary for the Regional Govcrnmcnt to havc thc power, as it hns lmdcr thc Wcstcrn Law, to onler 11

"competcnt local authority" to dcclarc the locnl rulcs and cotwentiona w>verning thc succcssion to a disputed chicftaincy. The mcmbcrs of Ruch a "competcnt local authority" would bc more than likcly to bc thcrm1clvt.'B involvcd in thc disputc. Pt.-oples idl'WI on thcsc mattcrs arc chnnging mpidly at thc prcscnt time nnd uny nttcmpt tn ~.-odify existing cu!\tom, particularly in arca..q whcrc thcrc is o di11putc, woultl probnbl)' aggra\'ate rather than scttlc it. In nny C<lSc adcquatc powcr11 to uhtain such informatinn would appear to be providcd in sectiort 3, subscction 2 of thc Eastcrn Regional Lnw.

2Jli. Same pcrsons who gavc e\·idcncc appcnrcd tothink that chicfs should bc pnid aalarit.-s by thc centrat govcrnmcnt. I do not sec how such n proposition could be juatificd unless chiefs wcrc to bccomc thc local a~cnts of thc ReJtiona~l Gu\'crnmcnt. As pointcd out in paragnph 47, traditional!y~fa_and_othc.r politic.&l officc holden and natur.d Ieaders werc not paid for thcir scrviccs but wcrc cxpc~o:tcd to nmintuin themsc'lvea fJ'!>m thc "sN!!!.,Qf th~ir: ~flKc" thc mrtAt important of which wcrc fcca and forfcit11 from judlciäf busincss. I can sec no rcaaon why thc situation should not bc allowed to conti­nue in the case of chiefs a~-!J~ds of \'illagc gruupa and sanaller unita, provid.:d thcy ll[c all9wc:d to continue-fOtäl(e part in courta as ~eil a~ in CU\IJ\Cil WQrk. lndct"d, Local and Regional Governmcnt finances would hardly ju!ltify anything ciM. ln the Cßtle of chic:fs who are heads of tribes, sub-tribcs and othcr !lizcahlc unita (c.g., Onitaha town) aand prc:sidcnts of thcir corresponding I .. ocal Govcrnmcnt Coun~.:ila, if thc di~nity uf thc otfice ia to be maintained the chit:f will cithcr hnc to hc p;aid a rcaaonllblc salary or, in their selection of a chief. the group will ha\'e to Iimit it!l chnice tn !IOmeone who ia ablc •nd willing to do this out of bis own pockc:t. ßut thc: dil·i"ion •huuld rcst. I IU~t, with the Loca1 Govemment unit concemed "·hich ahould al10 hnc: to IM:ar the COlt.

b2 THE JONES REPORT

219. lt is poaibly the realisation of the financial implications of a locally salaried chiefuincy that inspired 80IDe of the dcmand for a regional Hou.e of Chiefs, the 31&UJJ1p­tion being that • chiefs who at in thia bouse would be paid by the llegional Government it •·ould not be neccsary for chiefs to be paid from Local Government funds, as they could cspect to ait in thi. Hou.c in rotation in much thc aame way as they or their \\' arrant Chief predccaeora did in the native cowu.

220. !'o rccommcndarions are made in reapect of a House of Chiefs for the Eastem Region a1 it is outside my tam1 of reference.. Should such a political and constitutiom) iDDOYa!ioo bc feit to be ~. however, it is recommended tbat c:onsidemion be givcn to making such a c::bamlx:r ä vebide for the c:spraäon of the mature opinionl of .. ddu swamen" by crali.ng spccial titb penonaJ to the bolder wbicb carried with tbem mcmbenlup of this boale. md conferring theR titles on great and famoua public figuns aa a CCW3rd for tbc:ir past Jle1Vias to tbe region.

221. Tbcsc j ems w n .. ",.. • an: SUJDJJW"iied bdow. Their applicatioo to ead. pRJ"incc aod cf.j,-iJiion :ue dd3iJed in tbe Appeodix..

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rHE JO~ES REPORT

2. The Obi and Xdichie and othcr Onitsha Ibos ~-er could well con!Sidc:r whethr::r !f>me of thcir traditional politial instirutions could not be modificd to meet thc dullcn~ of thc ncw :Sigma and thc new Onitsha. The time has surdy comc in Onitsh;a Town for regulations tobe madc gm-eming the succession to the office of Obi and thc filling of •;acancics in thc senior .X dichic titles. Consideration could also be gi\-cn by them to widcning thc mcmbership of thc Sdichic and Ozo title systems. lt would appeu nther anachronistic in these days to e:c:cludc from these titlcs the dcscendants of slans, or stnngers, panicularly ~on-Onitsha Ibo strangers.

m.--OWERRI PROVINCE A. Orlu Division.

I. Viilage group councils.-There would appear to be no need to com-en the two­tiercd system of local govcmment into a three-tiered system, but consideration could be gi\·en to the recognition of viiJage group councils with the \;Hage group chief as ex officio president and the chiefs of other villages as u officio members.

2. l.ocal Coundls.-The functions of somc of these could be examined with a view to replacing redundant or ineffectivc ones by others based on more traditional tribal (clan or sub-clan) groupings. Consideration could also be given, should the people wish it, to the representation on these councils of a Jimited number of viiJage group hcads chosen by and from amongst themselves.

3. Distriel Councii.-No change unless the council members and electors want it. lf they do, thcn consideration could be given to the reprt.-sentation of a limited number of traditional members from each clan (tribe) choscn by and from amongst the village group chicfs in each clan.

B. Okigwi Division. 1. Viilage Group Cormcils.-In the case of those not rccogniscd as Local Councils

thc same rccommendations as for Orlu division.

2. Local, Distriel, a1rd County Cou~rcils.-The same recommendations as for Orlu division.

C. Owerri Division. 1. 1l1baise District.-The same recommendations in regard to viiJage group, Local,

and District Councils as for Orlu division.

2. Owerri Cou11ty. (a) Oguta Distriel:

{i) In the case of the District Council it is rccommendcd that thc two senior chiefs (Ezc Igwc and Iyasere) of Ogutn, the chicf of lzombe nnd the chicf of Ebu, the largcst towns or villagcs in this district, be e . ..: officio mcmbers of this council together with a limited number of traditional membcrs chosen by and from amongst the chiefs of the othcr villages in thc district.

(ii) Arca-l::omhe and Oru /,ocal Cormcils.-lt is recommcndcd that the chiefs of the component political units (somc of which arc villagc groups, others single villages) be ex officio mcmbers of these councils.

(iit) Oguta Local Council.-This town presents a numbcr of problems, most of them outside the tenns of this Commission. lt wants to havc powers to control the Ieasing and assignmcnt of plots in a new Iayout and for this and other rea.sons it wants to become an lJ rban Di1nrict Council, taking in for this purpose the stranger settlements and commercial area on Oguta land on thc opposite side of Oguta Iake and now included in Oru Local

rHE JO.SE5 REPOaT

(c) In thc CJSe of Calabar Western D!.strict Council th.c Obon~ of Cree" Town (whcne"~ocr hc !ihall be :tdo..-tcd) bc e:r officio prc:sidcnt and thc chief1 of Okoyong and Odot bc e:x officin mcmben of thi.s council to";t:thcr w ith :a limitcd numbcr of traditional membcn from thc ho~ and vill.tge he<~d.s of C ree" T o~·n, Efut, Okoyong, Odot, lkonetu and .\liabo, chOM:n by and f rom amongst thcmsclves.

(tf) In thc case of Calabar Crban District Council, that thc Obong of Duke Tn"n bc e..~ f)fficin president of this council and that one-fifth of thc nthcr mcmhcrs of this council bc traditional memben chosen bv the Efik, Qua and Efut house or .. ·illage heads by and from amongst th~lves.

(e) In the case of thc Local Councils of the Calabar Western District Council, the Obong of Creek Town and the chicfs of Okoyong and of Odot be t."C

officio presidents of their respcctive Local Councils, tagether with a limited nurober of traditional roerobcrs choscn by and froro aroongst the house and viiJage heads if the people so dcsire.

(/) In the case of Akpabuyo and Odukpani Road Distriel Councils and thcir component Local Councils there should be no change.

ß.-ONITSHA PROVINCE

A. Onitsha, Awka and Nsukka Divisions.

1. Local Coundls.-lt is recororoended that where they cxist and where the people want it, chiefs of viiJage groups be ex officio presidents of their Local Councils, and chiefs of villages be ex officio roerobers of thcse Councils. (A "villagt group" bting tlle political rmit referrtd to ;" existi11g instrumenls as a "vi/lagt", and a "vi/lagt'' bei11g tlre subJivi'sio11 usually referred to in thnn as a quarter). Such chiefs bcing either title or hcreditary office holdcrs according to the custoroary usagc of the particular viiJage group.

In village groups that possess the Ndichie type of titles and that wish to follow thc preccdent sct by Onitsha Town it is recororoended that they be allowed to do so, providcd that the increasc in traditional roerobers is offsct by a rcduction in thc number of clccted merobers, and provided that the nurober of traditional rocrobcrs does not excced one-fifth of the total nurober of council merobcrs.

2. Distriel Cou11cils.-No change is recororocnded unlcss council roembers and elcctors desire it, in which case consideration could be givcn to the inclusion of a limitcd nurober of traditional mcmbcrs chosen by and froro amongst the villagc group chiefs in the district.

3. County CoUirn"I.-Thc same recororoendations as for District Councils.

B. Udi and Awgu Divisions.

No change unlcss and unril the .. -i!lage groups and districts desirc it. In which casc similar changes to those n:coromendcd undcr I I A could be considered.

C. Oaitsha Urban District CounciJ.

1. No change is rccororoended here exccpt to roake the Obi ex officio president and the ~dichie U mc ex officio roembcrs of the council and to pro,;de for the sclection of six other :Sdichic members by and from amongst themseh·es. They arc all at prcsent nominatcd mcmbers.

ti; tJdl.r ETa Da ,_. ,._,.__ ~ -- t:--..-a..ld • ...... ai.lr,.mca~ - .alka...:.iflllkd.diJ• ___._. iBF ~ ~ ..a a liailr:lll.....tlafli .---~ dlr.aa ~ ad 6aa :lllllllllp' ckacllc" ... Irak. a.w ... ~

fn llill!rid C.-JiL-'T1Ie ~ i I - - dtiiR ... o.wa ~ 21111 Ab Ab fliiKrica.

IY-IIRDIS JIIIOnNCI! I.. ....... IJirili.&

L ...... Trill.-lt • lt f I dllll ~ t:"Wa~D (dlid). adl ~ ~ ....,. llc a +» pnBdall oliiB IAal Coaacil ~ widl a --.1 ....her ol fi111F l,;waaallda:raf hf md &u. --..r dwsrwltcs..

2.. Or.W- P.m of IM Dif.Vita.-So ~ il aem • rlc t1 ...._ it is aabd for, iD wflidl aR ~ coald bc ~ ro ..,._ oi dlt follmriDc PJ!ims=

(•) Tlle ruagaitioa of ~ coaDCill witb the Yilbt'c be:ld • praidaiL (b) 'TIIe ~ o( ICplr.IU l..nal Councils for each ol ehe lollotriftc ~

.,.,...,. wbich are 11t pracm combincd inro dtrcc l..oal Caanall:- Apmi, UJIIIIIIIdo. LDima. Umuan1n. Acbcda and löomini.

(c) Tbe rcpracnt:rtioa ofa fimited numbcr ol 't1llap .hada ct.a.cu by and fraln amonpc themlefva on their rapcctive LocaJ Councik.

(J) ln c.a where the bad of onc vi11qe is acknowled~ 11 c:hid' of IM whok IJ'OUP br •hould bc n ojJriJ president.

(1) ln tbe cue of Dillriet Councila, the repracntatJon of a limitcd numbn of rraditional mcmben from each clan or 1ub-clan (tub-tribe) chmm hy lad from amonpt thtir retpeetive chida ( viiJage heada).

I. o,oaJ IM.Woa. Thia diviaion wu bcing rcorpniHd when I viaitc:d it. lt ia rccommended =--

1. 111at ach villa1e be recctgnilt'd •• 1 village council with itt chicf (villa~ hud) a u ~ praident.

2. 'T'bd each of the five uclan" heada be 1% offido prctident of hil rnpcctive Local Council and that aU ftva 1hould bc 1x offirio mt!mhcn nf their Di•trict Council.

l. 'That, lhould the people uk for h, 1 limhed number of chief• (villagr hrada) cholen by and rrom amonpt therneelvet be repreaented on their l.ocal Coundla.

C. .._ Dlltrlea. I. N""../Jj,trit't.-lt il recommcnded that:·-

(•) Tbe Amanyanabo o( Oplomabiri ~ u ol/iLio prelidentand lbtt Amanyanaho of -.m~iri IX o/Jirio \'ice-praident of t.he Nrm.bc O.atrict ('ouncil and nr ttw Nem~ Town touncil.

(6) ln thc case nf the Dlstrict Council therc 1hould allo tw a limitcd numher al chie& and hmPe head. rrom th.co varioua N~mhc and &.,... ~ and fraaa dw othcr viltap induded in IM diatrict twcncy-five Treditlonal nwm­bln c:lloecn by and from amonpt lhnnsciYa.

(cl ..... c:aK of NaDbc TOWll Councilthnc thould ~ a aimilar l't'JI'WiftfJIMn al ~ bouR badL

(l) ..... thc pmplr daire il. timilu •+cwatatian oltradttiOMI rnecnWn mall& t.c proridcd on adlu Loal COUKilt ia tbia O..rict.

Z. Oll.r Dillrict..-So c'-P but co.id atiwa CDIIId hr .;.- to Ihr rn,...rtN t1 rillet.._.. witta dw • ua:::ahn I~ ..._..1 • ICJI ..._ ....._,

fe) Othn f)i.wJett nf f)tuffl Cmmty,

S'(') c.hs&np 11nkM rhe peö9re ufc ~" if. ff rhey M, a»naickratiön Cl'lflld be 2fvtn rn rhtr fölrt\wing:

(i) 'fhcr runpifMn nf viRap ~nup enundla with. rhe chief nf t~ villap l'J'hup n th a r,ßkil'l pf'".Kfcnr ol the cnuncil, and

(Ii) "rhe r!pfeNntarion r,( rradilional memher" on f .~"H:al C(mncil" aa snqeated r", rhe Atra--l7.()ft'lhe and Oru Councif•.

(/) Owrri (.'tttmty C0f111til.

Nn chan•l• rewmm~n(led.

D. AlM DJ•l•lon.

1, Pillllt' ('o•",rill.-<~on•idernrinn tfJUid he J(ivcn tn thr. recognitinn of traditional tHII~ cttunc:il" a~a viflaJe council1 with tht rhirf of Ihr villnJ[r AA ,, nffirio prnident

2. IAJttll ('t~t~Nill,- -Conaiclt'ration could 11110 be J(IVt•n, ahouM tht ptople want il to the lndua.ion tJ( a limhed numll(lr ur viiilaste chlcf" rhn"N' hy nnd from &unon-.•1 th~m· Mlv• un thrir l.nul ( 'ounciht.

3. l>ill,i'cl arul ('ot~ff(Y (',JuMiii.-·No chan(l1! recommrndc&l.

4. AA.I /(Jf'''"hi~.-Thl' pnsitinn hu been llitcua.~rd in raraaraJ'h 160. No chat'r la munmrndrd unleu IM pc'Oillt or theo lown lind nr thr Ngwa dan (tribe) lletii'C' "· Th.y 1p.-n-utly do not.

I. leDde Dlvialoa.

1. llJi.N . .,._, . ....., ..W AJ.Id t>;stricts.- ~u ('han~· unh"-" thco l'l'l'J'k ll'k fur it. lf th.~ clo. rotw.llkntiOft rouh.t bf. -'"ffl to th~ n"p~nttUiun uf a lin\itnl num~r '"' chWt (vlU• tM"~~dA) ('huwn t-1 &nd fmm amou~r~t thC"mstht"S on th<' l.oc.."lll Cnuncih.. and for &a lit:tlth.•tl nu~r c>f cha~(, fft)m NC'b cl4n (trihc-) ,·h,~n in f~ t~.:U'm' nunlle'r Clll

lhe lllatft.."t Coulk·ik.

1. 111 I:Jw. eatl (-.... ... .,_... OUtnitaJ. t•) ,",.,...". n...nl.-h .. "' -.rdcd rhlt the (hitfs (Ot.i hakhnl ol

tk fow- .... 'Wm.. of tJw. trille (ct.) ~ bt- PT tJ/I'tN ~ .. "-ei.....&C...ala~th.~ei..U..-• ..._, .. IIIft*"~'·

THE JO:SES REPORT /I

(a) lt is recommcnded that the Eze Edd.a (tht:: E7.e Og'> of ~gusu F.d<b villagc) be tx oflicitJ prc:sident of thc District Council and of h1s Local Council.

(h) Should thc pcoplc wish it, a limited numhcr of .,·illage chiefs (Ezc: Ogo) choscn by and from amongst thcmsclvcs be also mcmhcrs of this council and of thcir Local Councils.

C. Obubra Division.

1. UmM Local Cou11cil.-lt is rccommcndcd, suhjcct to thc pcoplc wishing it, that thc Obot I..opon (villagc chicf) and his dcputy thc Okpchcru hc n:spcctivc:ly t.~ officio prcsidcnt and vicc-prcsidcnl of thc I .ocal Council, and that a llmited numbcr of thc Yabot (council of senior chiefs) choscn hy and from amongst thcm.CK:Ivcs be tradi­tional mcmbers of this council.

2. Otlrer Local Cuuncils.-\Vhcrc thc pcoplc wish it, a limitcd nurnhcr of chicfs bc madc traditional membcrs of thcir l.ocal Councils. In cascs whcrc therc is a tribal (clan) hcad with political as opposcd to purcly ritual functions hc should bc e.-.: officio presidcnt of thc council. Whcrc thc numhcr of compuncnt villagcs is limitcd thc chicf of cach viiJage should bc an t.'l: offirio mcmbcr of thc council, whcrc thc villagcs arc too numerous there should bc a limitcd nurober of traditional mcmhcrs on thc council choscn by and from amongst thcsc villagc hcads, accompanicd by a corrcsponding rcduction of clcctcd mcmbcrs.

3. Ohuhra Distriel Cormci/,_.:.No changc rccommcmlcd.

D. Ogoja and Ikom Divisions.

Thc c\'idcncc givcn to thc commis..-;ion Wöls not sufficicnt tn justify any spccific rccommcndations without further cnquirics bcing madc.

E. Obudu Division.

No change unlcss thc pcoplc conccrncd ask for it. lf thcy do, considcratinn could hc gi\'en to thc reprcscntation of a Jimitcd m1mhcr of traditional membl'rs on thc District and Local Councils in thc samc mnnner as rccommcndcd for othcr Local Councils in Obubra division.

G. I. jONES

D. Degema Divisioa.. l. Kalahmi and Borury artas.-lt i.s recommendcd that :-

(a) The Amanyanabo of cach of these communitics be recognised as t:c officio president of his District Council.

(h) That the numhen of traditional memben remain as provided at pr~nt but instead of their bcing nominated by the Minister, each of the major settlements should be entitled to send one such membcr who should either be the Ama­nyanabo of the viJiage or be selccted hy and from amongst t he chiefs or house heads in the settlcment or village.

(c) Similarly in the case of l.ocal Councils it is recommended that the tx officio president should bc the Amanyanabo of thc unit, where such an office existed, and that therc should be a limitcd numbcr of traditional members, selected by and from amongst the house or viiJage heads in the unit.

2. Oluika area.-I t is recommcnded that :-

(a) The numher of traditional members on thc Distriel Council bc incrcascd to thirtcen.

(h) That instead of being nominated by the Minister thcy should bc apportioned as follows:- Koniju Division of Okrika 3, Tuboniju Division 3, Ogoloma 2, Ogu 2, Abuloma 1, Bolo I, lbaka and Ogbogbo 1 alternatively.

(c) That thcse should bc sclccted by and from amongst the housc heads in their division or village.

(d) That, should the people wish it, in those Local Councils constitutcd for a singlc group, namely, Ogoloma, Abuloma, Ogu, Bolo, a limited nurober of house heads chosen by and from amongst themselvcs should be recogniscd as traditional members of the Council.

(e) That in the case of lbaka-Ogbogbo Local Council thesc traditional mcmbcrs should bc chosen by and from amongst the chicfs of the component scttlc­ments.

(/) And that in the case of Okrika Local Council there should be an equal number of traditional members for the two divisions of Tuboniju and Koniju chosen by and from amongst thc: respectivc: housc heads of each division.

3. Salta (Odual) aua.-Similar recommcndations to those suggcsted for other districts of the Centrat ljaw county .

.f.. Oil Rir~s County CouiU'i/.-Should the members desire it, the two Amanya­nabos of Kalabari and Bonny be e:c officio members of the council tagether with one member from Okriu chosen by and from amongst the Tnditional memben of Okrika District Council.

V.-oGOJA PROVINCE ;\.. AbabJikj DiriüGa.

No efumge is remmmended. Cönditions here are very simibr to thc :\bnu area of t:di div18inn (J I 8).

... AApo Dirilioa.. I. .\-'ltlirnt (~f'l) M'M.---CM'Id~inM are ~mil.tr to d'IMC in the Ababliki

dWiaiM· and M~e~ ie rtcom~d.

Z. -~""" -~~~. t.·u~ F.4J4 .. --~,. r.han~ runmmended.

f. . I'Ä/4 hirbirl"