An Appraisal of the Role of Traditional Institution to Emergence of Public Administration in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper presents an appraisal of the role of the traditional institution to emergence of public administration in Nigeria. Nigeria nation, more than anything else, the greatest obstacle to the nascent democracy and survival of public administration is the pervasive insecurity of lives and property, as evidenced by the spate of armed robbery attacks, political assassinations, power distribution coupled with the seeming helplessness of security agencies to handle criminal acts. The situation is worsened by the increasing number of unemployed Nigerians some of whom are ready recruits for criminal activities. The above statement from an editorial comment by a national daily in Nigeria indeed, epitomises the central focus of this paper; the aim of which is to appraise the nexus between new public administration in Nigeria and nascent democratic nurturing, sustenance and eventually consolidation vis-a-vis the battles with one of the major ills of Nigeria nation. Fifty-two year after Independence, and 100 year of its existence, Nigeria still battles with one of the major fall-outs of practical public administration and nascent democratic dispensation, administrative inefficiency, corruption in all facet of economy, the politics of trying to appease all sectors of the polity. This paper highlights and assesses the nature, quality and value of tradition institution to practical public Administration in Nigeria that have dominated the Nigerian federal polity which have created untold unpleasant experiences and pains at one point or the other since independence. The Benin Traditional Council is an offshoot of the Benin Central Council and the institution seems to be unknown to many people who are not close to the Benin Traditional System, and consequently, the functions of the Council in the traditional administration of Benin Kingdom remain vague to such persons. Such issues include the establishment, existence, coverage and functions of this very important institution of Benin Traditional Council are similar to the functions being performed by the Council of State in the contemporary Nigeria Public Administration. The paper painstakingly appraises many of these issues and concludes that all stakeholders in the federal polity should thread softly, be objective, rational, altruistic and magnanimous in order not to make the existence of true federalism (social, political and economic cohesive existence of the people, peace and tranquility) a fleeting illusion and a mirage. It also focused on critical analysis of the problem of power distribution, the kind of crisis it has generated and the kind of measure that can ameliorate the ugly trend.