Ethno-Cultural Associations as Shadow States: The Case of Ijebu Province in Western Nigeria, 1900-1960

Abstract

Extant scholarly works on ethno-cultural associations (ECAs) have done little to provide a robust historical perspective on their roles in community development of British colonies in continental Africa. Thus, this paper is an attempt to fill the gap in the body of knowledge on ethno-cultural associations in colonial Africa with specific reference to Ijebu province in Western Nigeria. The study is aimed at providing a critical historical discourse on the social, economic and political roles of ethno-cultural associations in colonial Ijebu province of Western Nigeria. The study utilises primary and secondary sources. While archival materials and oral interviews provide the primary data in this discourse, books, journal articles and newspaper reports are explored as secondary data. The study found out that the efforts made by the ECAs through several strategies in colonial Ijebuland brought about meaningful development at the community level. We also found out that the ECAs represented indigenous organizational structures developed by the Ijebu people and functioned as community-wide forums for problem identification and prioritization, social and financial resource mobilization and development project implementation at the community level in colonial Ijebu province of Western Nigeria. The study concludes among other things that the ECAs were more or less shadow states and that their efforts must be seen against the background of the failure of the colonial state and the Ijebu Native Administration between 1900 and 1960.