Organizational Structures, Institutions and Administrative Systems in Pre-Colonial African States: A Discourse

Abstract

Contrary to some scholars’ views, pre-colonial African societies did not lack political organization. African societies developed diverse political systems based on local needs and realities before the advent of the Europeans. Like the ‘centralized’ states, the ‘acephalous’ societies, that is, stateless societies, also evolved a decentralized government based on kinship and lineage system. There has been timeless controversy over the nature of government in what has been variously referred to as the ‘decentralized’ or ‘segmentary polities; the argument here however, is that since human societies have been seen as evolving from hunting and gathering bands to more units like the state, and since they have embodied in their very networks the seeds of strains and conflicts, societies differ in the way they try to tackle problems emanating from interactions; and therefore, the maintenance of social equilibrium, cohesions, and the all-important question of peace. This paper argues that if the purpose of government is the promotion of the welfare of the populace, then the pre- colonial African societies had all the attributes of government; the interactive dynamic process of which a balance between power and authority was ensured on the one hand, and service and accountability on the other.