Memory, Legitimacy, and Ritual: Traditional Power in Modern Nigerian Politics, 1890s–Present

Neo-traditional institutions have gained power and official recognition in many contemporary African nation states. In recent years, many historical and anthropological studies have looked at African chieftaincy from a local or regional perspective. These works identify patterns of invention and transformation of traditional political institutions and analyze their roles within local society and the nation-state. Nigeria, a former British colony, is a prime example of the ways in which different groups co-existed at the intersection of traditional and contemporary institutions. Olufemi Vaughan has shown that competition between traditional and modern elites not only formed an integral part of Nigeria’s decolonization process but was also a constant feature of post-independence politics. Based on the specific example of the Nupe people in central Nigeria, this paper argues that the growing relevance of (neo) traditional rulers forms an essential part of the contemporary Nigerian nation-state. These institutions are rooted in grassroots politics and are local sources of power, which are often maintained through religious rituals. Also, the roles and functions of traditional rulers are often sustained by their links to an imagined imperial past of the Nupe kingdom, a state which dominated the region up until 1805. The paper draws on archival material, oral history, and anthropological sources collected during a three- year period in Nigeria.