COMPARATIVE ISSUES ON THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT AND THE NIGERIAN SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENTS

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION

          Government could be described as a form of leadership that depends on the will of the people to the government.

          It’s practiced and handle based on a structure that has been drawn, factoring in many issues that will sustain such a government.

          Systems of government has to do with how different social groups or parts work together in order to activities a common goal.

          In every economy of the world, the system of government being practiced determines the players and the outcome based on many critical factors which have to be in place before there could be a sustainable government.

          Governments involves basically two part namely:

·                     Those who are to be governed – The citizens

·                     Those who govern – The leaders   

          Both parts have their roles to play in the sustenance of such a governmental system in operation.

THE CITIZENS

          The citizens of a country are regarded as those who are given birth naturally in the country or naturalized through citizenship procedures.

          They hold the highest level of choice as to who roles over them and what characterized the system of government, the people choose who lead them through a ballot system of voting, this system of government is being practiced in many countries of the world including Nigeria.

THE LEADERS

          The leaders are the ones that implement the solutions to the need of the citizen on an “as – is” basis following carefully laid down principles and procedure. In the Nigerian context, the democratic system of government is being practiced after many attempts as overruling a military system of government that had been in practice.

          In the traditional context however, the choice of candidacy is usually left to the deities Sango, Obatala, Ifa, etc. to decide based on the lineage and descent of the choice candidates.

          In fact looking through the pre-colonial epoch in Yoruba political and cultural history, one can see some elements of democracy featured in pre-colonial and traditional Yoruba social and political organisation (Yienusa Kehinde Solami, 2006).

          As civilization began to gain influence in Nigeria, a military rule come into power which necessitates the enforcement of strict role on the citizens, this gives way to lax security of lifes and properties, however, the yearnings of the people are not always attended to.

          Several coup de tat took place, military officials were overthrown by their rank and file, successions took place and this lead to the establishment of democracy which is being practiced with reference to our colonial masters.

          There are several issues that differentiates the democratic system of government in Nigeria and the Yoruba traditional system of government though they look alike but there are comparative issues that sheds more light on the two system of government such as;

·                     Choice of candidacy and who determines the candidate.

·                     Creation and enactment of laws.

·                     Execution of laws and the executive power.

·                     Lineage and decendancy issues.

·                     Godfatehrsim and corruption handling system.

·                     Organizational structure and the characters.

·                     Power allotment and limits of executive roles.

·                     Security protocols and settlement of dispute.

·                     Institutions and their roles in the government.

·                     Usage of technology and advancement procedures.

Taxation Procedures

          So also, the system of government in Nigeria is a system that does not consider traditional rule. It was borrowed from the modern and development countries where partiament, presidency are the major division of government.

          It is an imbibed system of government that originates from the colonialism of the country by the masters.

          Traditional system of government is the system of government that originates with the people. It has been in existence since the discovery of the state as a whole.

          Traditional system of government according to Aristotle is based on kingship. It is a kind of government where superstitions, some abormination are put together to form the constitution of the country.

          Within the Nigerian context of government, there are three main arms of government namely;

The legislative

The executive

The judiciary

          The legislative formulates the law, the executive enforce the law, the judiciary interpretes the law.

          In the traditional context, the kind and the soldiers formulates, enforce and interpretes laws.

          In view of all this, the mode and system of government in the Nigeria context and the traditional context looked similar but looking deep into the practices that surround the two, there are more differences.

          The following are the aims and objectives of this project:

-               Analyzing the differences between the Nigeria system of government and the traditional system of government as portrayed in the film “Saworoide”.

-               It aims to expantiate the role of security officials in situations of insecurity in the land and how they are handled comparatively.

1.1   THE FILM “SAWOROIDE”

          The film “SAWOROIDE” is an epic movies that depicts and illustrate the very characteristics that define our present day democratic system lf government where several social vices are coming into play. Changing the face of our image into a corruptible image especially when it has to do with corrupt leaders.

          In our present day government, the moral decadence that is strongly entwined with the practices could well be traced to the root causes money and excessive hunger for power which when out of control can destroy the one who possess it.

          “Saworoide” is a film that explains in depth our leaders aspirations to become public figures what motivates them to have such aspirations and what they become when they get into the seat of power.

          In the film “Saworoide” the story began with a man “Lapite” who is not entitled to the throne but by all means gets there even though he never goes into power as a king but refuses to fulfill the people’s desire, instead he seeks to enrich his pocket, this leads to a series of chain reactions. Those who have  corruption running in their blood but couldn’t express it during the time of the former king due to his strict laws imposition finds a way to express their intent to cut down on taxes and for them to do that, they need an accomplice. Someone that could help fulfill their desires. The king who has a corrupt intent meets with corrupt loggers, the king demands for a share out of their profit which in turn effect the taxes, the taxes meant for road construction, promotion of peace and security was diverted into private coffers. This leads to series of wars. The youth stand for their rights which leads to insecurity in the city, the king was is dethroned by another corrupt official and the chain becomes longer when power jumps from one corrupt hand to the other.

Highlights of the Film

-               The king rises to power without proper procedures – initiation and incisions.

-               The king seeks to enrich his pocket by cutting down taxes and diverting the remnant into his private coffers through the merchant logger.

-               The youths are disgruntled due to their agricultural practices diminishing day-to-day due to lumbering of trees and the loggers over gracing.

-               The king kills the rightful heir to the throne but inadvertently spares the son who later becomes the king.

-               Ayangalu the official drummer is sent to exile while he runs for his dear life, eh takes with him the real saworoide drum whose prototype is designed and which the police takes away to the king so that he won’t diet of headache when beaten by the official drummer.

-               The long is disturbed by war which ensues between the youths and the police, insecurity the whole town at a point in time, the brass crown is taken away from the palace which must never be found missing from the palace for 15 days.

-               The king is dethroned by another corrupt arm official, while Aresejabata the rightful heir, son of Adebomi returns to the chief priest for accommodation and training in morals and behaviours.

-               The king is attacked with headaches when Ayangaly beats the real saworoide drum and the rightful heir to the throne is installed.

-               The rightful king is installed and peace returns to the land of Jogbo.

          The film strongly illustrates what happens in our days when aspirants for position of leadership only get there, to enrich themselves and in turn lose their integrity and the trust of the people. Furthermore, it also explains what has been in existence right from time immemorial in the democratic system and administration of Nigeria and what the past leaders had been done up until the time when the citizens start clamouring for their rights.

          The acceptance of democracy was due to the facts that democratic system of government allows the people to fight for their right.