Traditional Authority and Security in Contemporary Nigeria by Ehrhardt, David; Alao, David Oladimeji; Umar, M. Sani;

Short description:

Exploring the contentious landscape of Nigeria's escalating violence, this book describes the changing roles of traditional authorities in combatting contemporary security challenges. With in-depth analysis the book will interest researchers and policy makers of African, devlopment and security studies, political science and anthropology.

Long description:

Exploring the contentious landscape of Nigeria’s escalating violence, this book describes the changing roles of traditional authorities in combatting contemporary security challenges.

Set against a backdrop of widespread security threats – including insurgency, land disputes, communal violence, regional independence movements, and widespread criminal activities – perhaps more than ever before, Nigeria’s conventional security infrastructure seems ill-equipped for the job. This book offers a fresh, empirical analysis of the roles of traditional authorities – including kings, Ezes, Obas, and Emirs – who are often hailed as potent alternatives to the state in security governance. It complicates the assumption that these traditional leaders, by virtue of their customary legitimacy and popular roots, are singularly effective in preventing and managing violence. Instead, in exploring their creative adaptation to governance roles after a dramatic postcolonial downturn, this book argues that traditional leaders can augment, but not substitute, the state in addressing insecurity.

This book’s in-depth analysis will be of interest to researchers and policy makers across African and security studies, political science, anthropology, and development.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Table of Contents:

Introduction  1. Traditional authority, security governance, and Nigerian agency  Part I: Continuity and Change  2. Assessing the capacity of traditional institutions and authorities in maintaining security and peace: A historical perspective  3. The changing roles of traditional authorities in security management: A case-study of the  Benin area of Edo State  4. Female traditional institutions and the travails of conflict management, peace, and security in Ekiti society  5. The diminishing relevance of traditional rulers and securitization in the South West  6. The changing roles of traditional authorities in conflict, security and peacebuilding in Katagum and Misau Emirate Councils in Bauchi State  Part II: Contemporary Problems and Solutions  7. Importing militant jihadists: Analysing the response of traditional authorities to Muslim youth extremism in the Nigeria-Niger border areas of Sokoto State  8.  Traditional institutions and the management of herders-farmers conflicts in Nasarawa State  9. Traditional rulers and the Amotekun Regional Security Network in the South West  10. Traditional authority and grassroots’ peace-building mechanisms in Lagos  11. Politicisation of the appointment of traditional rulers and the challenges of conflict and security management in Umuahia, Abia State  Conclusion  12. Creative genius in postcolonial Nigeria: Re-imagining traditional rulership at a safe distance from politics