EDITORIAL: Traditional Royalties: An Institution in Need of Reforms

Last weekend was a big one for the traditional institution in the country. On Friday, September 21st, 2025, a new Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, ascended the throne of his forefathers with fanfare and plaudits. The coronation ceremony was an occasion on which the entire country, from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, and opposition politician, Mr. Peter Obi, gathered to celebrate with the new Oba and the people of Oyo State.

The celebration was filled with many symbols such that it threw the issue of the continued relevance of the traditional institution back to the fore of public debate. The personality of the new Olubadan, a former Governor of his state, a one-time senator, and prominent businessman again demonstrated how the royalty in the country has continued to renew its legitimacy every time it seems it is becoming a relic and irrelevant in the scheme of contemporary development.

If an institution that has no stated constitutional or formal responsibility, where the official salary is next to nothing, and which is now subject to the control of just a local government chairman has an attraction for a man of Ladoja’s status, it shows that the royalty in Nigeria is an institution that has defied simple characterization and understanding.

It is not only Ladoja that has found the traditional institution a place to retire into after sitting in the board room of leading companies and the exalted seat in the state house as well as the hallowed chamber of the parliament. Many leading traditional rulers in the country are retired army generals, bureaucrats, diplomats, clergies, and successful businessmen. A former governor of the nation’s apex bank, the CBN, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, is one of the two contending Emirs of Kano City. The Ladoja coronation presented another significant symbolism in that it presented an occasion in which the elite from across the country shunned the usual national divides in the form of ethnicity, religion, language, and political party line as they all came from far and wide to rejoice and celebrate with the new Oba. The coronation ceremony became a national event that united the nation’s elite group.

The Olubadan coronation presented a high side to an institution that had witnessed many low periods in recent times. From the case of the Apetu of Ipetumodu, Joseph Oloyede who was sentenced to 56 months in prison in the US for wire fraud, to the two traditional rulers in Ogun State, Oba Fatai Matanmi, the Onijoko of Ijoko-Ota, and Oba Yusuff Olasunkanmi, the Olu of Orile -Igbon, Igbesa, who are now standing trial for land grabbing offence, to the Olorile of Orile Ifo, Oba Semiu Ogunjobi who was suspended for six months over the public assault of a 73- year old man, Chief Abraham Areola, the traditional institution has been on trial in recent times. Also, Oba Busuyi Gbadamosi, the Oba-Odo of Ilesha was suspended for illegally removing and selling power transformers belonging to a community in his domain. It is not only in the South West, that the royal fathers have presented a seedy side of the hitherto revered institution. In the ancient city of Kano, two people are claiming and presenting themselves as the Emir.

There is also a new trend in Yorubaland, for instance, where Nigerians in diaspora are now the preferred candidates for the Royal stools in the various Yoruba towns where the Royal stools have become vacant. It is a situation that has made a mockery of the selection system. Many now derisively talk about the Ifa divinity used to select such Nigerians in the diaspora who have been away from their domain for decades and have imbibed foreign culture but suddenly became the choice of Kingmakers in circumstances that appear shadowy and manipulated. People now talk of Ifa, which only recognizes dollars, suggesting that such choices were influenced by foreign currency in the form of bribes to the kingmakers and other opinion leaders.

In reaction to the cases of kings who have dragged their royalty into indignity, those alleged to have misused their positions, and a selection process that appeared suspicious, many Nigerians have canvassed that the traditional institutions should be totally discarded. Those who argue for its outright abolition believe the institution is a misfit in a republican, democratic, and presidential system of government. This group argued that the institution is a drag on the national purse and also constitutes a stumbling block to community development. They believe the institution being monarchical and aristocratic in nature is antithetical to democracy.

However, there is another side to the debate. Some believe the institution, though already pushed to the background by modernization and the contemporary governance system, still has its usefulness in a society like ours. This latter group believes the traditional institution is still a stabilizing force in a society like ours. They believe that abolishing the institution will be so unsettling that it may upset society’s equilibrium. Those in this latter group readily point to how politicians pay courtesy visits to and seek endorsement from traditional rulers during electioneering campaigns as a pointer to the continued relevance of the Royal institution.

We at Penpushing Media agree with the latter group but with a strong belief that the traditional institution should undergo radical reforms. We believe the traditional institution can be deployed to serve useful, beneficial, and developmental purposes. For example, in the face of mounting security challenges in many parts of the country, the traditional rulers can be used to organise community support in terms of intelligence gathering and creating a local or community bulwark against criminality. We believe that if properly integrated into the community policing system, the traditional rulers can help organise the first line of identification of criminal elements and resistance to insecurity in our communities.

We at PENPUSHING Media also believe the traditional rulers can be used to promote, brand, and market our culture, tradition, arts, and artifacts such that they form parts of the tourism eco-system which we can now deploy to attract investment and global patronage. Traditional rulers can also become tourism ambassadors in their respective states.

However, we believe that for the traditional rulers to serve these progressive purposes, there must be a reform of the existing system. For example, the constitution should be amended to create tangible roles for which each royal father can be measured in terms of performance or failure. Also, the selection process must be reviewed to become more transparent. In a place like the South West, we canvass a return to the old traditional method of undiluted Ifa divinity, which is beyond manipulation by every Tom, Dick, and Harry.

A proper funding system for the institution and the occupants should be spelt out with a genuine implementation of the five percent allocation from the monthly Consolidated Revenue Fund of their respective LGAs. There should be strict adherence to the provision on funding of the palaces, and it should be one of the main grounds upon which a chairman could be impeached and tried, if he observed the provision in breach.

We at PENPUSHING Media also recommend that each state should do a comprehensive review of the Chiefs and traditional institution law to set out the qualities and values that any person who seeks the position of traditional ruler should have. Also, security checks on aspirants for office in top traditional institutions should be done, and it should be possible to disqualify candidates who have a negative or shady background.

We believe that some of these measures can help to sanitize the institution and prepare the current holders and aspirants for the important role they are expected to play as developmental agents in their respective domains. If due consideration is not given to some of the radical and progressive reforms being suggested here, the traditional institution may be dribbling itself out of relevance and into extinction in contemporary Nigeria.

In conclusion, the PENPUSHING Media, strongly believes that the popular acclaim that the ascension of Oba Ladoja to the throne of the 44th Olubadan enjoys, derives from the zero controversy, the patience, perseverance, preparation, modesty, dedication, virtuous networks, and progressive tendency that he symbolises in the view of the national audience. The country needs more traditional rulers with such a positive portfolio of personal values and virtues.

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