THE YORUBA SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT DURING THE PRE-COLONIAL ERA

The Yoruba were a sizable people group in West Africa, with a sophisticated political structure.
Each city-state in the Yoruba political system was ruled by a monarch or ruler known as an oba. The oba had absolute control over the people, who viewed him as a celestial monarch. The oba was also accountable for safeguarding Yoruba religion and culture.

There were a number of other authorities in the Yoruba governance system who were just as crucial as the oba. These included the chiefs, who oversaw certain sectors of the city-state, and the council of elders, who provided counsel to the oba.
The utilization of checks and balances was a distinctive feature of the Yoruba polity. The oba did not have total power; rather, he was expected to seek advice from the council of elders and other authorities. This ensured that the oba’s authority was checked by other authorities and that choices were made in the public interest.

The Yoruba also had a system of justice as part of their administration. The Yoruba developed a sophisticated system of rules and penalties because they valued fairness and justice highly. This included the adoption of a judicial system in which cases were heard and decided by a bench of experts.

In general, the pre-colonial Yoruba form of administration was highly ordered and complicated, placing a premium on the value of equilibrium, fairness, and justice. Despite the system’s development, many of these tenets remain important to modern Yoruba society.