Theocratic System of Administration in Ekiti Society before Oduduwa: A Discourse in Ekiti-Yoruba Indigenous Political Culture

The concern of this paper is to discuss change and continuity in the traditional political system of the Ekiti Yoruba and to explain how the indigenous political system of administration, which continues at the community level, can contribute to national cohesion and citizenship. It doing so, it interrogates the indigenous political system of Ekiti before Oduduwa which, to the best of our knowledge, has not received any scholarly attention despite its importance. The paper relied on historical methodologies consisting of primary and secondary sources to elicit and interpret its data. The primary source comprised participant observation and oral interviews with indigenous chief priests and prophets in Ekiti societies; secondary sources were extant studies and documents like texts and journal articles. The paper explains the impact of indigenous social institutions in building enduring social ties among group(s) within the Ekiti community and which have continued to complement the administrative structure of government of Ekiti community, including the contemporary system of governance. The adoption of the system and structure, which is organic and an inclusive system, because of its bottom-up approach system and structure, facilitated social commitment and participation of citizens in the administration of their communities. The system has remained significant in the social and political administration of Ekiti society, which is complementary to modern administrative system and can be helpful in the contemporary political system.