Ethno-Cultural Associations as Shadow States: The Case of Ijebu Province in Western Nigeria, 1900–1960

Existing scholarly works on ethno-cultural associations (ECAs) in Nigeria have done little to provide a robust historical perspective on their role in community development in British colonies in Africa. Thus, this paper is an attempt to fill the gap in the body of knowledge on ethno-cultural associations in colonial Africa with specific reference to Ijebu Province in Western Nigeria. The study is aimed at providing a critical historical discourse on the social, economic and political roles of ethno-cultural associations in colonial Ijebu Province of Western Nigeria. The study uses both primary and secondary sources. While archival materials and oral interviews provide the primary data in this discourse, books, journal articles and newspaper reports are examined as secondary data. The study found out that the efforts made by the ECAs in colonial Ijebuland through several strategies brought about meaningful development at the community level. We also found out that the ECAs represented indigenous organizational structures developed by the Ijebu people and functioned as community-wide forums for problem identification and prioritization, mobilization of social and financial resources and implementation of development projects at the community level in colonial Ijebu Province of Western Nigeria. The study concludes, among other things, that the ECAs were more or less shadow states and that their efforts must be seen against the background of the failure of the colonial state and the Ijebu Native Administration between 1900 and 1960.