The Roles of Traditional Rulers in Fostering Peace in Nigerian Communities

This paper considered the Roles of Traditional Rulers in Fostering Peace in Nigerian Communities, using precolonial Yoruba Traditional Society and a glance of Igbo traditional Society as a case study. The Paper unraveled the peaceful atmosphere that existed before colonialism and identified the gap in the administration of Nigerian Communities without an institutionalized authority of Traditional Rulers. The paper adopted a qualitative method of information gathering with a documentation method in analyzing the facts. The Paper examined the sanctity of the kingship in Nigerian traditional society should be maintained and institutionalized. The Paper observed, that integrity, honesty and hard work which are the integral attributes of the African race should be upheld at all levels. This could be as a result of individual interest in various legal, professional and financial incapacities. In essence, there is urgent need for adjustment in the African Traditional regimes prompted by the Presenter to end with some possible recommendations in this paper taking points of reference from other systems such as the Inter-American traditional system. The Paper looked at the role of traditional rulers before the advent of colonialism, during the era of colonialism and during the post colonialism in Nigeria. The paper also examined various measures to support peaceful co-existence in Nigerian communities as well as its impediments or the challenges to the effective implementation of various laws in Nigeria. The paper concluded that there is a need for proper institutionalization of Traditional Rulers Council of Nigeria and the reorientation of the whole society to know the implication of their actions and inactions to various communities in Nigeria. The paper was segmented into different segments for the ease of understanding.