EXPLORING THE RELEVANCE OF YORUBA TRADITIONAL THOUGHT IN THE QUEST FOR PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA

Résumé

Nigeria democratic system faces challenges in ensuring participatory democracy. Meanwhile, Yoruba traditional thought, rich in democratic values remains underexplored. Democracy in Nigeria remains undomesticated. It is a pity that despite over sixty decades of our existence as an independent country, we don’t have a ‘Nigerianised’ democracy. There is a need to explore the alignment between Yoruba traditional values and democratic principles in order to make our democracy in Nigeria to have a sense of identity. There are definitely key principles and values evident in Yoruba traditional institutions such as ogboni society and the ifa priesthood, otito (truth), age group (egbe), iforowero (consultation), iwon (balance and harmony) and eto (orderliness), ise ilu ( governance), which emphasize collective decision making, community involvement and accountability. All these values and principles can be used to form a framework to integrate Yoruba traditional thought into Nigeria’s democratic system. Then, we will be able to bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and modern democratic systems, so that we can enhance participatory democracy in Nigeria. We have modest ambition too, to contribute to a more inclusive and effective democratic system. At the end, we will be able to have comprehensive understanding of Yoruba traditional thought on participatory democracy.