₦airaland Forum

Among the peoples of Africa, the Igbo of Southeast Nigeria stand apart for their unique political philosophy. For centuries, the Igbo thrived without kings or centralized monarchies. We built a society in which every village was autonomous, every adult man had a voice, and authority flowed upward from the people, not downward from a throne. We gave the world republican democracy long before Athen knew what republic means.

Yet, in recent decades, a disturbing woke trend has emerged. Communities across Igboland now describe themselves as “ancient kingdoms,” inventing crowns and palaces where none historically existed. Coronations are staged with borrowed regalia, chiefs are styled “His Royal Majesty,” and towns with centuries-old republican traditions now market themselves as monarchies.
This reinvention may appear harmless, but it is, in truth, a distortion of Igbo history. To describe an Igbo town as a “kingdom” is not only historically inaccurate but culturally misleading and politically dangerous. We know that the origin of monarchies, anywhere on earth is banditry. It is against Chukwu Okike Abiama to suggest that all men are not born equal.

Precolonial Igbo society was marked by a system of acephalous republicanism. There were no central monarchs. Instead, power was dispersed across several institutions:
i. The Village Assembly (Ama Ala): The ultimate decision-making body, where every adult male had the right to speak. Decisions were reached by persuasion and consensus.
ii. Age-Grade Systems (Ogbo): Civic groups that ensured discipline, security, and development.
iii. Councils of Elders (Ndi Ichie): Senior men whose wisdom guided, but who remained accountable to the people.
iv. Title Societies (e.g., Ozo): Structures of merit and prestige earned by service and achievement, not inherited through bloodline.

Yes, some communities used titles such as Eze or Obi, but these did not correspond to monarchs in the mould of the Benin Oba or Sokoto Sultan. The Igbo eze was often a ritual figurehead, symbolic representative, or spiritual custodian, never an absolute ruler.
The Igbo proverb says it clearly: Igbo enwe eze; the Igbo have no king.


When the British invaders colonised Igboland, they struggled to apply indirect rule. In the North, emirs served as convenient intermediaries. In Yoruba land, kings fulfilled the same role. The Igbo, however, had no monarchs. To solve this “problem,” the British manufactured rulers called Warrant Chiefs.
These men, many chosen arbitrarily, were given colonial certificates of authority. Lacking legitimacy, they deployed banditry and ruled harshly, sparking resentment. The Aba Women’s War of 1929 was a direct revolt against the abuses of these imposed chiefs.
Over time, however, families of warrant chiefs entrenched themselves as hereditary rulers, constructing palaces, inventing genealogies, and retroactively branding themselves as “ancient kings.”
Today, these distortions live on in the growing number of Igbo “kingdoms.”

One may cite Onitsha as an Igbo town with a king. However, it needs be said that the people of Idu (Igbo people) were escaping from the Ogu Idu na Oba (the war between the people of Idu and the marauding people of Ife with their Oba. Onitsha today proudly proclaims its Obi as the custodian of one of Igboland’s most prominent “kingdoms.” But Onitsha’s monarchy is a historical exception, not the Igbo norm. Onitsha returnees from across the Niger (though Igbo who sojourned in Benin) but retained elements of their Edo-Benin culture, including kingship traditions. To hold up Onitsha as proof that the Igbo were monarchic is misleading. Onitsha is an outlier, not a template.

In the case of Nri often described as the “cradle of Igbo civilization” and home to an ancient kingship system, their priests exercised ritual and spiritual authority, their power was not political or coercive. They were respected for their role in cleansing abominations and preserving Igbo cosmology, not for issuing decrees or ruling subjects. To call Nri an “ancient kingdom” is to impose monarchic language on what was essentially a sacred priesthood.

For the Aro Confederacy, they commanded influence across Igboland and beyond, but it was built on networks of trade, religion, and alliances, not centralized monarchy. The so-called “Eze Aro” was one among equals, and Aro dominance stemmed from the oracle of Ibini Ukpabi and its commercial might. Describing Arochukwu as a kingdom erases the federated, republican nature of its governance.

In recent years, many Nsukka-area towns have embraced kingship titles, often justifying them with thin claims of “ancient stools.” These were autonomous communities that only acquired “royal fathers” in the colonial and postcolonial periods. The proliferation of such “kingdoms” has created endless disputes over who holds the “true” crown, a problem unknown in authentic Igbo republican life.

The kingdom narrative persists because:
i. Warrant chiefs became hereditary rulers, later rebranded as “traditional rulers.”
ii. In a Nigeria where monarchs are revered, Igbo communities fear being seen as “lesser” without a king.
iii. State and federal governments often channel patronage through traditional rulers, incentivizing communities to invent monarchs.
iv. Younger generations are disconnected from precolonial traditions and readily accept crowns as symbols of authenticity.
v. Pentecostalism and Western fascination with royalty romanticize crowns and thrones.


There are inherent dangers in the false kingship we now have in Igboland:
i. The more “kingdoms” we invent, the further we drift from historical truth thereby destroying our history.
ii. Igbo uniqueness lies in its republicanism, not monarchy. To abandon this is to erase what sets us apart.
iii. Artificial monarchies breed endless disputes, two or three “kings” in the same town, rival claims to thrones, and inter-village rivalries.
iv. Where kingship takes root, hereditary privilege trumps Igbo traditions of self-made prestige. This renders our Umunna model irrelevant.
v. At a time when democracy is under threat globally, we risk abandoning our ancient, indigenous form of participatory governance.

We can reclaim our republican legacy. To achieve this and remain true to ourselves, urgent steps are required:
i. Teach Igbo children that their ancestors were republicans, not monarchists.
ii. Our universities must research and publish accessible works on Igbo governance.
iii. The Nigerian media and Igbo stakeholder should stop uncritically parroting “ancient kingdom” narratives.
iv. Our villages must resist the urge to invent crowns for prestige or government recognition.
v. Our festivals, films, and literature should glorify Igbo republicanism as a legacy equal in dignity to the monarchies of other nations.

There is the fierce urgency to rally behind honesty and repudiate any attempt to rewrite our history. It is not shameful that the Igbo had no kings. On the contrary, it is our pride. While other nations bowed to crowns, the Igbo bowed only to the collective will of the people. While others exalted monarchs, the Igbo exalted the village assembly.

Onitsha may have its Obi, Nri its priest-kings, Arochukwu its oracle, but these are exceptions within a broader republican fabric. To inflate them into proof of “ancient Igbo kingdoms” is to commit historical fraud.

We are very clear: the Igbo were never kingdoms. We were, and remain, a people of the republic. To our misguided communities who cling to crowns, your ancestors would not recognize them. Your people deserve better. And history demands honesty.

*Dr. EK Gwuru can be reached at Nkolo Ikembe.*
Copied

No wonder. Hahaha hahaha hahaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Me sef I dey always think say why is it always 'us' crying every time.

Softmirror:
No wonder. Hahaha hahaha hahaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Me sef I dey always think say why is it always 'us' crying every time.

Did you even read the article because you lost the point. From the piece, Igbos are republicans, a people who believe that everybody count, matter and all humans are equal not some form of master-servant kind of communalism brandished through kingdoms and crowns used to oppress and cheat and all that nonsense. It should even shock you how mere mortals created like you assume superiority over you when they are not God. Please reject the idea of kingdoms and crowns it is a slavery concept. I totally agree with the Igbo concept.

Softmirror:
No wonder. Hahaha hahaha hahaha 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. Me sef I dey always think say why is it always 'us' crying every time.

He started by saying "no wonder..."
Then he said absolutely nothing but "...hahahahahahahhahaaha..."




When they gat absolutely nothing reasonable to say

ShoeMarket:
Did you even read the article because you lost the point. From the piece, Igbos are republicans, a people who believe that everybody count, matter and all humans are equal not some form of master-servant kind of communalism brandished through kingdoms and crowns used to oppress and cheat and all that nonsense. It should even shock you how mere mortals created like you assume superiority over you when they are not God. Please reject the idea of kingdoms and crowns it is a slavery concept. I totally agree with the Igbo concept.

"No wonder" which I wrote simply defines why every where you find yourself, you can't live in peace with people. Simply because you can't even imagine that within your own self someone can be more elevated than the other, yet you practice discrimination as a culture called 0'su which completes shatters your claim of Igbos are Republicans.

We gave the world republican democracy long before Athen knew what republic means.

We wuz dah first Greeks and republican democratic states.

Jesu!

ShoeMarket:
Among the peoples of Africa, the Igbo of Southeast Nigeria stand apart for their unique political philosophy. For centuries, the Igbo thrived without kings or centralized monarchies. We built a society in which every village was autonomous, every adult man had a voice, and authority flowed upward from the people, not downward from a throne. We gave the world republican democracy long before Athen knew what republic means.

Yet, in recent decades, a disturbing woke trend has emerged. Communities across Igboland now describe themselves as “ancient kingdoms,” inventing crowns and palaces where none historically existed. Coronations are staged with borrowed regalia, chiefs are styled “His Royal Majesty,” and towns with centuries-old republican traditions now market themselves as monarchies.
This reinvention may appear harmless, but it is, in truth, a distortion of Igbo history. To describe an Igbo town as a “kingdom” is not only historically inaccurate but culturally misleading and politically dangerous. We know that the origin of monarchies, anywhere on earth is banditry. It is against Chukwu Okike Abiama to suggest that all men are not born equal.

Precolonial Igbo society was marked by a system of acephalous republicanism. There were no central monarchs. Instead, power was dispersed across several institutions:
i. The Village Assembly (Ama Ala): The ultimate decision-making body, where every adult male had the right to speak. Decisions were reached by persuasion and consensus.
ii. Age-Grade Systems (Ogbo): Civic groups that ensured discipline, security, and development.
iii. Councils of Elders (Ndi Ichie): Senior men whose wisdom guided, but who remained accountable to the people.
iv. Title Societies (e.g., Ozo): Structures of merit and prestige earned by service and achievement, not inherited through bloodline.

Yes, some communities used titles such as Eze or Obi, but these did not correspond to monarchs in the mould of the Benin Oba or Sokoto Sultan. The Igbo eze was often a ritual figurehead, symbolic representative, or spiritual custodian, never an absolute ruler.
The Igbo proverb says it clearly: Igbo enwe eze; the Igbo have no king.


When the British invaders colonised Igboland, they struggled to apply indirect rule. In the North, emirs served as convenient intermediaries. In Yoruba land, kings fulfilled the same role. The Igbo, however, had no monarchs. To solve this “problem,” the British manufactured rulers called Warrant Chiefs.
These men, many chosen arbitrarily, were given colonial certificates of authority. Lacking legitimacy, they deployed banditry and ruled harshly, sparking resentment. The Aba Women’s War of 1929 was a direct revolt against the abuses of these imposed chiefs.
Over time, however, families of warrant chiefs entrenched themselves as hereditary rulers, constructing palaces, inventing genealogies, and retroactively branding themselves as “ancient kings.”
Today, these distortions live on in the growing number of Igbo “kingdoms.”

One may cite Onitsha as an Igbo town with a king. However, it needs be said that the people of Idu (Igbo people) were escaping from the Ogu Idu na Oba (the war between the people of Idu and the marauding people of Ife with their Oba. Onitsha today proudly proclaims its Obi as the custodian of one of Igboland’s most prominent “kingdoms.” But Onitsha’s monarchy is a historical exception, not the Igbo norm. Onitsha returnees from across the Niger (though Igbo who sojourned in Benin) but retained elements of their Edo-Benin culture, including kingship traditions. To hold up Onitsha as proof that the Igbo were monarchic is misleading. Onitsha is an outlier, not a template.

In the case of Nri often described as the “cradle of Igbo civilization” and home to an ancient kingship system, their priests exercised ritual and spiritual authority, their power was not political or coercive. They were respected for their role in cleansing abominations and preserving Igbo cosmology, not for issuing decrees or ruling subjects. To call Nri an “ancient kingdom” is to impose monarchic language on what was essentially a sacred priesthood.

For the Aro Confederacy, they commanded influence across Igboland and beyond, but it was built on networks of trade, religion, and alliances, not centralized monarchy. The so-called “Eze Aro” was one among equals, and Aro dominance stemmed from the oracle of Ibini Ukpabi and its commercial might. Describing Arochukwu as a kingdom erases the federated, republican nature of its governance.

In recent years, many Nsukka-area towns have embraced kingship titles, often justifying them with thin claims of “ancient stools.” These were autonomous communities that only acquired “royal fathers” in the colonial and postcolonial periods. The proliferation of such “kingdoms” has created endless disputes over who holds the “true” crown, a problem unknown in authentic Igbo republican life.

The kingdom narrative persists because:
i. Warrant chiefs became hereditary rulers, later rebranded as “traditional rulers.”
ii. In a Nigeria where monarchs are revered, Igbo communities fear being seen as “lesser” without a king.
iii. State and federal governments often channel patronage through traditional rulers, incentivizing communities to invent monarchs.
iv. Younger generations are disconnected from precolonial traditions and readily accept crowns as symbols of authenticity.
v. Pentecostalism and Western fascination with royalty romanticize crowns and thrones.


There are inherent dangers in the false kingship we now have in Igboland:
i. The more “kingdoms” we invent, the further we drift from historical truth thereby destroying our history.
ii. Igbo uniqueness lies in its republicanism, not monarchy. To abandon this is to erase what sets us apart.
iii. Artificial monarchies breed endless disputes, two or three “kings” in the same town, rival claims to thrones, and inter-village rivalries.
iv. Where kingship takes root, hereditary privilege trumps Igbo traditions of self-made prestige. This renders our Umunna model irrelevant.
v. At a time when democracy is under threat globally, we risk abandoning our ancient, indigenous form of participatory governance.

We can reclaim our republican legacy. To achieve this and remain true to ourselves, urgent steps are required:
i. Teach Igbo children that their ancestors were republicans, not monarchists.
ii. Our universities must research and publish accessible works on Igbo governance.
iii. The Nigerian media and Igbo stakeholder should stop uncritically parroting “ancient kingdom” narratives.
iv. Our villages must resist the urge to invent crowns for prestige or government recognition.
v. Our festivals, films, and literature should glorify Igbo republicanism as a legacy equal in dignity to the monarchies of other nations.

There is the fierce urgency to rally behind honesty and repudiate any attempt to rewrite our history. It is not shameful that the Igbo had no kings. On the contrary, it is our pride. While other nations bowed to crowns, the Igbo bowed only to the collective will of the people. While others exalted monarchs, the Igbo exalted the village assembly.

Onitsha may have its Obi, Nri its priest-kings, Arochukwu its oracle, but these are exceptions within a broader republican fabric. To inflate them into proof of “ancient Igbo kingdoms” is to commit historical fraud.

We are very clear: the Igbo were never kingdoms. We were, and remain, a people of the republic. To our misguided communities who cling to crowns, your ancestors would not recognize them. Your people deserve better. And history demands honesty.

*Dr. EK Gwuru can be reached at Nkolo Ikembe.*
Copied

The ancient kingdom narrative is just hilarious and comic.........In imo state they share traditional rulers like confetti and chocolate! They all look like bozo the clown in their ''shiny funeral clothes" royal robes..........we all know most of these so called kings have scant respect outside their immediate families !

Vassal states are forbidden to have their own kings.

The Igala and Bini states had carved out ibo territory as tribute states

Anyone who raised himself as king would have been seen as an usurper and rebellious figure against the Attah of Igala and the Oba of Bini.

Before you must have a King , a sovereign territory aka Kingdom must have been established and be able to defend itself.

This I the reason why Ibo land like many northern minority people never had self rule because they fell under subjugated status.

As per referring to Ibo society as being the source of Republican Democratic idealism, even before ancient Greece is laughable.

Greece, which inspired Rome later had kings just as Rome will later have an Emperor.

Monarchy is the height of human civilization with individual Greek city states exhibiting this in later years until a Macedonian Greek by the he of Alexandria the Great united them under his leadership and conquered most of the then known world.

The early Romans adopted the early Greek Republican system and this period of early Rome is adjudged to be the height of Roman civilization until Julius Caeser who thought himself as Alexandria decided to installed himself as Supreme ruler and tyrant. From that point on the empire beg it's steady collapse.

ShoeMarket:
Did you even read the article because you lost the point. From the piece, Igbos are republicans, a people who believe that everybody count, matter and all humans are equal not some form of master-servant kind of communalism brandished through kingdoms and crowns used to oppress and cheat and all that nonsense. It should even shock you how mere mortals created like you assume superiority over you when they are not God. Please reject the idea of kingdoms and crowns it is a slavery concept. I totally agree with the Igbo concept.

Igbos are still repupublicans, that why royalty does not have the weight in Igbo land as it has with other tribes. That one thing some tribes dont understand with Igbos. While other tribes revered their kings, no such thing exists in Igbo land. Kings are seem as more of cultural leaders in Igbo land, as opposed to other tribes who see kings as both cultural and political leaders

On point. The best system of government is the Parliamentary Republic as practiced in Germany and Israel. And as practiced during Azikiwe.

gidgiddy:
Igbos are still repupublicans, that why royalty does not have the weight in Igbo land as it has with other tribes. That one thing some tribes dont understand with Igbos. While other tribes revered their kings, no such thing exists in Igbo land. Kings are seem as more of cultural leaders in Igbo land, as opposed to other tribes who see kings as both cultural and political leaders

So why are you giuys so obsessed today in creating kingdoms everywhere ?

Why is your nollywood so obsessed with portraying ibo society both in the past and present as having monarchies ?

Why are you establishing monarchies in foreign lands ?

This issue of Ibo Republicanism is hogwash.

You didn't have kings because you were not allowed to by powerful neighbours who saw ibo land as a vassal state and place to extract tribute

Any of your ancestors who dared to raise himself as king was in danger of commuting high treason to either the Oba of Bini or the Attah of Igala.

This is the sad awful truth

Ko

doncartel:
On point. The best system of government is the Parliamentary Republic as practiced in Germany and Israel. And as practiced during Azikiwe.

So why did the ibo dictator Ironsi who rode on the bloody wave of the ibo coup of Jan 15 dismantle our Parliamentary system ?

Why did your Azikiwe and Ojukwu applaud Ironsi's decree 34?

Why did Orizu refuse to swear in the deputy PM but instead hand power to Ironsi without any consultation with Parliament and MPs in the NPC who were the seniors in the coalition government.

Lastly, you attribute our parliamentary and regional system to Azikiwe as if Zik was the one who drew up the constitution on his own before independence.

Your zik and his Enugu clique did all they could to destroy our constitutional republic by supporting and cheering Ironsi to take over and dismantling our democracy.

Not having kings was only possible because Igbos lived in villages where the population did not exceed 2000. Two thousand. A population of fifty thousand or even twenty.thousand can not have everybody assembling to make decisions. And you can't be highly civilized without living in cities. Civilization is about living in large groups

DomPerignon:
So why are you giuys so obsessed today in creating kingdoms everywhere ?

Why is your nollywood so obsessed with portraying ibo society both in the past and present as having monarchies ?

Why are you establishing monarchies in foreign lands ?

This issue of Ibo Republicanism is hogwash.

You didn't have kings because you were not allowed to by powerful neighbours who saw ibo land as a vassal state and place to extract tribute

Any of your ancestors who dared to raise himself as king was in danger of commuting high treason to either the Oba of Bini or the Attah of Igala.

This is the sad awful truth

Thats because you people dont know what Kingdoms are. A true Kingdom has to be both cultural and political. Igbos only have cultural Kingship, not political. In other words, Igbo ki is are custodians of Igbo culture whereever Igbos are in the world

There is King of Fulani in Lagos, the 'Sarkin Fulani Lagos, but even in 200 years, you people will never have the guts to drag him. Let's hear word

If you people cant

gidgiddy:
Thats because you people dont know what Kingdoms are. A true Kingdom has to be both cultural and political. Igbos only have cultural Kingship, not political. In other words, Igbo ki is are custodians of Igbo culture whereever Igbos are in the world

There is King of Fulani in Lagos, the 'Sarkin Fulani Lagos, but even in 200 years, you people will never have the guts to drag him. Let's hear word

If you people cant

Go and find the dictionary's meaning off what a kingdom means before you begin to spew trash

First you say you don't have kings and now you s you have kings .

Confused being.

The only reasons why you never established a kingdom was because there were powerful states breathing down your necks that forbid you of having a king of your own.

A subjugated people are not allowed to have rulers of their own as their territory I a vassal state of that which subjugated and exerted tribute from you.

The Igala and Bini carried out periodic and incessant slave raiding campaigns in your land and even exerted a stipulated tribute of slaves from you that must be provided on demand.

The Igala slave raiding parties used ibo land to source for slaves that were sold onward to Fulani Arab slavers destined for the Saharan slave trade route.

The Binis raided you to supply their Marrano Chewish partners aka Portogese slavers .

When another slave port was established in the oil rivers, the Ago confraternity supplied their own to the coastal middlemen.

DomPerignon:
Go and find the dictionary's meaning off what a kingdom means before you begin to spew trash

First you say you don't have kings and now you s you have kings .

Confused being.

The only reasons why you never established a kingdom was because there were powerful states breathing down your necks that forbid you of having a king of your own.

A subjugated people are not allowed to have rulers of their own as their territory I a vassal state of that which subjugated and exerted tribute from you.

The Igala and Bini carried out periodic and incessant slave raiding campaigns in your land and even exerted a stipulated tribute of slaves from you that must be provided on demand.

The Igala slave raiding parties used ibo land to source for slaves that were sold onward to Fulani Arab slavers destined for the Saharan slave trade route.

The Binis raided you to supply their Marrano Chewish partners aka Portogese slavers .

When another slave port was established in the oil rivers, the Ago confraternity supplied their own to the coastal middlemen.

Tell all this to your master, the Sarkin Fulani of Lagos

DomPerignon:
Go and find the dictionary's meaning off what a kingdom means before you begin to spew trash

First you say you don't have kings and now you s you have kings .

Confused being.

The only reasons why you never established a kingdom was because there were powerful states breathing down your necks that forbid you of having a king of your own.

A subjugated people are not allowed to have rulers of their own as their territory I a vassal state of that which subjugated and exerted tribute from you.

The Igala and Bini carried out periodic and incessant slave raiding campaigns in your land and even exerted a stipulated tribute of slaves from you that must be provided on demand.

The Igala slave raiding parties used ibo land to source for slaves that were sold onward to Fulani Arab slavers destined for the Saharan slave trade route.

The Binis raided you to supply their Marrano Chewish partners aka Portogese slavers .

When another slave port was established in the oil rivers, the Ago confraternity supplied their own to the coastal middlemen.

Let's clap for the slave raiders, they remain a source of inspiration for the Nigerian politicians raiding the treasury

DomPerignon:
We gave the world republican democracy long before Athen knew what republic means.

We wuz dah first Greeks and republican democratic states.

Jesu!

Well. Obi of Lagos says hi.

gidgiddy:
Let's clap for the slave raiders, they remain a source of inspiration for the Nigerian politicians raiding the treasury

Coming from someone who comes from a society that has a freeborn and slave caste