"Civil Disorder Is the Disease of Ibadan": Chieftaincy and Civic Culture in a Yoruba City (review)

"The past is always political" is a phrase I often invoke in class when discussing both the way history is debated and how our understanding of the past informs our present. Few books highlight this reality more effectively than Watson's study of politics and history in Ibadan from 1829 to 1939. In this compact yet dense study, Watson takes the reader through a dizzying series of political disputes and intrigues. The tale begins with the founding of Ibadan as a war camp and follows the city through its rapid growth in the chaotic years following the collapse of the Oyo Empire and into the colonial period as one of the largest and most important cities in British West Africa.

Running through the chronological narrative is the clear and consistent argument that the system of political authority extant in Ibadan was never clear or consistent. To this end, Watson characterizes Ibadan's "civil culture as a contentious historical process" (9) wherein there was a never-ending contest over both the form and the function of chieftaincy. Intrinsic to this process was a conflict between the proponents of inherited authority, who traced their lineages back to the founders of the city, and those who advocated a more open system of meritocracy, wherein anyone who "fought for the city" (militarily or politically) could become a chief. To great effect, Watson often provides examples of the contesting versions of history presented by the different camps or claimants (see, for example, 18). Notably, in arguing for the contested and fluid nature of authority in Ibadan, Watson is engaging previous scholarship on the topic (particularly that of Falola and Awe) that sought to identify consistent organizing principles behind the apparent complexity of Ibadan politics.

In presenting her argument, Watson divides her study into two broad eras. First is the period of "Ibadan Militarism," which is identified as running from 1829 to the 1890s. During this period, the ongoing expansion of the "Ibadan Empire," as well as recurring armed contests over chieftaincy within the empire, insured that military prowess underpinned by the ability to attract and retain followers was the key to successful acquisition of chieftaincy titles. The first three chapters examine this period.

Following a transitional chapter 4, wherein Watson examines the imposition of colonial rule in Ibadan, she shifts to an examination of her second era, wherein chieftaincy, rather than being contested militarily, became the subject of the "War of the Pen." Watson maintains that in the climate of peace enforced by British colonialism of this period, aspirants to chiefly positions were forced to contrive new strategies of political competition, some of which were fought out in the newly established colonial legal system and some of which were based upon displays of political pageantry. Notably, Watson argues that this new political context allowed a new class of educated elites to compete against those whose power was based upon lineage and/or military prowess.

There is far too much texture in Watson's work to do justice to it in this brief review. She skillfully weaves together the social and political contexts of Ibadan's history to highlight just how complex the city's reality was. Also, her deft use of documentary, linguistic, and oral sources reflects a keen grasp of relevant methodologies—quite impressive for a "bookertation." And finally, I must admit much amusement at the images of colonial angst that are conjured up by Watson's presentation of various British officials' attempts to make sense of what was going on within their jurisdictions. Civil Disorder provides much food for thought regarding both the politics of this important city and also the nature of Indirect Rule in Southwestern Nigeria.