IGWEBUIKECRACY: THE IGBO-AFRICAN PARTICIPATORY SOCIO-POLITICAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE

Abstract  

African traditional political systems are often categorized as monarchical or aristocratic, as such, as having no  place  for  democracy. European and  African political  thinkers see democracy  as  a  system  of  government  that  began  in  Greece  and  was  imported  from Europe  to  Africa.  Contrary  to  this  opinion,  this  piece  argues  that  democracy  is  a cherished  African  value,  which  existed  in  pre-colonial  Africa  as  a  pattern  of  African administration. It was already in Africa before the encounter of Africa with the West, and thus, Africa cannot be understood as a passive recipient of democracy. Before the advent of the west to Africa, the Igbo-Africans of eastern Nigeria practiced Igwebuikecracy, an 

indigenous democratic government designed by the people for the people or themselves. It was  system  of  governance  that  puts  into  consideration  their  peculiarities  and particularities. 

Keywords: Igwebuikecracy, African, Traditional, Igbo, Integral, Socio-Political.