The chief, the youth and the plantation: communal politics in southern Nigeria

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Abstract

In August 2006 the chief of Udo, a small town in Edo State, Nigeria, was deposed and the town taken over by the 'youth'. This event presents the classic fall of a 'big man' who had lost support, but also involved long-standing chieftaincy rivalries, electoral competition in the run up to the 2007 elections, and conflict over a nearby oil palm and rubber plantation. Through an examination of Udo's crisis, this paper engages with three key questions concerning contemporary communal politics in southern Nigeria: the manifestations of patrimonial power and resistance to it; the meaning and role of 'youth'; and the impact of expatriate capital.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)259-283
Number of pages25
JournalJournal of modern african studies
Volume48
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2010

Keywords

  • PLATEAU FOREST
  • BAKASSI BOYS
  • RAIN-FOREST
  • PERSPECTIVES
  • AFRICA
  • DELTA
  • CONFLICT
  • STATES
  • OKOMU
  • POWER

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