Kingship, Karaole and the Question of Loyalty in Colonial Akoko-Yoruba, 1900-1960

Communal bonding was commonplace in African societies in the pre-colonial period and the traditional rulers were veritable agents that ensured the viability of the cord of fraternity between and among different interests, groups, and families in the pre-colonial period. While it is trite to say that colonial rule succeeded in dislocating the agency and personality of the traditional rulers throughout the colonial enterprise in Africa, the traditional political institution survived the various stages of mutations that colonial rule subjected it to through its adaptive dynamism and resilience. The reinterpretation of the _karaole _form of salutation as one of the many forms of power politics manifestation used to ensure stability and communal cohesion shall be examined in this paper using the historical analytical method to critically deploy data garnered from primary and secondary sources.