VEJOH - VERITAS JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES

The role of traditional rulers in any society is very important. This is because they occupy a critical and vantage place in traditional administration. Apart from being the custodians of their cultures and traditions, they are seen as crucial agents in grass root mobilization and development. The chieftaincy institution must be historically located as a carry-over from the days it was a viable means of governance. The advent of formal governance and evolution of elaborate structures of administration has made the continuous restructuring of the institution ever imperative. The chieftaincy institution in Nigeria and Tiv land in particular has functioned and operated in various capacities resulting in recent times as a mere ceremonial and informal establishment. Chieftaincy or traditional institutions represents the indigenous instruments by which the various Nigerian peoples organized themselves and managed their affairs long before the advent of colonialism. This paper takes a cursory look at the chieftaincy institution in Tiv land and its role in the development of the area. The prospect and challenges of the chieftaincy institution as it grapples with the challenges of modernity and its diminished status in the face of modern system of governance are also interrogated by the paper.The paper concluded that Tiv chieftaincy institution has contributed immensely to the development of Tivland. The paper employed the analytical and expository methods in its investigation.

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