ABUJA, Nigeria (CU)_The duties and responsibilities of traditional rulers in Nigeria are not defined by the constitution, and their roles are considered to be largely symbolic.
However, Barbara Etim James, who was crowned a Queen in the Efik kingdom in southern Nigeria two years ago, is convinced that people like her can be more effective in bringing about change than politicians. She believes that the solution for many of the county’s problems lie with its Kings and Queens.
Despite having in the United Kingdom for 20 years, James says she wants to transform the structures of the African leadership to fit the Western model, instead of modernising the country’s long-established ruling order.
She says that modernising would suggest the changing of something traditional into something more Western. “I’m bringing my global experience into a culture, not taking the culture into modernity,” she noted.
She argues that unlike the elected representatives of Nigeria, traditional rulers are close to the people and can have a stronger impact when addressing issues like poverty and security.
She points out that politicians carry out their duties only for a short period, while traditional rulers tend to stay for life.
“State governors usually spend the first year settling down, the second year getting to work, the third year preparing for re-election, and the fourth year on elections,” she noted.
However, only a few traditional rulers in Nigeria have made efforts to improve the lives of people in the economic aspect. This is where the 54-year-old believes her previous experience outside the traditional role, particularly as the head of a private equity firm in the UK, can come in handy.
She says she wants people to “think economically”, when earning money as well as spending it.
Accordingly, she has set up a fund which provides loans to people who intend to expand their businesses as well as to finance training for different cultural groups.
James also travels often from her hometown of Calabar to cities like Abuja and Lagos for work. This however, has not been easy for her, as she has to fly back for home wherever she is for monthly meetings with the members of the traditional council in her community. Therefore, she hopes the issue would be remedied by the use of technology.
“I am now having conversations with them about online meetings,” she said.
While this suggestion may appear to certain groups within the community, her argument is that these individuals are however “very happy when people send them money online or by phone to their account”.
James was crowned the Obong-Anwan (queen) in 2019, in recognition of the active role she had played in the Efik kingdom over the previous decade. Although her mother, who died in 2016, was also Obong-Anwan during her time, the position is however not hereditary.
She says the role requires someone with the capacity to help people. Pointing out that most of her community projects are funded by personal or privately raised funds, James says “There’s a lot of patronage involved”.
He father, Emmanuel Etim James, was an assistant police commissioner who later worked for an international oil company. The queen says her lover for her people and culture grew after watching her late father being actively involved in the local community.
“He was very involved. He sort of brought all the things that he was involved in globally back home,” she said.
“He built a big house and got the whole community to build houses, bought cement for them, and I witnessed all that.”
She added that although she moved to London for her higher education and later settled in the UK, however her connection with home was never lost.
“Having travelled around the world, and being exposed to all sorts of things, it helps you value what you have. It is unique, it is special, and it needs nurturing,” she said.
“Many people grow up, get exposed, move to Lagos or Abuja, and they have little interest in or value in their life for their hometown or their village. I am very different.”
