The Dark Continent's Royal Remnants

The rulers of Black Africa today are mostly men stamped in Western molds: Presidents, Prime Ministers and generals lead their nations along European lines, mindful less of cultural tradition than of economic progress. Most of the continent's ancient kingdoms have long since vanished, swept away by Europe an colonizers. Nonetheless, a few tribal kings remain in power in both West and Southern Africa (see color pages). In their hands is the survival of much of the Dark Continent's unique heritage.

By and large, the kings have little power at the national level, but their local influence survives. Venerated by their peoples, they serve as a logical and sometimes necessary intermediary between remote national governments and feudal-age tribesmen: they settle business dealings, land quarrels and even marital squabbles. Among the most notable of these royal remnants:

THE ONI OF IFE. A devout Anglican, Sir Adesoji Aderemi, 83, has been the spiritual leader of Nigeria's 12 million Yorubas for 43 years. Although out of national politics for many years, the Oni is respected by the Yorubas more than any other political or military leader in Nigeria. "There is much to be said for tradition as a means of keeping people together," he says. "In spite of advances in education and technology, there seems a new awareness of the value of preserving ancient customs and cultural values." One custom certain to be preserved: the Oni's annual battle with a warrior impersonating Ogun, the god of iron. By tradition, the Oni always wins, thus proving his power as leader of the Yorubas.

THE ALAFIN OF OYO. Second only to the Oni among Nigeria's four supreme Yoruban tribal kings, the Alaf-in, Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, 34, is a thoroughly modern man who believes, as he puts it, that "it is still possible to live by old traditions in modern times." He spearheaded a drive that raised $30,000 for local development, whereupon an impressed regional government chipped in $60,000 for his projects. "I have told my people," he says, "that if they can save substantial sums of money in banks, they will attract loan capital to improve commercial and industrial life." An insurance broker before being installed as Alafin in 1971, he is also a former boxer and soccer player.

He stays fit by doing daily exercises in his palace, an old, rambling affair, parts of which are still mud-walled. The Alafin is confident of his relationship with his people: "There are many things we obas [kings] can do better for the people than government functionaries. We are here all the time and know the problems, while they are constantly being shifted around the country."

THE OBA OF BENIN. Benin's history was once the brightest of all the African kingdoms': its famous bronze sculptures are collector's items across the world. Today, the 450,000 members of this Nigerian tribe are led by Oba Akenzua II, 74. Like the Oni of Ife and the Alafin, he receives a stipend of about $10,000 a year from the Nigerian government; in addition, he has extensive landholdings that produce considerable extra income--just how much, no one will say. His successor is Crown Prince Solomon Akenzua, 48, who retired from the Nigerian civil service in June to return to Benin and begin preparing himself for the responsibilities of royalty. Prince Solomon hopes that the Lagos government has abandoned for good its past habit of deposing obas almost at will. "If an oba does not do his job, he should be replaced, but it is his people that should do it. Obas are important in local government and should be protected from political caprice."

THE ASANTEHENE OF GHANA. Otumofuo [All Highest] Nana Opoku Ware II, King of Ghana's 1.8 million Ashanti, still wields considerable power as Keeper of the Golden Stool. A barrister in the Ashanti capital of Kumasi until he became a king in 1970 (succeeding his uncle), Nana Opoku, 54, is all but coddled by Ghana's leaders. In turn, he takes a lively--but noninter-fering--interest in national affairs.

"What Ghana needs today is unity," he says, "no matter what one's origin or tribe." He has instructed his subchiefs to concentrate on local affairs. In return, Ghana's President, Colonel Ignatius Acheampong, has pledged to leave tribal affairs solely in the hands of the chiefs. Thus, when local student groups started to protest in June against a $2.5 million palace that Nana Opoku is now building in Kumasi, they were quickly told by Accra to lay off.

THE KING OF DAHOMEY. Dahomey's tribal chiefs, unlike those of neighboring Nigeria, were stripped of power by French colonizers. Despite his titular position as President of Dahomey's "Customary Tribunal" (which is totally ceremonial), Togni-Ahossou Agoli-Agbo, now 61, has relatively little local authority. Spiritual head of the 1,000,000 or so Fons, the country's largest ethnic group, the King gets a small stipend from the national treasury. He gets by otherwise on gifts from loyal subjects as well as fees from camera-happy tourists who snap him in his royal robes and silver nosepiece--worn so that he will not sniff impure air.

THE LITUNGA OF BAROTSELAND.

Godwin Lewanika, 65, who succeeded to the throne in 1968, is the ceremonial leader of Zambia's 300,000 Lozis. His predecessors struggled to preserve a degree of Lozi autonomy from the encroachments of Kenneth Kaunda's central government, but Lewanika is a realist and gave up the battle. A former mine clerk and union organizer, Lewanika twice a year leads one of Africa's most impressive ceremonies--the journey of the Lozis from the 4,000-sq.-mi. flood plain (where they farm and fish from July to March) to the higher lands at the forest's edge. As the waters rise, the Lozis begin ritualistically imploring their King to move; when the new moon appears, princes and counselors paddle the royal barge carrying the King away from his summer palace. When the water falls, the pomp is repeated.

THE KING OF LESOTHO. The lean and bespectacled Moshoeshoe II, 35, made a determined attempt in 1970 to curb the power of his roly-poly Prime Minister, Chief Leabua Jonathan, in the tiny Maryland-sized state that is completely surrounded by South Africa. He failed, however, and since then has confined himself to a consultant's role. Moshoeshoe (pronounced mo-shway-shway) may well be the best-educated man in Lesotho. He studied for three years at Oxford, and still travels to Britain each year to bone up on the latest in political economy. At home in Lesotho, Moshoeshoe spends much of his time breeding race horses and playing squash and tennis.

THE KING OF SWAZILAND. Sobhuza II, "the Lion of Swaziland," now 74, is indisputably the most powerful of all the kings of Africa. Since winning independence from Britain in 1968, Sobhuza has ruled as a constitutional monarch. Annoyed by his country's British-imposed constitution, he abolished the document earlier this year and transformed the Prime Minister and Cabinet into what he calls the King's Council. He also abolished all political parties, banned political meetings and announced that he would rule by decree. From his 400,000 subjects came not a murmur of protest, not even when he jailed the former opposition leader on flimsy charges. This week Sobhuza is expected to announce the formation of a commission to draw up a new constitution. Undoubtedly, it will cement his ultraconservative one-man rule.

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