Progressive Unions and the Competition for Community Development in Nigeria: A Study of Ifon, Ilobu and Erin Progressive Unions, 1940-1970

Abstract

Ifon, Ilobu and Erin are three closely located Yoruba communities that emerged at different times. The circumstances of their emergence and growth determined, to a very large extent, the pattern of their relationship, which was characterized by suspicion and mutual antagonism. This situation was particularly true of Ifon and Ilobu. The colonial government's management of the relationship among the communities reinforced the antagonism. It was into this hostile pattern that the Ifon, Ilobu and Erin Progressive Unions emerged in the 1940s. The desire of the unions to advance their respective communities resulted in the competition to draw the greatest benefits to each of those communities. This development sped up the rate of development in the three communities. It nonetheless reinforced the problem of mutual antagonism and accusations of marginalization and alienation by the aggrieved parties. This paper examines the emergence of the progressive unions in Ifon, Ilobu, and Erin, their activities vis-a-vis their objectives and how these have served to promote the competition for communal development in the three communities. The paper also considers the impact of their activities on the promotion of community development and concludes that healthy competition could bring about speedy development, while possibly generating some negative developments by the way such competition is engaged in.