ABSTRACT
The Yoruba inhabit the deciduous rainforest ecological zone of the Niger basin as several sub-groups that include the Oyo-Yoruba, the Ife-Yoruba, the Ijebu-Yoruba, the Egba-Yoruba, the Ekiti-Yoruba, the Awori-Yoruba, etc. The political organization of subsidiary polities in each central Yoruba state was similar to the one that prevailed in the latter. For instance, just as it was in the central states, different public officials were designated to conduct civil and military affairs in the former and their subsidiary polities. Yoruba authority patterns accommodated growth and expansion that resulted when a lineage left its original Ilu and joined another one. The legitimacy of the authority reposed in the office of the Chiefs of State derived from the intricate relationship between religion, the social structure, and social organization of the Yoruba. The authority of Yoruba kings is exercised over matters and issues that relate to the safety and over all well being of the people on the one hand.
