The purpose of this book, Local Government in Western Nigeria: Abeokuta, 1830-1952, A case study of exemplary institutional change, is to delineate the democratization process of governmental institutions in the city of Abeokuta, western Nigeria, during the 1940s and 1950s. The Egba at Abeokuta were chosen because they are an important ethnicity within the Yoruba, the then third most populous ethnic group in Nigeria. The period from 1939 to 1952 marks the time when western Nigeria was ruled via the native administration system - the local governmental structure instituted by the British. However, the historiography of the Egba is elongated to include the formation of Abeokuta in 1830. By 1952, government was nominally extended to every constituency in Abeokuta. This presaged the comprehensive democratization movement in Nigeria.

Whilst there is existing literature on Yorubaland in the nineteenth century, it has not taken a global, comprehensive look at the causes, course and consequences of the wars. Nor has it considered the changes - peaceful or cataclysmic - after one hundred years of peace. With a view to filling this gap, a centenary conference of the 1886 Kirji/Ekiti Parapo Peace Treaty was held, with the prime objective of examining the socio-political and economic development of Yorubaland in the age of revolutionary wars. The premise is that whilst three kingdoms were destroyed, and forced migrations produced terrible suffering, nonetheless there were positive outcomes. New kingdoms and towns were founded - Abeokuta, Ibadan and New Oyo - and the end result was greater cultural cohesion of Yorubaland through the integration of the refugees. The four sections in the book group the papers from the conference into War and Peace in Yorubaland; the Generals and their War Tactics; External Involvement and the Search for Peace; and The Political and Cultural Consequences.