There existed within the Yoruba country several states during the pre-colonial period. Each of these states or kingdoms had centralized political and social organization with wide geographical limits. At the centre of such elaborate socio-political structure in pre-colonial Yorubaland was a strong economic base. It provided sustenance for the administration and the citizenry. The proper co-ordination of the varied economic processes or practices in pre-colonial Yorubaland was the direct responsibility of the guild system. It functioned as a legitimate regulatory body that guaranteed efficiency, quality service delivery and best practices in production relations. This study evaluates the guild system in pre-colonial South-western Nigeria with emphasis on its forms, operational guidelines, features, activities and membership criteria in different parts of Yorubaland. The study which employs primary and secondary sources for its analysis, argues that the guild system played a very unique role in the process of stimulating change and development in the economy of pre-colonial Yoruba states. The women folk, the study observes, dominated the activities of several guilds. The dominant religious beliefs and practices also had considerable influence on the economic role of most guilds in pre-colonial Yorubaland. Although the nineteenth century wars in Yorubaland fraught the effective conduct of the economic activities of most guilds, the study submits that the guild system remained relevant to the Yoruba economy up to the era of British rule and the post-colonial period.

There existed within the Yoruba country several states during the pre-colonial period. Each of these states or kingdoms had centralized political and social organization with wide geographical limits. At the centre of such elaborate socio-political structure in pre-colonial Yorubaland was a stron...