 Traditional Igbo political organization was based on a quasi @-@ democratic republican system of government . In tight knit communities , this system guaranteed its citizens equality , as opposed to a feudalist system with a king ruling over subjects . This government system was witnessed by the Portuguese who first arrived and met with the Igbo people in the 15th century . With the exception of a few notable Igbo towns such as Onitsha , which had kings called Obi , and places like the Nri Kingdom and Arochukwu , which had priest kings ; Igbo communities and area governments were overwhelmingly ruled solely by a republican consultative assembly of the common people . Communities were usually governed and administered by a council of elders . 
