Councils of notables were established unevenly across French West Africa

Evidence

The councils of notables fared only slightly better. Also in 1921, the lieutenant governor of Guinea reported that none had been established in his colony because of the “insufficient evolution” of the chiefs in question. In 1924, the lieutenant governor of Dahomey insisted that councils of notables existed in every circle in his colony and that they were convened twice a year. But a mission of inspection criticized the governor for apparently resenting the chiefs’ opinions when they disagreed with his own. Ten years later, in 1931, the colonies of Ivory Coast and Guinea had not created councils of notables, although every other colony had them. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 720