dozai:

Let me ask u a question bro. These men u call Osu, were they born by the deities? no. They were born as nobles but something happened along the line that made them to be called Osu. Since u have indepth into Igbo cultures and traditions. I want u to explain that to us>>>>> and why they are now untouchables

They are not near to the nobles.

As a matter of fact, they are the down-trodden, lowest of the low of the society who ran to the deity to seek for protection from the perceived or apparently perceived persecution from the society

They are untouchable because they belongs to the deity

If some Igbos still see their kinsmen as OSU, then we non-Igbos should continue to believe that Igbos are human eaters. Na wa for some omo Ibo ooo. Rubbish!!!

please educate me? who are the osu pple and what have they done dat was bad?

Igbos who claim they are mostly xtains after the white missionaries brainwashed their ancestors and subjected them to xtianity many centuries ago, in 2012 an igbo man believed to be a xtain still ask this kind of stupid question? my sympathy goes to your children for who knows what kind of information you will be feeding them with. below is my advice to the poster,
learn to love and be loved, lets make this place(world) a better place, welcome to 2012.

NRI PRIEST:

Are you done ?? Now get your hands off ya chest let me tell you something. . .firstly,since you know so much about the emergence of osu and the slave trade of the Aros,I will like you to tell me when it all started!! So that we can give due greatness to Aro kingdom!!
SOME PEOPLE SHOULD LEARN HOW NOT TO DISCUSS SOMETHING THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!!!

Why give "due greatness to Aro kingdom"? All I said was that some proclaim that the Aro confederacy and slave trade played a role in the birth of the Osu caste, as people now understand it. I don't see how that warrants any of what you stated. Basically, you shouldn't be shooting the messenger (i.e. myself). If you have your own story, then by all means, feel free to share it with the rest of the world. There a variety of different stories that tell of the emergence of the Osu caste, as people now understand it, and I'm sure we could just as well add yours to the list.

Kc3000:

@Chinenye, Nwanne I hear you loud and clear. However, I'm not even concerned about how the whole thing started, nor am I faulting those that practiced it, or suggesting that those Igbo that never had Osu are better off. My frustration  is with those that choose to hold on to such rubbish in this day and age. I've never had a reason to dissociate myself from any Igbo groups in my life time, but I have very little respect for any Igbo people that continue to sustain this ignorance.

May I ask, who are the 'those'? You see, I'm going to tell you what I tell everyone else, regarding this topic. The only way for someone to hold on to this institution (or, to participate in maintaining it) is by first know who is and is not Osu. Now, already, with that in mind, there goes 90+% of the Igbo population, out the window. To put it simply, the vast majority of Igbo people have yet to even witness this thing called "Osu", and on top of that, many of those who "know" about Osu tend to only know about it from having read something about it on the Internet. So this should really make you wonder, who are the 'those'?

Many of the people who you hear say "I will never marry Osu" or anything else negative/discriminatory about Osu have probably fraternized with an Osu at one point of their lives or another, but they will never know. In fact, even those Osu that they fraternized with might not even have an idea that they are even Osu, to begin with, because most of them actually live their whole lives in ignorance of their "Osu-hood". So, you see, with the way people go about, raising dust concerning this Osu subject-matter, one is led to believe that at this very moment and in this day and age, some grave injustice is occurring to a notable portion of the Igbo population. Yet, until this very day, we are yet to even hear "kpim" (in the words of my mother) from these supposed Osu.

If the issue is as dire as many try to present it, then it only stands to reason that Osu themselves would have by now called the attention of the U.N. to their plight, but how can they, when many of them remain in a state of oblivion, concerning their "Osu-hood"?

Long story short, all of these topics, all this talk is nothing more than the phenomenon of crying more than the bereaved. Essentially, you honestly have no real reason to get upset over all of this, because think about it: Where will you find the Igbo that "continue to sustain this ignorance"? Who are you going to be upset with, when you can't even be pointed toward the direction of the institution itself?

Chinenyen,

Did you not see in the first few responses on first page where NRI PRIEST talked about demarcated villages or living quarters. . . dialus and osus segregated into different living communities.  That counters your position that they unidentifiable.  They may not be identifiable in Rivers State where you are from. . . but in Igboland, they are marked!

Anyway, I will go back to the sideline and continue to listen to this interesting dialogue.
. . . .by the way, this Negro_Ntns, . . .hold on, Chief Negro_Ntns!

Negro_Ntns, with that kind of response, it seems to me that you misunderstood my position (if we are even going to call it that).

ChinenyeN, you must have to go back to the Bible and read how God made the first man and woman very well right? As i commented on the topic, God did not made any other man and woman except the way we are born till now and God himself did not segregated any body in the of 'OSU' then okay? I said that what and what the world at large call 'OSU' is political and nothing else. Just be prayerful for your man to be good in character and woman to be as while marrying and forget about the 'OSU' of a thing please.

@Chinenye, I wish and hope everything you said was true, but having read many of the responses here and other Osu related posts(from Igbo people), I'm not convinced that the Osu issue is entirely behind us as a people. I believe Nri-priest when he says that his town folks are fully aware of who the Osu are, and I don't believe their was any humor intended when some Ndigbo here stated that they would not marry an Osu, not only because of family pressures, but because they do not want to 'incur the wrath of the gods'. Maybe because we hail from a region in Igbo land that never had the institution in place,  we are more inclined to reason that it has been completely eradicated. Infact, the word 'Osu' would never carry the same weight with you and I, as it would with Nri-priest, for instance, or any one from a community that had Osu. I know some of the progressive minded Ezes in some communities in the past few years were pushing hard to have the practice abolished in their communities. Would they be going on such campaigns for a non-existent problem? I think not.
      I agree that it is a dying institution, but quite frankly, it should have been dead long ago. So, I'm not trying to paint the picture that this is some kinda wild fire ravaging Igbo land, but I maintain that I get frustrated to hear that an Igbo person anywhere in Igboland is refereed to as an Osu, denied marriage, refused full participation in the community, and whatever other stigma that is associated with Osu. . . .this is the reality for some of our brothers and sisters in 2012!!! It's even more disheartening to observe some younger folks carrying on with these unfortunate convictions, assuring an even slower death of the Osu legacy.

Osu still exists very much and the kids in the village are not as Westernised as people may want to believe. They know who exactly is Osu, go to any village and ask for Osu and they'll either say their people don't practice Osu, or they'll lead you to households. Discrimination is one of those things that pass through generations without much effort in teaching. Not every community practices demarcation though, and the severity of Osu varies from region to region, but marriage seems to be the only consistent discrimination.

I'm willing to bet something hefty that 99% of the Igbo commenting here will NOT marry an Osu, if not for anything, then it would be out of sheer pressure since Igbo communities are the most family based in the whole of West Africa.

According to what I've read, Osu are descendants of so called criminals who had the option of either being executed, sent out for exile, or becoming a spiritual slave for a deity. I've heard Nri priests can take away Osu, although I do not know why they simply can't call a delegation to rid the whole of Igbo land of Osu.

People should stop being hypocritical, Osu has nothing to do with measuring social development, since we have so many other acceptable discriminations in Nigeria and around the world (3rd generation Koreans are not considered Japanese in Japan, the third largest economy in the world and member of the "free world"). One day your kids may perceive a woman leaving her home for that of her husbands as discrimination. Measuring your society on that of a foreigner who lives thousands of miles away is primitive as well. Jesus can do what he likes, but I can assure you 99% of people who discriminate against Osu are. . . Chr. . .Chri. . . Chris. . .

By the way, this thread was bound to go nowhere.

I'm willing to bet something hefty that 99% of the Igbo commenting here will NOT marry an Osu

. . . bottom line!

Thnx Ezeagu.

Afam4eva:

I heard that people from Arondizogu in Imo state are OSU. Who knows about this?

No, it's not true. Arondizuogu was founded by a famous warrior from Arochukwu called Izuogu Mgbokpo. Also, back then it was nearly impossible for an Aro person to become an osu or a slave since it was widely believed that the oracle Ibin Ukpabi protected all Aro people and anyone who sought to cause harm to an Aro was directly invoking the wrath of Ibin Ukpabi.

I think I'll agree with Chinenye here. I have never seen an Osu person or heard about any Osu family. To me, Osu caste could be an Igbo myth.

Many people are unaware of it and I have never heard a marriage was cancelled because one of the partners was an Osu. Growing up, all I know was that the word "Osu" was used by some women during quarrel to insult one another, not commonly used though or all say very rarely used. 

ChinenyeN:

May I ask, who are the 'those'? You see, I'm going to tell you what I tell everyone else, regarding this topic. The only way for someone to hold on to this institution (or, to participate in maintaining it) is by first know who is and is not Osu. Now, already, with that in mind, there goes 90+% of the Igbo population, out the window. To put it simply, the vast majority of Igbo people have yet to even witness this thing called "Osu", and on top of that, many of those who "know" about Osu tend to only know about it from having read something about it on the Internet. So this should really make you wonder, who are the 'those'?

Many of the people who you hear say "I will never marry Osu" or anything else negative/discriminatory about Osu have probably fraternized with an Osu at one point of their lives or another, but they will never know. In fact, even those Osu that they fraternized with might not even have an idea that they are even Osu, to begin with, because most of them actually live their whole lives in ignorance of their "Osu-hood". So, you see, with the way people go about, raising dust concerning this Osu subject-matter, one is led to believe that at this very moment and in this day and age, some grave injustice is occurring to a notable portion of the Igbo population. Yet, until this very day, we are yet to even hear "kpim" (in the words of my mother) from these supposed Osu.

If the issue is as dire as many try to present it, then it only stands to reason that Osu themselves would have by now called the attention of the U.N. to their plight, but how can they, when many of them remain in a state of oblivion, concerning their "Osu-hood"?

Long story short, all of these topics, all this talk is nothing more than the phenomenon of crying more than the bereaved. Essentially, you honestly have no real reason to get upset over all of this, because think about it: Where will you find the Igbo that "continue to sustain this ignorance"? Who are you going to be upset with, when you can't even be pointed toward the direction of the institution itself?

I will divorce anybody that says I cant marry an osu and marry an osu. Seriously people this is 2012.

People keep blowing this Osu issue out of proportion. Culture is one thing that we need not interfere with. Why do Binis,Yorubas and Hausas have king in 21st century when all human beings should be equal. Infact kingship should have been made a democratic process where every Bini,Yoruba or Fulani man can vie for the Obaship,Ooniship and Sultanship on equal grounds.

The example is too many to call.

To marry an Osu is a thing of choice. It is as much of a challenge as Anambra marrying Imo or Igbo marrying Yoruba in terms of family pressure. Once one is in love and ready to face the normal family pressure in unusual marriage, I give them a go ahead to marry.

ebere1712:

I will divorce anybody that says I cant marry an osu and marry an osu. Seriously people this is 2012.

And in 2012 women can't drive in Saudi Arabia. And in 2012 people can be stopped in the United States at the airport for looking ethnic. 2012 doesn't mean anything.

As a matter of fact, they are the down-trodden, lowest of the low of the society who ran to the deity to seek for protection from the perceived or apparently perceived persecution from the society
They are untouchable because they belongs to the deity

ACM.
Why would the society persecute them to begin with , what was the offense that initially led to their persecution and then giving cause to seek this deity protection?

I will divorce anybody that says I cant marry an osu and marry an osu.

ebere,
God Bless you my brother!

Dudu_Negro:

ACM.
Why would the society persecute them to begin with , what was the offense that initially led to their persecution and then giving cause to seek this deity protection?

I don't know.

Maybe you should direct the question to Odumchi.

I bet he'll know better than me

Dudu_Negro:

ACM.
Why would the society persecute them to begin with , what was the offense that initially led to their persecution and then giving cause to seek this deity protection?

ebere,
God Bless you my brother!

I think some non-Igbos need a little introduction to what this issue is about. Osus are not persecuted, nor are they avoided. Osus and Amadis can be best friends and eat together, date and live together but there are just two things that Amadis and Osus don't do. Marriage and Chieftaincy. An Osu and Amadi do not marry. An Osu cannot be a village head. That is all.

People are blowing things out of proportion due to lack of knowledge.

Human beings are one before the creator being the Almighty God, Amen.

I think some non-Igbos need a little introduction to what this issue is about. Osus are not persecuted, nor are they avoided. Osus and Amadis can be best friends and eat together, date and live together but there are just two things that Amadis and Osus don't do. Marriage and Chieftaincy. An Osu and Amadi do not marry. An Osu cannot be a village head. That is all.

People are blowing things out of proportion due to lack of knowledge

partner, I think some igbos need plenty education on the essence of humanity. I think you Abagworo need a lot of education on how to speak the truth.

what is the prohibition about amadi or dialu marrying an osu or having an osu as the headman of a community?

People should just ignore Negro-Ntns, and ALL OTHERS, in this topic. We've reviewed this subject matter more than enough times, and there is no controversy concerning it. Anyone who wants to learn should just open their eyes and read. Simple. Enough of trying to feed mumu minds directly. Let their brains click on their own accord.

Dudu_Negro:

partner, I think some igbos need plenty education on the essence of humanity. I think you Abagworo need a lot of education on how to speak the truth.

what is the prohibition about amadi or dialu marrying an osu or having an osu as the headman of a community?

Partner, I think some Yorubas need plenty education on the essence of humanity. I think you Dudu_Negro need a lot of education on how to speak the truth.

What is the prohibition of not having every Yoruba man as the Ooni of Ife or Alaketu of Ketu? Why is it reserved only for a few families? Why can't Abagworo succeed your present Oba?

The answer is clear "Culture"

Abagworo:

What is the prohibition of not having every Yoruba man as the Ooni of Ife or Alaketu of Ketu? Why is it reserved only for a few families? Why can't Abagworo succeed your present Oba?

The answer is clear "Culture"

Abagworo,

No, that would be wrong. It is not just a culture for Ooni or Alaketu or Oba in Yorubaland, it is also a matter of sovereignty and dominion and so it cannot be an open seat for the community. This has the same meaning and impact for why we cannot throw open the Nigerian Presidency to the whole community of West Africans. Can you understand the political outcome in that? Positions of sovereignty and dominion are closed for the benefit of concentrating power. We are concentrating power in the hands of Nigerians alone by excluding non-Nigerians from the seat. Your analogy is unmeaningful to the question of prohibition for intermarriage between Osu and Amadi.

Having said that, I will bring the question back in focus. You are a Nigerian. The law of this country allow you to live anywhere in the country and enjoy your liberty without recourse to proving your nativity. How do you feel about Hausas creating a prohibition that bars you from their native land? This is stark discriminatory practice, is it not? Would you not like this practice to go away? You did not choose to be Igbo but being Igbo is a circumstance of your birth and is an involuntary reality of who you are. Nothing will ever change that. Why should anyone discriminate and persecute you based on the circumstance of birth?

One sentence: I can't marry an Osu!! . . . . However, that doesn't mean that I'm superior or more human than them; it is just a CHOICE.

Thank God, I have busted the b.alls of all my family members especially all those uncles and aunties. If you come to me with any traditional/cultural nonsense i throw them out the windows and if you keep bringing them up, i throw you out the door or i take myself out.

If den try dis kain thing for my family, dats the last they would hear from me.

U gotta a m.oron to still believe in such nonsense.

3.1.1 THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN AN OSU AND DIALA

In the ancient and even the recent days of Igbo land, freeborns have virtually nothing in common with the Osus especially in terms of marriage. It is a universal belief in Igbo land that whenever a freeborn has any kind of sexual intercourse with an Osu branded person, the freeborn among the two will immediately become an Osu. Thus before one goes into marriage in Igbo Land, to avoid falling into the hand of the Osus, and to avoid sharing in the Osu stigma, the parents of the people involved and even the people themselves, usually engage into what is called “ijuajuju” which means ‘doing findings’. The essence of the findings which may last for months is simply to avoid getting married to an Osu person or lineage.

But in the case of someone who has been in love with an Osu person to the extent of getting married, if any of the two persons eventually found out that one of the two is an Osu, the freeborn out of the two will secretly abstain his/her self from the relationship. But if such person refuses to turn out of the relationship, it is obvious that the persons ‘Umunna’ (kinsmen) will not be party to the wedlock and it is obvious that any offspring that emanate from such union will involuntarily become an Osu.

Nevertheless, issue of marriage between an Osu and the Diala out of the other social issues of the system has become so rigid and unchangeable even in the contemporary days unlike such other issue in the system which are best known in theories than practice. The thrust here is that despite the enormous efforts of Christianity, civilization, law, globalization whose aim is to ecumenism the whole world into one global village and family, the issue of abolishing the system especially in the aspect of inter marriage between an Osu and the non-Osu has remain abortive. This difficulty might be because just like HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, the people believed that sexual relationship or inter marriage is one of the chief sources of contracting the stigma of Osu.

However, a lot of instances have been used to buttress this fact, but few will be discussed in this work for the wanting of space and time. Firstly, there is the instance of a pastor who out-rightly preached about the abolishment and condemnation of the system, but when he was interviewed thus: Would you like an Osu man to marry your daughter or like your son to marry an Osu woman, the answer he gave was No. this simply shows that the issue of abolishing Osu Caste System especially in the area of inter marriage is easily said or preached than practiced.

Also, one king was known for making a public pronouncement on the abolishment of the Osu Caste System in his dynasty, but when his people asked him to lead by example by either getting an Osu woman for his son or allowing an Osu man to marry his daughter, he declined. These instances shows that no matter how a person or group of people tries to stop the system, the issue of Dialas getting married to an Osu is very difficult (though not impossible) especially in the land where the system is in practiced.

One of the salient implication of this is that most of the young men who belong to the system often leave the girls in their Caste and get married to other girls elsewhere who in most cases are Dialas, leaving their young girls without husbands knowing fully well that the freeborns will never think of coming closer to them let alone getting married to them. Having seen this, the Osu girls usually find their ways to big cities and become prostitutes in order to get themselves sexually and emotionally satisfied. Because it is believed that in the cities they will not be stigmatised by any body. Since staying in the village will put them into sexually emotional trumer. It is on this ground that it has been said accordingly that the Osus constitutes the integral part of the call-girls that roam the big cities both within and outside the country. Though this view is not immune from criticism.

Besides, it is notable, that it not a taboo or any form of evil for an Osu man to marry his fellow Osu woman and vice-visa. Also, an Osu can get married to a Diala person who agreed to marry him or her. An Osu can also marry any body in distance town where the system is not practiced.

In a nut-shell, the social interaction between an Osu and the freedom especially in the context of marriage has be difficult to be abolished despite the enormous efforts which has been made towards its abolishment. Thus, it is among the two or three issues in the system that are still practiced till day in Igbo land.

http://www.frasouzu.com/Issues%20and%20Papers/Onwubuariri%20Francis.htm

3.1.2 BURIAL RITES OF AN OSU

The social segregation between an Osu and the Diala runs through the entire gamut of their existence from birth to death. Thus, nothing can by any means exonerate and Osu to become a Diala. According to Iqwebuike Okeke,.

From birth to death, the Diala do not ever dare to rejoice over or celebrate the arrival of a new born baby delivered by an Osu as they do not sympathize with or lament over mishaps on them” (64).

Besides, it is said accordingly that in the Igbo days of Yore, that at the death of an Osu, the Diala do not participate in the digging of ground as well as taking part in any other burial rites likewise the Osus. The Osus are not allowed to be buried around the places where the freeborn were buried. This was the case according to Mgbobukwa in the certain communities like Aguata, Nnewi and other neighbouring communities in Nnewi Local Government Area” (48).

One of the reasons for this hostility towards the Osus by the freeborns even at death was according to Magbobukwa because the freeborns do not believe that the Osus do have any soul to be saved, hence, there is nothing like the resurrection of the soul for them. Just as the case was with Whites and the Blacks in American and South Africa where the White sees the blacks as people with no history, no hope of life after death a blissful resurrection probably on the last day.

As an ancillary to the above view, Onwubiko said in his book Facing the Osu issue in the African Synod that “it was the traditional Igbo religious belief that a person on whom the right of segregation was performed as was the case of the Osu was bound to be last in the life after death and thereafter would not attain the blissful state in the spirit world. This belief was very latent in the minds of the adult Igbos” (1993).

Furthermore, Mabobukwa enunciated same of the rights enjoyed by the freeborns at death. According to him, when a man is pronounced dead, the relatives gather together and he will be lowered to the grave. Three days later, the buried rites begin, the following animals are provided:

Ikenga Ewu (A female goat that has given birth)

Agbogho Ewu (A female goat that has not given birth)

Okemkpi (A he goat)

Okokpa (A cock) (50)

It is believed that when ever a person is buried with the enunciated items and several other ones, based on the culture and tradition, the person will be welcomed in the land of the dead. But since the Osus do not enjoy these rights during burial rites, thus, their spirits did not go well in the land of the dead. Thus, they will not take part in any thing that has to do with life after death.

3.1.4 GIVING A COLA NUT TO AN OSU

From the issue of making an osu a chief, also comes the issue of showing or giving cola nut to the osu. Due to the high esteem which the Igbo’s held cola nut, it becomes a misdeed for a person to show cola nut to an osu in the presence of visitors or to give a cola nut to an osu who visited a freeborn - According to Jude Mgbabukwa, “the reason for this discrimination is because there is never a time an Osu is welcomed in the house of a Diala. In many social gatherings, by the time cola nuts are broken and eaten, an Osu is made to be aware that he is a stranger being manly tolerated” (48).

Osu as at this time are regarded as inferior beings and as such should not be given a cola nut by the freeborns nor is it pertinent for an Osu to give cola nut to the freeborns. Meanwhile, it will be germane to bear in mind that there are other issues of social segregation between the world of the Osus and the world of the freeborn like the issue of belonging to the same age grade and age group, cultural dancing going to the same market, and so forth. Most of these practices have been dead and buried.

However, Mr C.O Drueke writing in the Sunday Times news paper in June 13, 1985 made a seemingly summary of the whole issue of social segregation of Osus from the freeborn when he said thus: Umuosu (descendants of Osu) were sequestrated from the society and as such suffered total ostracism. They could not sleep under the same roof with the so-called freeborn citizens called Diala. They neither ate from the same pots nor drank with the same cup with the citizens. Marriage between the two groups was a taboo eternally. Children of the free born were forbidden to see the corpse of an Osu. An Osu could not be chief or a feasten of any village. If the corpse of an Osu was to be carried through the village of a Diala, palm frond was placed every where to warn the people that evil was in the air and a bad event was to happen. lf an Osu had a sexual intercourse with a Diala woman, the offending woman was to be dragged to the Osu to marry for free. Under no circumstances would a Diala run into the compound of an Osu even if it was raining or he was being chased with gun or machete, if one did so, he or she automatically becomes Osu.” (15)

Consequently, these segregations in the social interactions between an Osu and the Diala has attracted a whole lot of ill social implications and repacaution. For instance, the segregation can easily lead to marital problems as well as wrong selection of one’s life partner. There is a story of a young man and woman who become friends from their cradles only to find out that they cannot marry each other because one of them is an Osu branded person. This forcefully made them to live each other and marry different persons whom they do not only hate but whose life styles were different from theirs. This in turn led to marital problems because people are not allowed to marry a person of their choice. More so, there is another case of a couple who married for more than ten years with children, only to divorce each other immediately one of them found out that the other person is an Osu.

Furthermore, apart from the fact that it can lead to the wrong selection of a community leader or chief, it can bring about an age long hatred. What is meant here is that Osus having seen themselves as inferior beings because of their Osu stigma, may in turn see the freeborns as devils and external enemies which may even lead to killing the freeborn or do any other harm to them especially when they are reminded of their stigma or when they are called by the name by the Dialas. It is from this antecedent that one does not easily mention or call any body by the name any how.

Besides, the social segregation of the Osus from the freeborns may lead to political apathy. Like in the case of the blacks in South Africa as well as the black Americans in those days, the Osus having been seen as the rejects of the society may in most cases loose interest in the political or the politics of the Land, because they may think that since they are unrecognised and ineligible citizens, they cannot be elected into any political position or seat nor can they elect any body in any political seat in the society. Thus, for them it is pointless to involve themselves in the political affairs of the society. This no doubt will go a very long way in causing a lot of political and social upheavals and mishaps in the society.

More so, in most cases, the segregation of the Osus from the freeborns socially can hinder the socio-economic well being of the society, because the Osus having being segregated from the freeborns, or having been seen as turds, may refuse to bring in their own quota both in the social and economic spheres of the societal development and this to a very large extent will hinder development, improvement in the society both economically and otherwise.

It is against this background that the researcher has made recourse to Asouzu’s complementary reflection as offering some of the basic theoretical tools towards addressing this matter. According to the theory, society and human beings in it can surmount all her problems as well as get to her predestined happiness and joy which has been eternally made available for them by God. If and only if there will be a mutual harmony of all ideas and thought positive and negative, theoretical and practical. Thus, this paper envisaged for the mutual harmony of both the Osus and the Dialas to achieve and ensure the societal development and happiness of all which is the designed end of the society.

Abagworo:

I think some non-Igbos need a little introduction to what this issue is about. Osus are not persecuted, nor are they avoided. Osus and Amadis can be best friends and eat together, date and live together but there are just two things that Amadis and Osus don't do. Marriage and Chieftaincy. An Osu and Amadi do not marry. An Osu cannot be a village head. That is all.

People are blowing things out of proportion due to lack of knowledge.

Can an Osu be Governor of a state or President of Nigeria?