₦airaland Forum

Having taken my time to read every statement word for word and lines for line, its brings so much pain to my heart that we are really unteachable and we don't have the spirit of being human in us.

Please there are no ill feelings in my write up but this is just an open opinion of mine and a way forward.

There are so many thing-we cant change as a man or woman born into a family(this is where we found our selves, you can change or chose your father or mother , you were born into and as such, so of us wished to have been born of an American father or mother but hey you were born of a Nigerian parents, dose that reduce who you are?

Lets take it one after the other, the OSU, ORU, OHU, UMEH or what have you is one of the most barbaric , annoying, disgusting and nonsense practice ever done in the igboland , yes so many tribes in Nigeria have there own annoying practice too , but lets remain within this topic.

whatsoever is the niche that brought about the practice should be attended to, NONE I MEAN NONE, NO one has the power , the right, the effrontery , the guts to label or call another follow human being like him or her a name that God NEVER CALLED HIM OR HER.

Come to think of it if you call a person an osu because his forefathers served the same god your own fore father's served, it means you are the same as he is, the osus has many things or means different things to so many people

Some family members were dedicate to serve the priest as at that time, where our so called forefathers of both the freeborn and osus worshiped, it simply means we all served the same gods and that we cant discriminate, in fact the osus should be referenced more than the so called free born in tots my though

But for whatsoever reasons, how would you feel or come to the fact that you were born into an osu family, that you were not born into such families does not give you the right that you are better than the other man or woman,let me ask you a question IGBO WEM, when you die will you carry the caste system to heaven or hell?

No man is born with two heads and no man is born with the name osu on his fore head, the holy books records that we are made in the image and likeness of God , that puts the question into our hearts that when we truly discriminate and segregate our brothers , when we get to heaven( OR HELL )are we going to do same too( let thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven)

he has got one head so do u,
his got two eyes so do u,
his got two ears so do u, his hot two hands and legs so do you ,
his got a body so do you too,
you eat the same food he eats
when you die you will be buried in the same ground he will be buried

Life has taught us all to appreciate one another and show love in all we do ,cos love conquers all,DO TO OTHERS WHAT YOU WISH THEM TO DO UNTO YOU, this the law nothing more to it

Lots of us here say all sorts and we feel, if we put ourselves in this peoples position we can be as strong as them but believe you me , we are all one , on the last day God our maker will not ask you if u are OSU, ORU, OHU, UMEH , DIALA, NWAAFOR , NWALAA YORUBA , EFIK OR HAUSA, , AMERICAN OR ASIAN you will so give account of your actions here on earth.

Yes we all got traditions , we all have roots and we come from some where , wont it be better you remain the pagan than calling the name of Jesus and being on the fence , an you aRe a born hypocrite, we cant be ruled by tradition when we follow the ways of the gospel, Jesus died for all , slaves and masters alike and he did nOt discriminate any one(in fact he died for us while we are still sinners)

you cant be here and the same time there , we should always recall that we cant live for ever no matter the number of years we live here, so its better we make our live worth the living , so that we will not scared when we are leaving.

Also bear in mind that nothing unclean will enter the kingdom of heaven ,in fact be the head in ur church , the leader in scared heart charismatic, pastor , parent who says and who stops the will of God NOT to hold on marriage cos of a tradition here on earth , you will answer in heaven for causing a broken heart, NO LAW, RULE , TRADITION AND POWER IS GREATER OR REPLACES THE WORD OF GOD.

When the so called kinsmen , umunna or family members despise you , recall always that you are right with God and stick to him , some day these people will not be there to decide for your God at all.

I STAND FOR THE TRUTH , I VERGE FOR THE TRUTH, IT COULD HAVE BEEN ME OR YOU MY BROTHER OR SISTER, IT CAN BE ANY ONE , YES THE HOLY ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE PROTESTANTS CHURCHES HAS KICKED AGAINST THIS AND IN FACT , THEY WILL GO HEAD AND WED THE COUPLE AS LONG AS THE TWO PEOPLE INVOLVED ARE READY FOR THE MARRIAGE ANY OTHER PERSON WHO FROWNS AT THIS HAS TO ANSWER GOD WHEN HIS VENGEANCE COMES ALONG, no law or person or community is greater than the church of God m the word of God.

Even if you go ahead and marry your likes in quote does it mean that there are no issues in any marriage what soever , abolish the lies from the pits of hell of the fact that when you marriage an osu in quote this happen and that happens , friends , no marriage is made in heaven or , the one closest to it was the garden of Eden , yet it has it own issues too.


I SO PRAY FOR ALL IGBO MEN AND WOMAN WHO HOLD THIS TRADITION MORE THAN THEIR GOD TO CHANGE THERE WAYS AND PREPARE TO MAKE HEAVEN ,COS WE ARE ALL EQUAL IN THE SIGTH OF GOD


chukwu gozie unu


amen

Having taken my time to read every statement word for word and lines for line, its brings so much pain to my heart that we are really unteachable and we don't have the spirit of of in us.

Please there are no ill feelings in my write up but this is just an open pinon of mine and a way forward.

There are so many thing-we cant change as a man or woman born into a family(this is where we found our selves, you can change or chose your gather nor mother , you were born into and as such, so of us wished to have been born of an American father or mother but hey you were born of a Nigerian parents, those that reduce who you are?

Lets take it one after the other, the OSU, ORU, OHU, UMEH or what have you is one of the most barbaric , annoyance, disgusting and nonsense practice ever done in the igboland , yea so many tribes in Nigeria have there own annoying practice too , but lets remain withinn this topic.

whatsoever is the niche that brought aboy the practice should be attended to, NONE I MEAN NONE, NO one has the power , the right, the effrontery , the guts to label or call another follow human being like him or her a name that God NEVER CALLED HIM OR HER.

Come to think of it if you call a person an osu because his forefathers served the same god your own fore father's served, it means you are the same as he is, the osus has many things or means different things to so many people

Having taken my time to read every statement word for word and lines for line, its brings so much pain to my heart that we are really unteachable and we don't have the spirit of of in us.

P

Yes the bible say obey your parents , but also the bible say that your parents should not lead u in the wrong direction, if what you are doing the right thing and they are not, as long as you are the right thing in Gods will , please go ahead and follow your life, yes your parents brought to this world yet you are independent of YOUR life, you are accountable to your self and to God and not any parents , whatsoever you make out of life is your sole responsibilities....

Please forget the saying that what an olde person sees that you don't see, be guided that you ll live with this man or woman all your life , your parents can only pray for you to see and also advice accordingly or help you accept your happiness, if they are true to you, whosoever you deem fit to stay with for the rest of your life is your choice and so you are ready to accept and take all the consequences there in.even their own marriage is not made in heaven, imagine if your father was not allowed to marry your mother, will he or she be happy?

In situations where our parents gets our spouses for us , have there not been issues too?

There is freedom even in Gods will, that is why God allows us all to take all the chances here on earth but we are to give account of how we spent our lives here, or else he should have enforced us all to do what he wants to gain salvation, please your happiness comes first, be him a cripple, a poor man, an impotent man, from sambisa Forrest or from the space , as long as i have chosen him and he finds me and i sort the face of God concerning him and he approves of him, NAIRALANDERS i ll go ahead and be with my happiness,.............after all when i die na God i go yan to , not my parents or his too.


No one can make you happier than u making your self happy, no matter what, FOLLOW THE MIND OF YOUR CREATOR , HE NEVER SEGREGATES OOO

SO THINGS LIKE THIS STILL HAPPEN AMONGST US, NONE CAN CREATE A LIFE O, IN FACT JUDGEMENT IS FOR GOD
by
Leo Igwe

The Osu caste system is an obnoxious practice among the Igbos -in Nigeria-which has refused to go away despite the impact of Christianity, modern education and civilization, and the human rights culture. In this piece, I will argue that the Osu discrimination is an outdated tradition with no basis for its continued practice and observance in the contemporary Igbo society.

Traditionally, there are two classes of people in Igboland – the Nwadiala and the Osu. The Nwadiala literally meaning ‘sons of the soil’ are the freeborn. They are the masters. While the Osu are the slaves, the strangers, the outcasts and the untouchables. Chinua Achebe in his well-known book, No Longer At Ease asks: What is this thing called Osu? He answers: “Our fathers in their darkness and ignorance called an innocent man Osu, a thing given to the idols, and thereafter he became an outcast, and his children, and his children’s children forever” The Osu are treated as inferior human beings in a state of permanent and irreversible disability. They are subjected to various forms of abuse and discrimination. The Osu are made to live separately from the freeborn. In most cases they reside very close to shrines and marketplaces. The Osu are not allowed to dance, drink, hold hands, associate or have sexual relations with Nwadiala. They are not allowed to break kola nuts at meetings. No Osu can pour libation or pray to God on behalf of a freeborn at any community gathering. It is believed that such prayers will bring calamity and misfortune.

A human rights group outlined the atrocities meted out against the Osu in Igboland. They include: ‘parents administering poison to their children, disinheritance, ostracism, organized attack, heaping harvest offering separately in churches, denial membership in social clubs, violent disruption of marriage ceremonies, denial of chieftaincy titles, deprivation of property and expulsion of wives etc.”

The Osu caste discrimination is very pronounced in the area of marriage. An Osu cannot marry a freeborn. The belief is that any freeborn that marries an Osu defiles the family. So freeborn families are always up in arms against any of their members who wants to marry an Osu. They go to any length to scuttle the plan. Because of the Osu factor, marriages in Igboland are preceded by investigations-elders on both sides travel to native villages to find out the social status of the other party. And if it is found that one of them is an Osu, the plan would be automatically abandoned. Many marriage plans have been aborted, and in fact some married couples have been forced to divorce because of the Osu factor. Chinua Achebe also noted this in his book. When Okonkwo learns that his son wants to marry Clara, an Osu. Okonkwo says: “ Osu is like a leprosy in the minds of my people. I beg of you my son not to bring the mark of shame and leprosy into your family. If you do, your children and your children’s children will curse you and your memory… You will bring sorrow on your head and on the heads of your children.”

But there have been several efforts and initiatives to eradicate this harmful tradition. In 1956, the government of the then Eastern Nigeria passed a law abolishing the Osu caste system. The law freed and discharged anybody called Osu including the children born to such a person. It declared the practice unlawful – and a crime punishable by law. But unfortunately, 50 years after the enactment of this legislation, nobody has been prosecuted or convicted for breaking the law. At best what the legislation has achieved is to drive the practice underground. Also many religious leaders and traditional rulers have spoken out against the practice. Recently Eze Enyeribe Onuoha, the traditional ruler of Umuchieze autonomous community in Imo State urged his community members to abandon the practice. He said: “discrimination against Osus is irrational, illegal, unjust and archaic and opposed to human rights. It is one Umuchieze(Igbo) tradition that should immediately be abolished.”

But statements and declarations like this are not uncommon. But they have always fallen on deaf ears among the Igbo people most of whom think that cultural norms are sacrosanct and should not be tampered with. So the belief in and practice of Osu caste system continue to wax strong in Igboland. In 1997, a person alleged to be an Osu was made a chief in a community in Imo State. But six months later, the community was engulfed in a crisis. And when the case was brought to the court, the presiding judge noted that though the abolition of Osu caste system was in the statute, it was an unenforceable law. The chief was dethroned so that peace would reign in the community.

And not too long ago I met a lady in a friend’s house in Lagos. I was told that she was engaged to a young man from Imo State. And months later I learnt that the marriage plan had been abandoned because the lady was said to be an Osu. There have been several instances like that where young men and women of Igbo extraction have suffered heartbreaks and emotional traumas as a result of this cultural disease. And now the question is, why is it that this cultural practice has refused to go away even among educated Igbos. The reason is not far fetched. The practice of Osu caste system is hinged on religion, supernaturalism and theism. And Igbos are deeply religious and theistic people. Osu are regarded as unclean or untouchable because they are (alleged to be) dedicated to the gods. So it is the dedication to the gods that makes the Osu status a condition of permanent and irreversible disability and stigma.

So this cruel custom will not be eradicated until Igbos begin to realize that gods are imaginary beings, not objective entities. Igbos need to understand that deities and spirits are mental constructs used to control and organize the society at the infancy of the human race. And today that humanity has come of age. Because if one does not believe that the gods and spirits are real, then the idea of treating someone as unclean or untouchable because the person is dedicated to any deity does not make sense at all. Even for the god-believing Igbos, the practice is out rightly baseless. Because most Igbos are Christians and do not profess any belief in the traditional gods to which the Osu were (alleged to be) dedicated. So, it is both sensible and appropriate that all Igbos - believers and non-believers alike renounce and abandon this abhorrent, inhuman and despicable practice. Politically, state authorities must get Igbo communities and associations to remove provisions in their constitution that bar Osu from contesting elections or receiving traditional titles. Legally, the courts must begin to enforce the law abolishing the Osu caste system. And the Nigerian state must rise up to its duty of protecting and defending the humanity, dignity and equal rights of all citizens irrespective of their sex, ethnic origin, religion, belief or birth status.

Most importantly Igbos must begin to envision a new society where people can live and interact, marry and be married, elect and be elected, without division, distinction, discrimination on the basis of Osu or Nwadiala. Hence I want to use this opportunity to appeal to my people-ndi Igbo: Please let’s strive to remove this mark of leprosy and shame from the face of our culture and society.

_____

About the author: Leo Igwe is director of the Centre for Inquiry in Nigeria. He can be reached at nskepticleo@yahoo.com.

RECENTLY, I HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO BY MY FIANCEE AND IT HAPPENED THAT OUR PARENTS ARE NOT IN SUPPORT OF OUR MARRIAGE, DESPITE THE FACT THAT WE ARE BOTH CHRISTIANS , IN FACT WE WORSHIP INTHE SAME DENOMINATION, MORE ALSO WE ARE FROM THE SAME TRIBE BUT DIFFERENT LOCAL GOVERNMENT, YES WE BOTH KNOW THAT MARRIAGE IS A FAMILY THING AND THAT THE BOTH FAMILIES WILL HAVE TO GIVE THEIR CONSENT BEFORE WE GO AHEAD AND MARRY, YET WE HAVE BOTH CONSULTED MEN OF GOD AND THEY SAID THAT THE CHURCH WILL WED US WITH OR WITHOUT OUR PARENTS , THAT ALL THE CHURCH NEEDS IS THAT WE GET SPONSORS OR WITNESS TO THE UNION, ALSO I WANT TO RECEIVE THE BLESSING OF MY FATHER AND MOTHER IN LAW TOO, DESPITE THE STRINGS THEY HOLD IN TRADITION, PLEASE HELP ME COS WE BOTH LOVE EACH OTHER AND WE WANT TO FOLLOW THE WILL OF GOD CONCERNING OUR LIVES, WE HAVE BOTH PRAYED AND THE REVELATION IS THAT HE IS MY HUSBAND, WHAT IF I ALLOW HIM TO GO AND MAYBE HE IS THE MAN DESTINED FOR ME TO BE WITH TILL DEATH DO US PART, I DON'T WANT TO MAKE A MISTAKE IN LIFE AND I DON'T WANT TO MARRY ANOTHER PERSON'S HUBBY EITHER, PLEASE WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE WE DO?



THANKS ....HEAVY HAT