₦airaland Forum

In October, the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, had taken a stance to abolish the Osu Culture in Igboland. Days before this, some traditional leaders in Oguta Local Government of Imo State had endorsed the abolishing of the age-long culture to free affected people from stigmatisation in the community.

The fight for the abolishment of the Osu Caste System goes back in time to the days of Nnamdi Azikiwe who in his historic address to the defunct Eastern Nigeria House of Assembly in 1956, described the system as “devilish and uncharitable to brand any human being with a label of inferiority due to the accidents of history”.

The late Dr Sam Mbakwe had banned the system in Old Imo State during his tenure as governor. Despite these attempts, they still uphold the Osu Caste system in some parts of Igboland with many people stigmatised for being Osus.

What is the Osu caste system?
The Osu Caste System is an ancient practice in Igboland that discourages social interaction and marriage with a group of people, referred to as Osu (outcasts). This is because they dedicate these Osu people to the Alusis (deities) and are thus seen as inferior to the Nwadiala (free-borns).

This system has been traced back to a time when people were offered to the deities to clean the land from an abomination. Another view on the historical perspective of the Osus puts them as defiant people who simply refuse to head to the orders of the king or the decision of the community.


What happens to an Osu?
As an Osu, you’re kept in a state of permanent and irreversible disability and subjected to abuse and discrimination. The Osus are made to live separately from the freeborn and live close to shrines and marketplaces. They are not allowed to have any forms of relations with the Nwadialas.
They even may not break kola nuts at meetings or pour a libation or pray to God on behalf of a freeborn at any community gathering.

An Osu cannot marry a free born. It is because of this that there are tons of investigation in Igboland when marriages are announced. Elders from both sides travel and conduct investigations to inquire about the social status of the family.

Osu system in Igboland today
Since modernisation in Igboland, people have criticised the Osu Caste System for defying the basic human rights. A couple of scholars have likened the Osu system to slavery and that it should be abolished.

However, it is still practised in some parts of Igboland, such as Oba in Anambra state . The maltreatment meted out to the Osu has forced many of them to migrate to other countries, abandon marriages and commit crimes against humanity in Igboland.

Abolishing this system will restore the dignity of human beings, promote peaceful relationships and reduce conflicts in society.



Franklin Ugobude
Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe
Osu Caste System

Abolishing this system will restore the dignity of human beings, promote peaceful relationships and reduce conflicts in society.

Ibo men will be nacking Osu girl but they will not want to marry them

Lol

Op is obsessed with lgbos. Every morning when he wakes up, rather than pray, he starts gossiping about lgbos. A full grown adult male wasting his time gossiping about lgbos. Waste of human existence

nedu666:
Op is obsessed with lgbos. Every morning when he wakes up, rather than pray, he starts gossiping about lgbos. A full grown adult male wasting his time gossiping about lgbos. Waste of human existence

is that your contribution to this thread?

beerfraud:
is that your contribution to this thread?

why the obsession with our close door neigbours & brothers from the East ?

Dont you go to kwara state . Don't you know that the fulanis has banned isese Festival in Kwara ? Does that not boher you. ?

Are you not aware that the kingship in kwara is not oba but Emir? Why does that not bother you ?

Do you know that the fulanis you helped to power in 2015, there foot soldiers decimated 3 kabiyesis in oyo state ?

Obssessing & masturbating all over our neigbours from the East does it change the Emir to Oba or does it make Tinubu to stop being clueless?

I see that our neigbours from the East will continue tormenting you for The rest of the miserable life

No more OSU in Igboland. Osu now exists only in Yorubaland as OLU. Hope you get it?

Sharap
Osu was a very prestigious society just like Nze na Ọzọ.
I was expensive to take on the title of osu.
Over time it became corrupted by ndị church.
Also some people who did not have money to take on the title dedicated themselves to deities to become their priest's assistants hence they gained the osu status.
Others who were in danger dedicated themselves to deities to be protected and also gained the osu status.

Osu is not out caste

They will rather tell you it's non existent in their land but some of them saying it are actually the Osu.
It's little wonder you will see some lgb0s in certain remote northern villages without any viable job or business just passing out their life, some may be due to stuffs like this.

DatNiggaDaz:
why the obsession with our close door neigbours & brothers from the East ?

Dont you go to kwara state . Don't you know that the fulanis has banned isese Festival in Kwara ? Does that not boher you. ?

Are you not aware that the kingship in kwara is not oba but Emir? Why does that not bother you ?

Do you know that the fulanis you helped to power in 2015, there foot soldiers decimated 3 kabiyesis in oyo state ?

Obssessing & masturbating all over our neigbours from the East does it change the Emir to Oba or does it make Tinubu to stop being clueless?

I see that our neigbours from the East will continue tormenting you for The rest of the miserable life

And this is coming from Osu

IduNaOba:
Sharap
Osu was a very prestigious society just like Nze na Ọzọ.
I was expensive to take on the title of osu.
Over time it became corrupted by ndị church.
Also some people who did not have money to take on the title dedicated themselves to deities to become their priest's assistants hence they gained the osu status.
Others who were in danger dedicated themselves to deities to be protected and also gained the osu status.

Osu is not out caste

Osu is what?

beerfraud:
And this is coming from Osu

You failed like yout failed god Tinubu.

In the ND we don't listen to cowards from the West

DatNiggaDaz:
You failed like yout failed god Tinubu.

In the ND we don't listen to cowards from the West

Okorooooooo

beerfraud:
Okorooooooo

In the ND, we don’t take backstabbers fröm the West serious

gsmphoneseller:
No more OSU in Igboland. Osu now exists only in Yorubaland as OLU. Hope you get it?

what's d meaning of olu ooo Mr chinedu?

IduNaOba:
Sharap
Osu was a very prestigious society just like Nze na Ọzọ.
I was expensive to take on the title of osu.
Over time it became corrupted by ndị church.
Also some people who did not have money to take on the title dedicated themselves to deities to become their priest's assistants hence they gained the osu status.
Others who were in danger dedicated themselves to deities to be protected and also gained the osu status.

Osu is not out caste

then y are freeborns afraid to marry them?

I guess u are OSU too

JagabanBorgu:
They will rather tell you it's non existent in their land but some of them saying it are actually the Osu.
It's little wonder you will see some lgb0s in certain remote northern villages without any viable job or business just passing out their life, some may be due to stuffs like this.

IduNaOba n arobaga are OSU that I know here

Any Igbo bearing two English name na OSU, they changed their surname so people won't avoid them again n some run to other regions

Many Igbos that marry other tribes didn't do it for love, they did it cos no one will marry them in Igbo land cos they are OSU.

Name like nwosu n co

U will see names like Godwin Philip, Emmanuel Stanley, Joseph Solomon

Na OSU dem b them just change name

nedu666:
Op is obsessed with lgbos. Every morning when he wakes up, rather than pray, he starts gossiping about lgbos. A full grown adult male wasting his time gossiping about lgbos. Waste of human existence

we know say na OSU u b but no Lele if them no marry u, other tribes go marry u

No fear

Goodnewsforlife:
IduNaOba n arobaga are OSU that I know here

Any Igbo bearing two English name na OSU, they changed their surname so people won't avoid them again n some run to other regions

Many Igbos that marry other tribes didn't do it for love, they did it cos no one will marry them in Igbo land cos they are OSU.

Name like nwosu n co

U will see names like Godwin Philip, Emmanuel Stanley, Joseph Solomon

Na OSU dem b them just change name

Lol.
This made me laugh hard.

beerfraud:
Osu is what?

Sorry to ask, are you MossadAgent? I dey find am.