INTRODUCTION:
Human beings have from time immemorial discriminated against each other either on the basis of race, tribe, religion or sex. Despite the fact that the basis of these discriminations have proven time and time again to be groundless and baseless, it is unfortunate that some societies still hang on to this evil and obnoxious practice of discriminating against certain members of their societies.
Discrimination hurts, bruises & crushes. And it must hurt even more deeply when it is inflicted by kith and kin. Fate can be arbitrary and capricious, but we can always bear with fate. Some are black and some are born white though many whites think there is something else to blackness. Nature leaves some poor and lets some have abundant wealth. Many will live their lives in painstaking service of the whims of others to whom fortune came accidentally. Amongst kings are many idiots. It is however one thing to be disadvantaged by fate, it’s another to be consigned to sub-humanity by human prejudice. Conceit, bigotry and hate sometimes coalesce to produce minds who arrogate to themselves superiority and allocate to others not just inferiority but sub-humanity. And contrary to reason and evidence, the racist just like the bigoted Hindus in India and the Igbos in Nigeria finds pleasure in insisting that certain groups of individuals are referred to as outcast and are denied basic fundamental rights and dignity.

WHAT ‘OSU’ MEANS:
The Advanced English Dictionary describes outcasts as people who are banished or rejected or excluded from a society or a community. Traditionally, amongst the Igbos in Nigeria there are two classes of people; the Osu (outcasts) and the Nwadiala (real born). Osu therefore means “sacred to the gods” or “beloved of the gods”.
Oral history has it that an osu was a respected monk devoted to the service and worship of a deity. The origin of the osu caste system can be traced back to the era when deities were believed to ask for human sacrifice during festivals in order to clean the land from abomination thus leading to the purchase of a slave by the people. The osu caste system also has its origin traced to the Nri Kingdom. It is believed that the Nris possessed a hereditary power and thus do go about cleansing various kingdoms of abomination; any community that refuses to be cleansed are called osus. Another view on the history of the osu caste system centres on ostracization. This occurs when a person or group of persons who refuses the orders of a king or the decision of a community are banished from the community thus resulting to the victim and its generation being called osus.
Osus are dedicated to the deities of Igbo land; they are considered as inferior beings and are usually separated from the Nwadiala (real born). Calling one an Osu is worse than calling such a person a thief, harlot or any other bad name. (unclean). It is also believed that the Osus have bad body odour that cannot be removed with perfume. This form of maltreatment has made the Osus to relocate to other countries so they can survive without the stigma attached to them.

AS IT IS IN OTHER PARTS OF IGBO LAND, SO ALSO IN OMOR:
Live and let live. Let the kite perch and let the Eagle perch. Blood is thick. Be your brother’s keeper. Never abandon a brother. Igbo maxims. So why does the Osu caste system still exist in many Igbo communities?
Its inconceivable that within the very midst of a seemingly tightly knit group of people , who endured a genocidal massacre in defense of their freedom, who claim good absorption of civilization and Christianity, is an inhuman caste system . A system that has shackled and dehumanized its victims for many ages. The Osu fought alongside the Diala in the Biafran army. Unfree people fighting for the freedom of their oppressors.
Omor being a town in Ayamelum local government area of Anambra state in Nigeria, is on the shores of the Omambala River. It is thought to be geographically the largest town in Anambra. As such, it is in the heart of Igboland as it is in one of the major states of Igbo. The people of Omor are traditional people too and are guided by all the tenets and paraphernalia of the Igbo tradition, the Osu caste system not being an exception.
So despite all the pretensions of being one, there are Igbos who arrogate to themselves superiority and freedom and who refer to themselves as freeborn or Diala. And there are fellow Igbos whom they refer to as living sacrifices or slaves of the gods or Ume or Ohu Arusi or Osu. And even though the nomenclature ‘Diala’ has so much to do with African traditional religion and is in a sense ‘heathenish‘, many practicing Christians would happily accept ‘Diala’ to distance themselves from the Osu category. Christianity and democracy, properly practiced, cannot accommodate the existence of an Osu.
Before long the ostracized became ‘inferior beings’ and were demonized. An uncle once told me that Osu embodied evil and that they were vectors of misfortune. Whites said so many things about being black including that blacks were noisy, criminally minded , unintelligent brutes structured for manual labour. And because these stereotypes are borne out of superstitions and bigotry and hatred, they persist amongst the ignorant even against clear contradicting evidence.
Christianity came with promises for the Osu. The Osu saw Christianity and western education set twins free and hoped. However, structured social disadvantages and impaired social acceptance have continued to hinder the social advancement of the Osu communities in Igboland and inevitably weaken the cohesion amongst Igbos. Neither wealth nor education nor power saves the Osu from outrageous contempt . Despite the fact that the life of the Igbo man is now woven around the Roman Catholic and Anglican and Pentecostal doctrines, the Osu continues to suffer intolerable inhumanity.
And you can attend church every day of the year in an affected Igbo village and hear sermons against all known human evils including racism but non against the Osu caste system. The Osu is in the church but the church pays lip service to his plight. And while privately no one can articulate reasons for retention of the caste system, no one is courageous enough to speak openly against it and take actions to end the sufferings of their brothers. Those who find the courage to condemn it privately lack the guts to permit their children to marry the Osu.
There have been several instances like that where young men and women of Igbo extraction have suffered emotional trauma as a result of this cultural malaise. 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.

CONSEQUENCES OF BEING AN OSU IN OMOR (AND IN OTHER PARTS OF IGBOLAND).
Osus are not allowed to have any relationship with the Nwadiala; this includes dancing, drinking, holding hands, associating or marrying them because it automatically turns a freeborn to an Osu. This is why they are made to stay close to shrines, marketplaces or away from the community.
Osus cannot break kola or make prayers on behalf of the real born because it is believed that they will bring calamity upon the society. In the minds of people, Osus are considered as people with leprosy.
Osus are basically deprived of privileges in their societies. Some of these privileges include the denial of chieftaincy titles, denial of membership in social clubs and violent disruption of their marriages. If an Osu marries a non-osu and it is discovered, most times this may lead to divorce and the children are then raised by single parents. Projects and business transactions have been abandoned where such transactions involved osus.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION:
The foundations and origins of the obnoxious system can be understood but the superstitions and myths that support its continued existence are flimsy. If the Osu was offered to the gods as sacrifice wouldn’t it take a leap of stupidity to insist that their offsprings who weren’t party to the exchange and who in any case are not priests of some of the now extinct deities are also living sacrifices who must remain ostracized in an age when no one can be a slave either to man or to any god? Hasn’t slavery been abolished? And when Christian parents deny discrimination against the Osu but send search parties to seek out the ancestry of their children’s brides or suitors before they give their approval, you wonder how worse hypocrisy can get . And many times you will hear, “she is very beautiful and well mannered. But she is corrupted”. That’s the euphemism
A Christian who discriminates against the Osu, besides being a criminal , is guilty of idolatry. For that inhuman categorization is premised on the existence and placation of a god which Christianity views as man made ineffectual idol. I am not disrespectful of African traditional religion . The Christian picture of the atrocity must be painted for the Christian. And it helps that majority of Igbos claim Christianity . And I am not disrespectful of our culture , our culture and our morality have long shifted.
Morality can be relative and the morality of a cultural practice is relative to time and place. The Osu caste system may not have been barbaric a century ago but is manifestly and despicably so now.
The deities in my village once considered the existence of twins a taboo and the people believed. And thousands of twins were slaughtered at birth in the service of the wishes of the gods. And mothers who clung to their twins were banished to the evil forest so that the land was spared the wrath of the gods. And my people were by no means barbaric, they were cultured people.
The English were cultured when they hung scientists and burnt them. And it was the same gods that barred the existence of twins in Igbo land that perhaps instituted and allowed the discriminatory practice against the Osu. If these Christians and other ardent followers of African traditional religion are afraid of defying the gods let them remember how even the gods saw reason with the colonialists and allowed the celebration of twins.
There is some wisdom in the saying that what one cannot learn by formal education he learns by travelling, exposure. The Igbo is the most dispersed group in Africa and is therefore a group particularly well acquainted with the horrors of racism. The Igbo man suffers unbearable discrimination for being Igbo and for being black. You would think anyone so badly and chronically victimized would champion equality. Ironically many Igbos who reject marriage with the Osu are the well travelled, well educated, roundly humiliated victims of virulent racism.
But the Osu caste system is worse than racism . Racism prepares you, gives you advance warning . So the black girl is socialized to understand her racial handicaps, the hatred of blacks by some whites . Many Osu are only aware of that identity only after a brutal dehumanizing rejection. How many more youthful hearts will be shredded by bigotry?

THE WAY FORWARD:
The discrimination, segregation and dehumanization of people as seen in the Osu caste system from the freeborn in Igbo land is mind boggling especially in sensitive issues like marriage and other social areas. The Igbo society has to realize that all human beings are all essential to the development of their societies because development can only thrive where there is oneness and mutual understanding amongst all members. The only way of solving this problem is by enlightening the minds of members of these societies to see each other as one though with different faces. Attempts have been made by several people, both scholars and non-scholars to eliminate such practices but sadly the more they try to solve the problem, the more imposing it becomes.
It is interesting to note that the enactment of laws or legislation has not been able to curb this evil caste system and has not in any way slowed down attitudes towards outcasts in these societies; for instance the Nigerian Constitution guarantees equal rights for all Nigerians and the practice of the Osu system in Igbo land is a gross violation of the fundamental human rights of those deemed to be Osu.
Despite these laws, the discrimination and oppression of people deemed to be outcasts still persisted. It then follows that beyond laws and legislations, attitudes in these societies must change. The preservation of these caste systems brings about retrogression in the areas of socio-economic, socio-cultural and the socio-political growth in such societies. The segregation of people is an archaic and obnoxious practice which should be abolished because discrimination is evil and it hinders the societal proliferation and development.

Increasing wave of cult violence in Nigeria has assumed disturbing dimension. Menacing cult activities have become a daily occurrence that should be handled decisively. In recent times, recurrent disturbances attributable to violent clashes between rival cult groups have resulted in horrendous loses in local communities as well as in the urban neighborhoods. Indeed, cultism has become such a pervasive vocation amongst young people, including minors, across the country.
Youth involvement in cult related associations, apart from heightening the scale of social vices unusually categorized as misdemeanor, has festered criminality in the form of wanton killings, maiming, raping and, as well, intensified robbery and kidnapping across the country.
It is, therefore, imperative to unequivocally emphasize that prevailing nefarious activities by cult groups are reprehensible and untenable in a sane society. The situation has become so worrisome and requiring urgent efforts by relevant stakeholders across communities in concert with security agencies, towards stemming the tide of a social affliction already in its giddying stage and gradually making peace elusive in the society.
It is equally a matter of grave concern that, hitherto, peaceful communities have lost their serenity, owing to menace constituted by cult gangs. Cult activities in Nigeria are no longer the familiar social vices that were confined to the four walls of higher institutions of learning.
Youth related cult activities have become a sort of neighborhoods’ evil, threatening communal peace and permeating culture of fears in the society. It is alarming that communities in the metropolis as well as the hinterlands are being subjected to rigorous disturbances with gory tales of bloodletting and devastation.
It is therefore evident that terrifying malaise of cultism comes with high potential of jeopardizing the future of younger generations, who are now forced to live under morbid fear and coercion.

THE DELTA SITUATION:
Delta is the second most populous state in the Niger Delta, with an estimated 4.1 million people. The state produces about 35% of Nigeria’s crude oil and a considerable amount of its natural gas. It is also rich in root and tuber crops, such as potatoes, yams, cassava, and coco yams. Delta has a legacy of ethnic and political tensions which flared in the late 1990’s and again in 2003.
The 2009 Amnesty Program was instrumental in reducing violence and fatalities associate with militancy. In 2010, however, there was a spike in insurgency/counter-insurgency activity with a notable incident that reportedly occurred in the Burutu Local Government Area (LGA) in December.
In 2011, the governor dismissed all elected local government chairmen and replaced them with Caretaker Committee Chairmen. Now, after two years, LGA-level elections are expected to take place on October 25, 2014. During 2012 and 2013, reported incidents included gang violence, criminality, and vigilante/mob justice.
There were a number of abductions, some targeting political figures, their family members, or oil workers. There were several reports of alleged abuses by public security forces, which sometimes provoked mob violence and protest. Conflict risk factors continued into mid-2014 with reports of abductions and communal violence.

VIOLENCE IN OBOMKPA (ANIOCHA NORTH/SOUTH): AN OVERVIEW
As in other parts of Delta State, much of the violence in the reported time period in Aniocha North and South was associated with kidnappings and criminality. In August 2012, nearly 40 lawyers barricaded the magistrates’ courts to protest the abduction of a newly appointed judge. In December 2012, the mother of the Minister of Finance was reportedly kidnapped for ransom in Aniocha South. Violence around kidnappings and robberies increased in 2013, resulting in several reported deaths throughout the year. In 2013, there were two reported incidents of bank robberies leading to the death of several suspected criminals. In the first half of 2014, dozens were reportedly killed in clashes between rival cult groups.
An instance of this is what happened on Monday, October 26, 2015, when a gang of five kidnappers abducted Mrs. Ifeoma Anwuzia, wife of the chairman of Aniocha South Local Government Area. Hon. Isaac Anwuzia and her 3 year-old daughter, Miss Goodness Anwuzia at their family home. It was gathered that the kidnapping of the chairman’s wife and daughter caused apprehension when the news filtered into the community, marking the high point of the tension and fear that had gripped residents of the community over the past two years.
Community sources said the kidnappers stormed the chairman’s home Sunday night, held the guards hostage till Monday morning before they swooped on their target, as she made to drop her daughter in school. The kidnappers reportedly forced the woman and her daughter into the victim’s car, and drove away, before information filtered into the community, prompting a quick intervention from the police and community vigilante group, who gave the hoodlums a hot chase.
A police source in the community, said police patrol teams and local vigilante pursued the kidnappers along the bushy Edo road, forcing the kidnappers to abandon their victims’ mid-way and fled into the forest. “However, the police and vigilante youths mobilized and comb the forest and arrested two suspects, one Pascal Kure and Chinedu Obiazu, while three other suspects managed to escape,” the source said. During interrogation, the suspects told the police that a former driver and aide of the chairman, known as Aniekan, organized the kidnapping in order to obtain a ransom of ten million naira from the chairman.
Also, last August, a 90 year-old grandmother, Madam Helen Ojeogwu was kidnapped in her family home at Azungwu village, by hoodlums and held in captivity for five days, before the family secured the release of the old woman. Just like many other cases of kidnapping, the police said no ransom was paid for the release of the old woman, but many close observers of the happenings in the community, believed many families pay ransoms in millions to secure freedom for their relatives.
As kidnappings boom, so also secret cult killings have continued to intensify in the community, with bloodletting and chaos, amid violent attacks and executions among members of warring cult groups. During the peak of the crises, many youths of the community suspected to be involved in cultism and kidnapping, were killed, some by warring cult groups, and others, by the police and other security agents.
Notable among those killed during the crises, which rocked the community between June and October, 2015, were over seven prominent cultists in the community, many of whom have been on the wanted list of the State Police Command. One of the kingpins, known as Odita, a final year HND student of the Delta State Polytechnic, who many people in the community feared, was executed alongside his close ally, one Chidi by the police in the heat of the unwarranted cult killings. The event that compelled the police to declare Odita wanted and his subsequent capture, followed a deadly shooting at a late night burial wake-keep in Azungwu village, which left three persons seriously injured. Community sources said the target of the shooting was a rival kingpin, popularly known as ‘Atuma’ who was seriously injured in the attack. After the attack, Atuma was reportedly taken to a nearby Ubulu-Uku community for orthodox medical attention, but his assailants traced him there and shot him dead.
Below is a chat that shows the gross insecurity issues in delta state between 2012 and 2015.

CRITICAL EVALUATION:
Cultism is destructive to the very fabric of Nigerian society and poses a drawback to efforts at entrenching sustainable development in the country. Cult groups have become willing tools in the hands of the political elite, who deploy them to settle scores with opponents.
It is therefore important to call on relevant stakeholders in the society to prioritize advocacy towards adequate sensitization of elite; particularly the political class, on the need to shun selfish indulgence through sponsorship and patronage of cult activities that compromise and jeopardize the future of the youth.
The police and other security agencies must be encouraged and supported to provide adequate responses in tackling the menace of cultism in the country. Security agencies must develop the required capacities for investigative and crime preventive intelligence in the bid to provide appropriate response to the challenge pose by cultism and its negative throwbacks on the society.
Government must prioritize social empowerment programme to harness the energies of the youth and refocus their mind for productive engagement.
There is also the need for government to invest in sports development across the nooks and crannies of the country. Provision of adequate modern sports facilities with complementary reward system will get a large population of youth off the streets.
It has also become instructive to depoliticize job creation and social empowerment initiatives in the country, so as to bring youth from across political and sectarian divides on board for inclusive development. Government should also be more decisive in addressing poverty alleviation in the country, as a way of reducing the passion for criminality amongst the youth.
Finally, institutions and agencies saddled with the responsibilities of mass mobilization and orientation must take the issues of cultism and its negative tendencies more seriously. Retooling institutional frameworks as well process-led networking amongst stakeholders within and across communities will be vital in arresting the debilitating vices of cultism.