SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND OSUISM: AN ARROW AGAINST HUMAN DIGNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.




BY
ABONYI HYGINUS EBUKA.
+2348133312797
Abstract
This paper centers on the effects of social stratification and the practice of Osu system among the Igbo on human dignity and social development; how it contributes to inhuman treatment on human by fellow human being who consider(s) himself or themselves as the Nwadiala and how it also undermines the principle of human right. It also enumerates that the discrimination an Osu suffers, constitutes a breach of his liberty.

1.0. INTRODUCTION
Segregation, stigmatization, subjugation, conflicts, wars, hatred, class division, exploitation and so forth, has been seen as that which dominated the entire spectrum of Osu Caste System in Igbo Land. To break the concept of Osuism which has deterriotalized human dignity is a way of retorritorizing or a tool to disinter lost human dignity and thus, restore the lost, coherent and calm society in which all are happy. Social stratification brings about class distinction where some feel superior against others, whereas, some feel dejected and rejected.
This has subjected human beings to become slaves of others and cause mal-treatment of the regarded less class by the upper class (The rich). This affirms the assertion of Thomas Hobbes that "Homo homoni lupus" (Man is a wolf to man). From the points of view of ethics, we may ask such questions like, is it morally right to see one’s fellow human being as a turd, inferior and less human? Is it just to discriminate, subjugate and stigmatize fellow human beings? These questions and several others will help us to know if Osu Caste System is worth adopting or not
Nevertheless, Osuism is a term coined by me to portray the "Outcast system" in Igbo land. Osuism is an ancient practice in Igbo land where the people called Osu ; those dedicated to a certain deity (Arusi) are segregated by the Nwadiala (Real born) in all aspects of life; be it Marriage , human interaction, kingship, social benefits like human relationship, etc. This ideology makes it impossible for the Nwadiala to regard or see an Osu as a normal human being like him or her. The Nwadiala can never work with an Osu to see that things go well. Therefore creating limits on interaction and behavior with people from another social status.
2.0.OSUISM, THE APEX OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION.
The ethnographic study shows that Osu system like a disease has eaten deep into the society that there is discrimination or segregation among human beings. It is a virus that afflicts every other emblem of human rights as it seeks to separate, even alienate the victim from the membership of the human community. The Osu are treated as inferior human beings in a state of permanent and irreversible disability and are subjected to various forms of abuse and discrimination.[1] The discriminations are more pronounced in the area of marriage.[2] The Osu are not allowed to marry the Nwadiala. An Osu cannot marry a freeborn. The belief is that any freeborn that marries an Osu defiles the family. Consequently, freeborn families are always prepared against any of their own desiring to marry an Osu. This scar is so feared that marriages in most Igbo communities are preceded by very thorough and rigorous investigations. They are made to live separately, from the free born. They reside in most cases, very close to shrines and market places.
Evidence of discrimination against the Osu includes: parents administering poison to their children, in a desperate move to perpetually wipe out the stigma; disinheritance (in a situation where a freeborn marries Osu); Ostracism, organized attack, heaping harvest offering separately in churches, denial of membership in social clubs, violent disruption of marriage ceremonies, denial of chieftaincy titles, deprivation of property and expulsion of wives, etc.
3.0.SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND OSUISM, AN ARROW AGAINST HUMAN DIGNITY.
Human being has dignity- The right to be valued and respected for his own sake, and to be treated ethically which is of great significance in morality, ethics, law and politics as an extension of the enlightenment-era concept of inherent, inalienable rights. If man has dignity, why the ideology of Osu system and stratification? There is no better example of expressing the interrelatedness of human rights than the human rights violation consequent upon the discrimination of the Osu. The starting point is that the Osu is discriminated against with a stigma of an outcast, a dreaded untouchable.
The level of discrimination an Osu suffers constitutes a breach of his liberty. He cannot interact freely with the “freeborn”, meaning that there is always a limitation placed on what he can do. Since for instance, a freeborn is prohibited from entering or visiting his house, an attack on a lonely isolated member of the society. Liberty connotes in practice an amalgam of free enterprise, freedom to engage in any activity that avails other members of the community. The Osu lacks access to engage in this free enterprise of activities. This boils down to the fact that whatever he encounters as a member of his community is entirely his own. Liberty essentially is freedom but on Osu is not free but is always in chains. His pains are not shared by all as he cannot access the warmth of his neighbors. The chains he bears are heavier than physical chains. Physical chains are for a time, but an Osu’s chains are engraved permanently on his sensibilities, his honour, worth and personality. Publicly and privately, outwardly and inwardly, everywhere, there are inhibitions around him.[3]
4.0.SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND OSUISM AN ARROW AGAINST SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
The ability of community leaders to mobilize the entire community for development purposes have more often been marred by the continued practice of the caste systems. The point being made here is that the Osu practice makes nonsense of the unifying force needed for communal integration – a precondition for communal/social development. The continued practice of the Osu practice has made such Igbo social pillars as igwebuikeism to have little relevance. And since national integration is systemic, that is to say, that it hinges on the communal integration, the de-unifying factors engendered into most Igbo communities as a result of the practice has rendered national integration comatose.
Social development thus, requires coming together of group of people who live in the society to interact with each other within the economic, social, and political system in order to provide a positive lasting change that will enhance the well-being of all. But with the virus- Osu system or social stratification in general, there will be no cordiality in the society or can it be a better society. The theories of the Rule of law and Human rights show that all are equal and have same right. No man is a god and no god is a man. It is either you are a god or you are a man. Therefore, man is man whether white, dark, tall, short, fat, slim, etc, man is man and should be treated as man and not beast. If no man is a god, all men are therefore equal.
5.0.CONCLUSION
The lasting solution for a better world or society is the peaceful co-existence of all and the removal of the mentality that "I am better than you". To justify the claim that to be free born doesn't make you a god over the people you regard as Osu, - those regarded as Osu are now wealthy, educated, priest, president, etc of the Nwadiala. In other words, the Nwadiala is not better than those regarded as Osu. The question is "Who is now superior to the other?" The better we realize that we all are created in the image and likeness of God and that we all trace our root to one parent Adam, the better for our human society.

ENDNOTES


[1] NGO submission to CERD thematic discussion (August 2002) on the Osu caste system in Nigeria (available on the website of the International Dalit Solidarity Network: www.dalitfreedom.org).
[2] See, V. E. Dike, The Osu Caste System in Igbo Land: A Challenge for Nigerian Democracy, Kearney NE, Morris Publishing, 2002.
[3] G. O. Akolokwu, The Scar that Has Resisted Erasal: The Discrimination of Osu of Igboland, NigeriaAssessing the Human Rights Implications, American International Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 4 No. 1; January 2014. P. 282

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