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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